SCROLL NEWS / DISCOVERY
Search headlines
Find the stories shaping the conversation.
Results for " Times " 7,959 found 🔀 AI-powered Shuffle
A conversation wtih Shawn Eichorst ahead of Big Ten media days
The new University of Wisconsin director of athletes brings recent experiences, old ties ... and quotes back to Madison.
A conversation with Shawn Eichorst ahead of Big Ten media days
The new University of Wisconsin director of athletes brings recent experiences, old ties ... and quotes back to Madison.
Giardi: Byard about business; plus, Campbell's offseason plan and a thought on PFF
Byard is fully invested, be it in individual drills, team periods, or even times when he’s on the sidelines, away from the action.
Colleges promise ‘business as usual’ on Mideast campuses despite war
U.S. universities with programs in wealthy Mideast areas are expecting — or hoping — to keep classes going. Iran warns they "are legitimate targets for us.”
Bob Chesney is going to do the impossible at UCLA
Times columnist Bill Plaschke was skeptical Bob Chesney was capable of finally leading UCLA to Rose Bowl victories and beyond, but the coach won him over.
When spit hoods are used on children, troubling patterns emerge
Adults are using spit hoods to restrain, coerce and punish kids — a troubling pattern of use inside ERs, ambulances and detention centers spanning several states.
Katie Wilson tries to find balance in move from organizer to mayor
Wilson said she’s trying to make the right decisions for the city, but admits the balancing of her time, priorities and projections is still a work in progress.
Politics is now a fight for your feed (Communication Concepts)
It’s the new battlefield of political communication. It’s not who has the better argument but who can grab attention first and hold it longest.
The best way to save giant sequoias may be more fire
Giant sequoias are built to withstand ordinary fires, but recent extreme wildfires killed thousands of trees that had survived for centuries or even millennia. A new analysis of about 26,400 sequoias found that trees in areas treated with prescribed burns were nearly four times more likely to survive. Researchers estimate the controlled fires prevented about 1,900 deaths and could have saved thousands more if used across every grove.
TV and streaming viewing picks for July 26, 2026: How to watch Yankees-Phillies
All Times Eastern Baseball Banana Ball World Tour Game 3, Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL Savannah Bananas vs. Firefighters — ESPN/ESPN Unlimited/Disney+, 4 p.m. Basketball Big3 Week 6, Toyota Center, Houston, TX DMV Trilogy vs. Miami 305/Houston Rig Hands vs. Dallas Power — CBS, 1 p.m. The Basketball Tournament Quarterfinals Alumni Semifinal, Memorial Coliseum, University of…
At UW Health and other hospitals, apprentices are increasingly common
UW Health in Madison created a company called WorkForward to help others set up apprenticeships and fill job openings for nurses, surgical techs and more.
Political consultant Clint Reilly built a lasting legacy
Clint Reilly helped elect a who's who of California Democrats and trained generations of political consultants. He was a genius in the business of campaigns.
Stray Kids to drop digital album ahead of new EP
K-pop boy band Stray Kids is set to release a digital album, "SKZ-REPLAY 2026 Pt.1," on Aug. 1, as part of a weeklong run of content leading up to...
Former entertainment lawyer and Beam Artistes founder Samuel Seow dies at 53
Former entertainment lawyer Samuel Seow died on July 25 at the age of 53, according to a statement from a family friend seen by The Straits Times.
More health workers strike as Ebola cases in Congo near 3,000, including over 1,300 deaths
Health workers at an Ebola treatment center in eastern Congo have gone on strike over payment issues, disrupting patient care.
LAWRENCE OGBONNAYA
YOUNG GUNS PROP SALE SHARKS Sale Sharks prop Lawrence Ogbonnaya has one overriding ambition for England U18s’ forthcoming tour of South Africa – to finally experience victory in a national shirt. The powerful tight-head has played five times across the England Under-18 and Under-19 pathway without yet finishing on the winning side, making that elusive […] The post LAWRENCE OGBONNAYA appeared first on The Rugby Paper.
