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Hours after Paramount and UFC announced a billion-dollar rights deal, Dana White said he had yet to hear from his friend, President Donald Trump, on his thoughts about the fight company’s new streaming home.That was fine with White. The UFC CEO was set to travel to Washington on Aug. 28 to meet with Trump and his daughter, Ivanka, to catch up and discuss logistics on the proposed Fourth of July fight card next year at the White House.Trump said last month he wanted to stage a UFC match on the White House grounds with upwards of 20,000 spectators to celebrate 250 years of American independence.“It’s absolutely going to happen,” White told The Associated Press. “Think about that, the 250th birthday of the United States of America, the UFC will be on the White House south lawn live on CBS.”The idea of cage fights at the White House would have seemed improbable when the Fertitta brothers purchased UFC for $2 million in 2001 and put White in charge of the fledging fight promotion.White helped steer the company into a $4 billion sale in 2016 and broadcast rights deals with Fox and ESPN before landing owner TKO Group’s richest one yet a seven-year deal with Paramount starting in 2026 worth an average of $1.1 billion a year, with all cards on its streaming platform Paramount+ and select numbered events also set to simulcast on CBS.ESPN, Amazon and Netflix and other traditional sports broadcast players seemed more in play for UFC rights White had previously hinted fights could air across different platforms but Paramount was a serious contender from the start of the negotiating window.The Paramount and UFC deal came just days after Skydance and Paramount officially closed their $8 billion merger kicking off the reign of a new entertainment giant after a contentious endeavor to get the transaction over the finish line. White said he was impressed with the vision Skydance CEO David Ellison had for the the global MMA leader early in contract talks and how those plans should blossom now that Ellison is chairman and CEO of Paramount.“When you talk about Paramount, you talk about David Ellison, they’re brilliant businessmen, very aggressive, risk takers,” White said. “They’re right up my alley. These are the kind of guys that I like to be in business with.”The $1.1 billion deals marks a notable jump from the roughly $550 million that ESPN paid each year for UFC coverage today. But UFC’s new home on Paramount will simplify offerings for fans with all content set to be available on Paramount+ (which currently costs between $7.99 and $12.99 a month), rather than various pay-per-view fees.Paramount also said it intends to explore UFC rights outside the U.S. “as they become available in the future.”UFC matchmakers were set to meet this week to shape what White said would be a loaded debut Paramount card. The UFC boss noted it was still too early to discuss a potential main event for the White House fight night.“This is a 1-of-1 event,” White said.There are still some moving parts to UFC broadcasts and other television programming it has its hands in as the company moves into the Paramount era. White said there are still moving parts to the deal and that includes potentially finding new homes for “The Ultimate Fighter,” “Road To UFC,” and “Dana White’s Contender Series.” It’s not necessarily a given the traditional 10 p.m. start time for what were the pay-per-view events would stand, especially on nights cards will also air on CBS.“We haven’t figured that out yet but we will,” White said.And what about the sometimes-contentious issue of fighter pay? Some established fighters have clauses in their contracts that they earn more money the higher the buyrate on their cards. Again, most of those issues are to-be-determined as UFC and Paramount settle in to the new deal with $1.1 billion headed the fight company’s way.“It will affect fighter pay, big time,” White said. “From deal-to-deal, fighter pay has grown, too. Every time we win, everybody wins.”Boxer Jake Paul wrote on social media the dying PPV model which was overpriced for fights as UFC saw a decline in buys because of missing star power in many main events should give the fighters an increased idea of their worth.“Every fighter in the UFC now has a clear picture of what the revenue isno more PPV excuses,” Paul wrote. “Get your worth boys and girls.”White also scoffed at the idea that the traditional PPV model is dead.There are still UFC cards on pay-per-view the rest of the year through the end of the ESPN contract and White and Saudi Arabia have teamed to launch a new boxing venture that starts next year and could use a PPV home. White, though, is part of the promotional team for the Canelo Álvarez and Terence Crawford fight in September in Las Vegas that airs on Netflix.“It’s definitely not run it’s course,” White said. “There were guys out there who were interested in pay-per-view and there were guys out there that weren’t. Wherever we ended up, that’s what we’re going to roll with.”White said UFC archival footage “kills it” in repeat views and those classic bouts also needed a new home once the ESPN deal expires.Just when it seems there’s little left for UFC to conquer, White says, there’s always more. Why stop at becoming the biggest fight game in the world? Why not rewrite the pecking order in popularity and riches and go for No. 1 in all sports?“You have the NFL, the NBA, the UFC, and soccer globally,” White said. “We’re coming. We’re coming for all of them.” AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports Dan Gelston, AP Sports Writer