Science Made Ice Cream Better - And For Some, That's Worse
Nostalgia says things were always better when you were a child. Sometimes that is objectively true. McDonald's french fries were better, for example, before shoddy epidemiology and progressive
Blue Eyed Soul joins Yates Concert Series July 29
PENN YAN — Blue Eyed Soul brings its blend of 1960s’ and ’70s’ funk, soul, and rock and roll to the Yates Concert Series next week.
Geneva celebrates opening of Seneca W.A.V.E.
GENEVA — The city and Geneva Community Projects celebrated the official launch of Seneca W.A.V.E. — Waterfront Access, Views and Events — July 19 with a free, family-friendly community celebration
Letters: Negatives outweigh positives in Dodgers' White House visit
Readers weigh in on the Dodgers' visit to the White House and the latest decision by LeBron James.
WNBA games today: Schedule, times, how to watch for July 25
Here's the full WNBA schedule for July 25, including game times, TV channels, scores and how to stream.
This beloved Orange County restaurant is closing after serving 50 years of mai tais
Wind & Sea restaurant in Dana Point will close Sept. 15.
More health workers strike as Ebola cases in Congo near 3,000, including over 1,300 deaths
Health workers at an Ebola treatment center in eastern Congo have gone on strike over payment issues, disrupting patient care.
One UI 9 makes major lock screen security change every Galaxy user needs to know
With the One UI 9.0 (Android 17) update, Samsung is making a major change to how many times you're allowed to enter the incorrect PIN, password, or pattern on y
Tom Holland pukes on 'Hot Ones' during spicy 'Odyssey' interview
During the press tour for 'The Odyssey,' actor Tom Holland stopped by 'Hot Ones' for an interview that was too hot to handle.
Health inspections remain paused at ICE detention center in Tacoma
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals hit pause, for now, on allowing state health inspectors into the Pacific Northwest's largest ICE detention center.
Ex 60 Minutes Correspondent Claims CBS Execs Encouraged Political Bias
Cecilia Vega alleged that higher-ups requested changes to three of her segments from this year that she could did find evidence for, per the Times.
Paramount agrees to months-long delay of Warner Bros. merger
The concession comes as Paramount Skydance was already facing the prospect of a lengthy moratorium. The latest delay could extend into next summer.
Handled with care, AI can be miraculous
Although it has huge potential for harm, artificial intelligence is accelerating breakthroughs in science and medicine — but it can’t replace human imagination
Neurodivergent kids face special mental health risks. New initiative seeks ways to protect them
Jake Collective and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention are launching a $5 million, five-year initiative
Did L.A. businesses get the promised World Cup bump?
World Cup economic impact on L.A., beer sales soar
A Willy Street vigil, Forage expands, 'Hadestown' in theaters
In this week's Madison food and culture newsletter, businesses support a Willy Street vigil as a community gathers to mourn.
The anti-science movement is a quack with a bigger megaphone
The lone quack of 1979 reached patients one pamphlet, one waiting room, one late-night radio spot at a time. Today the same claims are amplified by algorithms.
Tickets on sale for Luzerne County Arts & Entertainment induction ceremony
KINGSTON — Tickets are on sale now for the Luzerne County Arts & Entertainment Hall of Fame induction ceremony, which will take place on Saturday, Oct. 3, at the Kirby Center for the Creative Arts on the campus of Wyoming Seminary.
BP nears deal to sell solar business to Kuwait-backed consortium, FT reports
BP is in advanced talks to sell its solar business, Lightsource, to a consortium backed by Kuwait's sovereign wealth fund, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Emmy Rossum Finally Reveals The Truth Behind Her Shocking Exit From ‘Shameless’
The actor said she left the hit Showtimes series with “a lot of grief and sorrow.”
F1 practice LIVE: Hungarian Grand Prix 2026 times, results & commentary from the Hungaroring
Follow live text updates and listen to BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra commentary of first practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Entertainment lineup announced for Delco’s Illumination 250 Festival
Plus, Delco libraries invite residents to check out new litter kits to help clean up communities; and eligible Delco residents can submit an application for free clinical medical assistant program to prepare for new career.
'The Odyssey': Stop saying it needs to be watched in Imax 70mm
With 'The Odyssey,' Christopher Nolan put a spotlight on Imax 70mm and the hierarchy of premium formats. Which is applaudable, but not a future theatrical business model.
Phillies Trade Idea for Elite Closer Would Change Everything
As stated many times before, the Philadelphia Phillies, at 56-47 and 4.5 games out in the National League East as of July 24, need to be all in at this year's trade deadline.
Ambassador Burch clarifies view on pope’s role in politics, war amid pushback
Burch said his recent comments to the New York Times were not meant to imply that Pope Leo’s statements about the Iran war should be seen as simply diplomatic — rather than spiritual — guidance.
Trump administration admits legal errors and withdraws subpoenas of 3 NYT reporters
Criticized by a federal judge for sloppy legal work, the government on Thursday grudgingly withdrew subpoenas that would have compelled three New York Times reporters to testify about their sources for articles about President Donald Trump’s Qatari-gifted Air Force One jet.
Sophie Cunningham: 'Biological men' don't belong in women's sports
Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham, who is sometimes referred to as 'MAGA Barbie,' has doubled down on her opinion that 'biological men' shouldn't participate in women's sports.
Microsoft is replacing OpenAI image models in PowerPoint, Bing
The world's largest software maker has been developing artificial intelligence models that can compete with those from OpenAI and Anthropic.
Palisades standout wide receiver Cook makes college decision
Palisades senior wide receiver Lincoln Cook becomes school's first Big Ten football commit
The golden age of language was a few thousand years ago
A few millennia ago, people worldwide may have spoken or signed up to 10 times as many languages as they do today.
Health insurance costs leave older Mississippians without care
Because insurers can charge people in their 60s premiums three times higher than those in their 20s, many older adults enrolled under the Affordable Care Act saw some of the steepest price increases this year without the income-based subsidies.
Microsoft outage hits Outlook, Teams, Xbox
Microsoft said Thursday morning that it was investigating issues with its Microsoft 365 services, which includes Outlook and Teams.
CB South head football coach Tom Hetrick stepping down
Central Bucks South head football coach Tom Hetrick is stepping down. Assistant coaches Bart Szarko and John Cataldo will lead the program
When It Comes to Fusion, Materials Matter
Fusion at high temperatures powers the sun and, if harnessed, could provide a potential source of energy here on Earth. But controlling fusion reactions has other benefits. The process also generates subatomic particles called neutrons that are used in a range of applications spanning medicine, research, and national security. Now, scientists at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis), and the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have found that the materials surrounding a fusion reaction can dramatically increase how often it occurs, particularly at low energies where fusion is rare. The study was published July 18 in Nature Communications. Their approach sets up a way to study and engineer nuclear reactions within solid materials, opening a new field of “materials-driven fusion.” Instead of designing materials just to survive the harsh conditions of fusion, researchers might be able to design materials that boost the reaction in specific conditions, similar to the way catalysts speed up chemical processes. “It gives you a new knob to turn that you didn’t have before,” said Arun Persaud, head of the Fusion Science & Ion Beam Technology group in Berkeley Lab’s Accelerator Technology & Applied Physics (ATAP) Division. “If we understand this effect better, it opens the door to engineering new materials that would affect the fusion rate under certain conditions. Someday future progress might enable more compact and efficient neutron generators, which have all kinds of applications, like cargo screening, planetary science, and medical therapy and imaging.” In the experiment, researchers used two different methods to pack deuterium, a heavy form of hydrogen atoms that is often used in fusion, into thin foils of palladium and titanium. They then fired a beam of deuterium ions at the foils at different energies and measured how often fusion happened. Then they compared the rates from the different materials and methods with the “bare” fusion reaction (not in a material). The team found that fusion rates depended on how the deuterium was loaded into the metal foils. The biggest effect was at the lowest energies, below 2.5 kiloelectronvolts (keV), where theory predicts fusion rates drop off sharply. Instead, researchers found a surprising plateau: Some samples showed elevated fusion rates roughly a quintillion times higher than bare fusion reactions. (A quintillion is a 1 followed by 18 zeroes.) Researchers are not exactly sure why that’s happening, though they have some ideas and ways to test