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U.S. stocks are ticking higher on Wednesday after a rally spurred by hopes for lower U.S. interest rates wrapped around the world.The S&P 500 rose 0.4%, coming off its latest all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 364 points, or 0.8%, as of 10:20 a.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was adding 0.3% to its own record set the day before.Stocks got a lift from easing Treasury yields in the bond market, as expectations reach a virtual consensus that the Federal Reserve will cut its main interest rates for the first time this year at its next meeting in September. Lower rates can boost investment prices and the economy by making it cheaper for U.S. households and businesses to borrow to buy houses, cars or equipment, though they risk worsening inflation.Stock indexes jumped in Asia in their first trading after Tuesday’s better-than-expected report on U.S. inflation triggered a jump in bets that a cut to interest rates is coming. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng leaped 2.6%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rallied 1.3% and South Korea’s Kospi climbed 1.1%.Indexes also rose in Europe, though the moves were more modest after they already had the chance to trade on the U.S. inflation data the afternoon before. Germany’s DAX returned 0.8%, and France’s CAC 40 rose 0.7%.On Wall Street, the hopes for lower interest rates are helping to drown out criticism that the U.S. stock market has grown too expensive after its big leap since hitting a low in April.One way companies can make their stock prices look less expensive is to deliver strong growth in profits, and Brinker International added 0.8% after reporting stronger results for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The company behind the Chili’s brand said it’s seeing more customers coming to its restaurants, and it’s also making more profit off each $1 in sales.“Chili’s is officially back, baby back!” said CEO Kevin Hochman.HanesBrands climbed 5.4% after it agreed to sell itself to Gildan Activewear for $2.2 billion in cash and Gildan stock. The deal would combine North Carolinas’ HanesBrands with Canada’s Gildan, and Gildan’s stock that trades in the United States rose 11.6%.On the losing end of Wall Street were grocery stores and delivery companies, which fell after Amazon said it will offer fresh groceries to customers in more than 1,000 cities and towns through same-day delivery. Kroger fell 4.6%, and DoorDash dropped 3.6%, while Amazon rose 0.9%.Cava Group sank 17.2% after the Mediterranean restaurant chain reported weaker revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected, though its profit topped forecasts. It also cut its forecast for 2025 growth in sales at restaurants that have been open for more than a year, where guest traffic has been roughly flat recently from year-ago levels.CoreWeave lost 13.7% after the company, whose cloud platform helps customers running artificial-intelligence workloads, reported a larger loss for the latest quarter than analysts expected.In the bond market, Treasury yields eased as expectations built for coming cuts to interest rates by the Fed.The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.23% from 4.29% late Tuesday and from 4.50% in mid-July. That’s a notable move for the bond market.President Donald Trump has angrily been calling for cuts to help the economy, often insulting the Fed’s chair personally while doing so.But the Fed has been hesitant so far because of the possibility that Trump’s tariffs could make inflation much worse. Lowering rates would give inflation more fuel, potentially adding oxygen to a growing fire. That’s why Fed officials have said they wanted to see more data come in about inflation before moving.On Thursday, a report will show how bad inflation was at the wholesale level across the United States. Economists expect it to show inflation accelerated a touch to 2.4% in July from 2.3% in June. AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed. Stan Choe, AP Business Writer
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If the Swifties in your office are a little overstimulated and having trouble concentrating, grant them some grace. It’s been a big week for Taylor Swifts biggest fans, with the masterful announcement of her 12th studio album The Life of a Showgirl, and theres only more to come when the full episode of Travis and Jason Kelces podcast, New Heights, is released on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET. Lets get you up to speed so you can be knowledgeable at the water cooler and prepared for new announcements on the pod. How did Taylor Swift announce her new album? Textbooks could be written about the brilliant marketing tactics that Swift employs. It all centers around the small details or easter eggs that her fans love to analyze ad nauseam. On Monday, August 11, the Kelce brothers announced a mysterious guest on this weeks episode. Jasons shirt and Taylors silhouette gave the secret away. Additionally, the episode comes out on today, the 13th of the month. Thirteen has a special meaning for Swifties as it is Swift’s lucky number. Later that same day, Taylor Nation posted a carousel of 12 images featuring Swift in orange outfits, which has taken on the meaning of her next era. Swift’s website also got a makeover, becoming an orange glittering countdown to 12:12 a.m. ET on August 12. It was then her new album was officially announced. What can we expect from Taylor Swifts appearance on New Heights? The announcement might just be the tip of the iceberg. After her website momentarily crashed, fans were able to preorder The Life of a Showgirl on CD, cassette tape, or vinyl, and were told that the products will ship before October 13 of this year. There is still no official release date, so that information could be in the episode. Fans can also look forward to possibly seeing the official cover art. Even though podcasts are primarily an auditory medium, most podcasts these days are also on-camera experiences. The cover art is also locked on Taylor Swift’s website. Fans will also most likely get a deeper look into Swift and Travis Kelce’s relationship. How do the two interact? What is it like falling in love in the spotlight? How to listen to New Heights Now that you are up to speed, you have some options about how to consume New Heights featuring Tay. If you want the full visual experience, head to YouTube. If you prefer just to listen, you can catch it on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Audible, Spotify, or Wondery. Until then, shake it off, Swifties, and try to get some work done.
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