them. The electrons and defects within the material might partially shield repulsive electrostatic forces between deuterium nuclei, making it easier for them to get close together and fuse. Tuning the electronic structure, defects, and composition of materials could help make nuclear reactions happen more readily. “It comes down to better understanding the mechanism so that we can try to enhance it,” said corresponding author Jeremy Munday, a professor at UC Davis. “We’ve seen that we can increase fusion rates, but what is the limit? Can we bring it to lower temperatures or energies? There’s obviously a lot of interest and excitement about fusion, so if there’s something we can learn about the physics at these lower energy scales, maybe there’s something we can translate to other areas of nuclear science.” The team plans to explore a wider range of materials and continue probing the unexpected fusion plateau at lower energies. Their work establishes a reproducible experimental platform to study how solid materials influence nuclear reactions, creating a new area of research that links fusion science with materials science and chemistry. “The work shows conclusively that the material environment where fusion occurs at low temperatures is an active participant rather than a passive container,” said Cameron Geddes, director of ATAP. “That adds a new dimension to fusion research.” This work was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). ### Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) is committed to groundbreaking research focused on discovery science and solutions for abundant and reliable energy supplies. The lab’s expertise spans materials, chemistry, physics, biology, earth and environmental science, mathematics, and computing. Researchers from around the world rely on the lab’s world-class scientific facilities for their own pioneering research. Founded in 1931 on the belief that the biggest problems are best addressed by teams, Berkeley Lab and its scientists have been recognized with 17 Nobel Prizes. Berkeley Lab is a multiprogram national laboratory managed by the University of California for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. DOE’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science.
Mosquitoes – Always a Nuisance and Sometimes Dangerous
Mosquitoes – Always a Nuisance and Sometimes Dangerous
Coroner IDs worker shot 22 times, killed at Mason lumber business
Vincent Stoetzel was 29 years old, according to Warren County's coroner
Dove Block seeks submissions for annual Short Film Festival
GENEVA — The Dove Block Project is seeking visionary storytellers to submit work to the third annual Dove Block Project Short Film Festival scheduled for Oct. 11 from noon to
'The Merry Wives of Windsor Cove' review: A Shakespearean surf comedy
Eli Simon directs 'The Merry Wives of Windsor Cove,' a musical adaptation of Shakespeare's comedy that's part of this summer's New Swan Shakespeare Festival.
Can a Madison summer camp get teens interested in science careers?
After two decades of hosting a camp, researchers at UW-Madison’s Morgridge Institute are evaluating the program's long-term impact.
Schiff calls out Trump's corruption, warns against complacency
In a floor speech, California's senator plans to assay the president's conflicts of interest and offer a prescription for cleansing once Trump leaves office. He warns against numbness or complacency.
Meet the man whose groundbreaking book is being devoured by the left
Anton Jäger has been lauded for his exceptional ability to make sense of these strange political times – and he’s only 32. The writer and academic explains why we’re living in an age of hyperpolitics
Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez breaks from Democrats on $1.15 trillion defense bill
Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez joined Republicans to pass the defense bill, despite opposing the attached SAVE America Act.
Immigration sweeps in L.A. cost businesses millions in revenue, UCLA study finds
Researchers found there were 46,000 fewer customer visits among formal businesses within half a mile of nine documented enforcement sites and an estimated $3.16 million in accumulated revenue losses during the two weeks after enforcement activity.
Building Markets to Ring Nasdaq Closing Bell, Celebrating The Power of Small Businesses and Campaign to Transform Lives
Building Markets, a global nonprofit that empowers small businesses in vulnerable communities, will ring the Nasdaq Closing Bell in Times Square on Friday, July 24, celebrating the extraordinary potential of entrepreneurs to create jobs, strengthen families, and transform communities.
Standoff with Iran prompts a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia
The Saudi deal stoked surprise and immediate concern across Washington, as well as in Israel, itself a nuclear power that has long feared an atomic arms race could grip the region.
VA reduces improper payments for private health care by 98% since 2020
The VA has slashed improper payments to private companies that provide medical care to veterans by 98% in the past five years.
The New York Times
Sony Pictures Entertainment will reopen Hollywood's iconic Cinerama Dome theater in 2028 after a renovation. The venue closed in 2020 because of the pandemic. https://nyti.ms/4gSfAvH
Sony and Alamo Drafthouse are reopening Hollywood's Cinerama Dome
After a six-year closure and an uncertain future, the Cinerama Dome is back. Sony Pictures Entertainment and Alamo Drafthouse are restoring the historic theater and plan to reopen it in early 2028.
Clint Reilly, influential California political consultant, dies at 79
Reilly ran successful campaigns for California's most recognizable politicians, including Dianne Feinstein, Barbara Boxer and Nancy Pelosi. He later turned his attention to real estate and local media
Fox Says AI Should ‘Support Human Creativity' as It Joins ARIAM
Fox Entertainment has joined Disney, the New York Times, Adobe and more as part of the Alliance for Responsible Innovation in the Arts & Media.
Meet the Western states making the case that money isn't political speech
Who should have more power — the people or corporations? For legislators in Hawaii and Montana, the answer is most definitely the former.
Nestle nears sale of water business stake at close to €5 billion valuation, FT reports
Private equity firm Platinum Equity is nearing a deal to acquire about a 50% stake in Nestle's European water business in a transaction that would value the joint venture at almost €5 billion ($5.71 billion), the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.
A week with the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2: Big, bright and sometimes helpful
We've had Samsung's latest Ultra smartwatch for about a week, and here are our first impressions.
Pasadena businesses swelter after copper wire thefts wreck ACs
These days, the temperature inside the kitchen at Sweet Red Peach bakery is at least 93 degrees.
Old-guard WA Democrats stage an intervention as party tacks left
Two of Washington’s former governors have now called out their own party, the Democrats, for “out of control” spending and taxes in Olympia. Is the party cracking up?
Letter | Tom Tiffany is the pro-business candidate we need
Dear Editor: I recently read the letter to the editor titled, "Tom Tiffany's anti-worker, anti-business owner agenda," and as a Wisconsin small business owner, I felt compelled to respond.
I tried investigating a mysterious media company. A police report was filed against me.
Who was in charge—Pleroma, the International Business Times, or something else?
19 happy hours in Madison for sports, friends and first dates
From swanky downtown bars to tacos and tequila shots, find a variety of places to drink (and eat) more cheaply around Madison.
Cleveland Browns news: Free agency works out. Sometimes.
The latest Cleveland Browns news and notes from around the NFL in the July 22 edition of the Daily Dawg Chow.
Americans far more likely to view politics as greatest threat to safety, study finds
New survey reveals one in 10 Americans identify politics as biggest risk they face in life – 10 times the global average
2,000 volunteers join a painstaking effort to restore massive skeleton of prehistoric predator
More than 2,000 volunteers are helping Polish scientists restore a Mastodonsaurus skeleton.
Fewer Canadian shoppers leave border businesses struggling
Political conflict, a weaker Canadian dollar and tough economic times have cut into Minnesota and North Dakota retail.
Eagles' Nick Sirianni Reportedly Facing 'Scrutiny' Next Season
As I've said many times now, the Philadelphia Eagles are an organization that's built on winning.
Health: Searching For The Source Of Cyclospora
You may have heard of a parasite that’s causing some gastrointestinal distress.Cyclospora has sickened thousands of people across 34 states this summer – more than six times the number reported at this point last year. The CDC has linked a major cluster to shredded iceberg lettuce at Taco Bell in some states. And Taylor Farms de Mexico has now pulled all of its iceberg lettuce from the U.S. market despite an FDA finding that reports that its product contained the parasite were a false positive.We answer your questions about what cyclosporiasis is, how you get it, and why investigators have had such a hard time finding the source.Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.
Sony Music Entertainment files new lawsuit against AI startup Udio
Sony Music Entertainment on Monday filed a new lawsuit against AI startup Udio, alleging the company infringed on the copyrights of more than 30,000 recordings.
Sony Music Entertainment files new lawsuit against AI startup Udio
Sony Music Entertainment on Monday filed a new lawsuit against AI startup Udio, alleging the company infringed on the copyrights of more than 30,000 recordings.
One in three new science papers now reads as AI-written, study finds
A new study of 12,750 arXiv papers finds about a third of recent submissions read as AI-written, raising questions about transparency in academic publishing.
Trump's 50% Canada tariffs risk higher prices and fresh political fallout
President Donald Trump has imposed 50% tariffs on most Canadian goods, declaring that Canada has unfairly discriminated against American autos, alcohol and dairy products
Notre Dame has tons of familiarity with Wisconsin, just not Lambeau
The Badgers will open their football season Sept. 6 at Lambeau Field as a 20.5-point underdog against the Irish.
What to stream: ‘The Dink,’ ‘Stuart Fails to Save the Universe’
Charli xcx's new album and a pickleball movie starring Jake Johnson are some of the new television, films, music and games headed to a device near you.
The Business Asset Most Founders Overlook Until They Try To Sell Their Companies
When they’re ready to sell, founders sometimes realize that they’ve forgotten to prioritize the business asset that matters most to many buyers.
Private investment in youth sports draws state, federal scrutiny
Courtney Hamby and her husband spend close to $6,000 per year for their daughter Ellie’s cheer and tumbling classes, competition fees and uniforms. That doesn’t include their travel expenses for multiple out-of-town competitions, including hotel rooms, gas, meals, and sometimes even flights. “This should be something that everyone gets to play, and it shouldn’t be […]
Clearing his lines
Only one player across the entire World Cup completed more clearances than new Leeds signing Tarik Muharemovic. The Bosnia and Herzegovina international cleared his lines 41 times. Only Nico Elvedi of Switzerland got rid of the ball on more occasions - 48.
Freedom, trust and the future of science: Nobel laureates reflect on the ideas shaping tomorrow
Behind every scientific discovery are years, sometimes decades, of fundamental research, failed experiments, uncertain funding, international collaboration and the freedom to pursue questions without knowing where they might lead. The Nobel laureates recently gathered at the 75th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in Germany argued that scientific breakthroughs depend on far more than brilliant ideas alone. Those conversations unfolded against the backdrop of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and growing geopolitical competition. The question running through the discussions was therefore broader than science itself: what conditions make discovery possible? ‘Europe is a space of freedom’
Trump rejected nearly 6,000 clemency applications amid hope of pardon wave
Expectations were raised for a raft of pardons in connection with the country’s 250th birthday but the president granted fewer than 20 on July 3.
Margaritaville Ball Drop 2027 Gala Megawatt Entertainment
Welcome NYE 2027, view the ball drop at a tropical paradise gala at Margaritaville Times Square Hotel, a family-friendly event with VIP amenities
A science PhD can be completed within 18 months
Supervisors should involve doctoral students with conducting, writing up and publishing experiments straight away, says Adrian Furnham
UFC Freedom 250 Fails to Knock Out The Ratings
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) If UFC fans wanted one image to say, “Hey, Paramount+ is crushing it with their UFC rights deal,” I could provide that image. Here it is: (Reminder: this is my creation of the Nielsen Top 30, since Nielsen doesn’t combine the lists or include sports. I take all three lists and combine them. Some streaming TV shows probably have higher ratings than many of the films on this list.) Look at that! UFC Freedom 250 is number one! It topped the Nielsen “Top 30” list for shows and films that made the top ten the week of 15-June. So if you’re a UFC fan or supporter of Paramount+, that’s the good news for you this week. This program topped the ratings charts for one week. Everything else is bad news, or at least a huge caveat to that story, which I’ll explain today in the first part of this week’s Streaming Ratings Report—for the weeks of 8-June and 15-June—which is a double issue since I’ve been writing on a bunch of topics recently. UFC Freedom 250 is one of the biggest streaming events of the year, and super relevant to Paramount+’s strategy, so it merited its own article. Let’s dive in! (Reminder: The streaming ratings report focuses on the U.S. market and compiles data from Nielsen’s weekly top ten viewership ranks, Luminate’s Top Ten Data, JustWatch and Reelgood interest data, Samba TV household viewership, company datecdotes, Netflix hours viewed data, Google Trends, and IMDb to determine the most popular content. While most data points are current, Nielsen’s data covers the weeks of June 8th to June 21st 2026. You can find a link to my terminology here.) Subscribe Check Out My Interview on UFC 250 at MMA Draw After you read this article, if you want even more thoughts on UFC and Paramount-Skydance/Paramount+, I did a written interview with MMA Draw. They asked me to answer some questions about UFC Freedom 250, and I was happy to chat with them. Find it here: [ The MMA Draw Newsletter Did Paramount really overpay for the UFC? What the data tells us so far If you know the history of American television, you also know that combat sports is often a leading indicator of the future… Read more a day ago · 10 likes · 1 comment · Nate Wilcox and Zach Arnold ](https://www.themmadraw.com/p/did-paramount-really-overpay-for?utm_source=substack&utm_campaign=post_embed&utm_medium=web) I never thought I’d need a combat sports newsletter in my life, but the good folks at MMA Draw publish an excellent one on UFC, MMA, pro wrestling, boxing and more, analyzing both the sports themselves and the politics, economics and antitrust issues that impact them. Check the article and their newsletter out! Paramount+ Has Its Best Sporting Event of All Time…But Was It Worth It? Before we look at the UFC Freedom 250 data in particular, let’s talk about what we can’t say. Namely, let’s start with the lack of comparisons. First off, I’d love to put a chart out comparing this fight to past UFC fights on Paramount+…but we don’t have the data. This is the first time we’ve gotten Nielsen data about a Paramount+ UFC fight. As far as I can tell, Paramount provided data for the first fight, but it was a proprietary datecdote (saying it had “an average minute audience” of 5 million “views”) and then, for two fights, we got the linear viewership numbers when they aired on CBS, but no streaming data. Everything else was crickets. We also can’t compare this fight to other fights/combat sports on streaming, in particular the MMA and boxing, because Netflix also didn’t use Nielsen to track those events, opting for TVision and VideoAmp, respectively. (This isn’t Paramount’s fault, but does still suck.) We also can’t compare to UFC’s fights that used to be on ESPN+, since we don’t have any data for that, plus Disney+ didn’t have marquee fights. The comparisons would not be apples-to-apples. Can we compare to past Pay-Per-View fights? Absolutely not. The comparisons would absolutely NOT be apples-to-apples. That didn’t stop Paramount+, though, who bragged that their UFC events have reached drastically more people than past PPV fights. Duh. Sorry, but I gotta make this point again. A basic tenet of economics is that the cheaper something becomes, the more people consume or buy it. That’s Econ 101. (Sometimes pundits call things “Econ 101” that are actually like Econ 210 or even PhD-level economics, but no, this is really like first or second class basic economics.) Yet I still see one analytics firm consistently say that more people watch films on streaming than PVOD proves streaming which means that the streaming window is more valuable than the PVOD window. No, it’s not! Same thing here. Pay-Per-View events back in the day could be really, really, really expensive! So whole groups of people pitched in to buy them. That increased the perceived value of, say, the Mike Tyson fight. Or a UFC numbered event. So yes, the fact that Paramount+ makes numbered UFC fights essentially “free” if you’re already a Paramount+ member means consumption will go up. Obviously. Same for Netflix and their boxing matches. They’re talking about fights that used to cost consumers, in some cases, $50 in 1996…which is over $100 in today’s dollars. Over 1.6 million people paid that to watch the Tyson-Holyfield fight! Again, streaming is essentially “free”. Or $10 to $20, depending on what streamer we’re talking about and what tier you’re on. No wonder more people are “watching”. (Plus, Nielsen’s out-of-home viewing also helps these numbers.) UFC Freedom 250 Did Well…But I Have A Lot of Worries So what can we compare the fights to? Well, the good news is Nielsen put out that the fight averaged 7.0 million viewers for UFC Freedom 250, which is a solid number for a fight. We also know the length, at roughly 4 and a half hours. (I saw different run times, but this seems to be the consensus considering it started at 8 pm, had a delay and then finished after midnight on the East Coast. If you assume a shorter run time, then yes, the total hours viewed would go down.) That means I have the two numbers needed to add this to my Nielsen database. And then…I can compare this viewership to the NFL: And, uh, not great. But also within striking distance, mainly because the runtime for this event was so long. I’d also add that this event had viewership equal to a regular season NFL game on streaming, but if anything, it was more comparable to an NFL playoff or Super Bowl-esque event. And you can compare viewership to the top football games on broadcast, cable and streaming, and it’s not impressive at all: We can also compare it to other sports that week, including the NBA Finals and start of the World Cup: Again, not great. The NBA generated roughly four times as many average viewers each game for its NBA Finals. The World Cup has similarly big numbers. Also, that’s just a tiny fraction of the 25 most watched sporting events each week. The NBA, NHL and FIFA World Cup had many, many more games racking up hours. We could also compare this to other streaming programs to get an idea of “is this a good investment?” and here is how it ranks compared to other top Paramount+ programs: The worry here? Well, unlike scripted programming, which has rewatchability, older fights/sporting events have very little library value. Very, very few people are rewatching these fights, especially years from now. Paramount has also released datecdotes bragging about their subscriber numbers. Earlier this year, they claimed that the first UFC fight on Paramount+ brought in 1 million subscribers. Then, in their quarterly earnings report, they only ended up with 700K subs. Not great! They claimed they dropped lower-value international subscribers, but that’s why I tend to discount subscriber additions when they’re leaked to the press.1 I expect we may see a bump again for UFC Freedom 250, but I’d caution using subscriber growth so soon after these events to judge the success, since new subs with high churn (see Peacock) aren’t great either. Also, analysts often want to attribute all subscriber growth to their favorite/pet show, and that just doesn’t make sense. The biggest caveat for UFC Freedom 250 and Paramount’s very first UFC marquee event is that these could be high watermarks for the sport. UFC Freedom 250 had an incredible amount of earned media coverage compared to most UFC fights. I mean, it had wall-to-wall national news coverage in the lead up to the event. (The first fight also had a lot of promotion from Paramount since it was first.) Other fights could reach this bar—say the Conor McGregor return to the Octagon—but they’ll be fewer and far between. Was This Deal Worth It? All to ask: is this Paramount deal worth it? In this case, I think the UFC Freedom 250 numbers are more distracting than helpful. This fight did well and compares well to other top sporting events. But we know that the first marquee event was at least a third smaller, if Paramount’s own data is to be believed. And it’s likely the other fights are much, much, much smaller. And then you get to the paycheck that Paramount-Skydance paid. FIFA’s World Cup cost about the same for Fox, but clearly generated multiples more total viewership. (Though it’s only every four years.) The NBA is much more expensive, but until the playoffs, they likely didn’t pay for itself. Even still, Disney, NBCUniversal and Amazon Prime Video likely overpaid. So, in that context, the NBA may be an overpay that makes the UFC look not so bad. But two overpays don’t make an underpay, to paraphrase the old cliché about wrongs and rights. And looking at UFC Freedom 250 as the likely ceiling of MMA on Paramount+, Paramount-Skydance likely paid too much. Share 1 I would love regular reports on subscriber additions by programs, but as is, it’s mostly leaked or rumored in haphazard ways.
What does new Seahawks owner say he stands for?
Vinod Khosla's family is leading a group that has agreed to purchase the Seahawks. Here's what the billionaire venture capitalist has said about President Trump and other politicians.
For Madisonians about to rock, AC/DC salutes you
AC/DC rocked Camp Randall 25 years after the band's last Madison visit, with hits like "Thunderstruck" and "Highway to Hell."
Cyclospora outbreak has me worried about public health cuts
As the cyclospora outbreak wreaks havoc across the country, federal funding cuts have weakened the public health system, columnist Naomi Ishisaka writes.
WA's Suzan DeBene helps lead House midterm election strategy
Washington's Rep. Suzan DelBene is leading Democrats' efforts to reclaim the U.S. House, crisscrossing the country to raise money and guide strategy.