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Happy Tuesday, TFP. If you wanted to get a feel for just how in-demand Labubu dolls are, thieves broke into a store in La Puente, California to steal $7,000 worth of the dolls. They trashed the rest of the store but only took Labubu dolls. Talk about going in there with a purpose. If you have one, you better start hiding it in the safe with your emergency cash and passports. TikTok virality really is a double-edged sword.

Paramount has struck a $7.7 billion media rights deal with TKO Group to exhibit all UFC events in the US on Paramount+ starting next year.

The Big Picture: The UFC deal (which beat out Netflix, Amazon, and YouTube) comes just a week after David Ellison’s Skydance officially took control of Paramount, demonstrating the new leadership’s eagerness to mint some blockbuster deals that position the studio as an aggressive bidder for marquee rights and projects.

Behind The Octagon: In making a deal with Paramount, UFC is fundamentally changing how its fights are watched.

Final Round: The hope is that putting fights on Paramount+ will give the UFC — which has roughly 100 million fans across linear TV, digital, and socials — even more accessibility to lure new fans. It’s also a big step up from the $2.5 billion, five-year deal that the company is concluding with ESPN. For Paramount, the ambition is for UFC to be a marquee acquisition delivering year-round content and supercharging subscriber sign-ups to a streamer desperately in need of a boost.

And here’s a bit of fun intrigue: while working to secure federal approval for the Paramount purchase, Ellison met with Donald Trump twice at UFC events — meetings organized by TKO CEO Ari Emmanuel. It’s been suggested that those face-to-faces helped close the deal. Even as an executive, Ari is forever the agent.

Next Bout: In the first quarter of 2026, expect Paramount+ to see a record number of new subscribers.

And you can join them. 

PlayersTV is creating a new media network that gives pro athletes ownership of their content… and they’re inviting fans, too.

It’s the first sports media company backed by over 50 legendary athletes including Kyrie Irving, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade, Travis Kelce, and Ken Griffey, Jr.

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Job seekers are spending up to $10,000 on services, subscriptions, and databases to find a job.

Why It Hurts: It’s no mystery how rough the job market is these days — especially for the white-collar office roles that seemed plentiful just a handful of years ago. Due to remote work allowing anyone to apply for jobs in any market and the reliance on AI to sort through endless resumes, frustrated applicants feel they have no choice but to plunk down cash to get theirs to the top of the pile.

Behind The Curtain: People may need to get a part-time job to fund finding a full-time job.

The Future: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, it now takes a worker an average of 24 weeks to find a new job after losing their old one. Also, the number of people who are unemployed for more than 27 weeks has hit a whopping 1.8 million — and with more AI-related layoffs on the horizon, that number is expected to rise. One computer science grad has applied to nearly 6,000 jobs since graduating in 2023… landing just 13 interviews and zero offers. It’s getting bleak out there.

No wonder one software engineer in Illinois nearly rented digital billboard space to display his URL before finally landing a job. People are doing whatever they can to stand out.

Next Role: If the only way to meaningfully get ahead in the application rat race is by making connections IRL, we could be on the verge of a great worker migration (even if temporary) to regions that seem to have the most plentiful opportunities.

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64.4% of you voted Yes in yesterday’s poll: Do you currently share at least one subscription service with another person?

“On a multigenerational level. We use my mom’s Hulu and Netflix (when I can hack into it). Our adult kids use our HBO MAX and Peacock.”

“We have four households in our family, and we all pay for different subscriptions and share when we can. The bad thing is that sometimes when watching the same stream, someone gets knocked off. We’ll continue until we’re told we can’t — then reevaluate what streaming services we actually like and watch.”

“I’m on five family plans with people who aren’t my family.”

Let’s keep the conversation going. Join our Poll Of The Day newsletter, so your opinions can shine. Discover how your views line up with your peers’, check out cool insights, and have some fun. It’s data with personality.

💃 Taylor Swift announced that the title of her next album will be The Life of a Showgirl in the trailer for her appearance on Jason Kelce’s podcast.

⚾ ESPN and Fox are planning to bundle their upcoming streaming services for $39.99 per month starting in October.

📺 Jax Media founders Tony Hernandez and Lilly Burns have recruited former MRC TV president Elise Henderson to launch Counterpart Studios.

🤖 Nvidia and AMD have agreed to give the Trump administration 15% of its chip sales to China.

🚙 Ford has created a new type of assembly line to cut the cost of building EVs, launching first at its Kentucky facility.

🛑 Reddit is blocking the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine from indexing its platform, citing concerns over AI data scraping.

🏠 Giorgio Armani is collabing with RAK Properties to build branded beach homes in the UAE.

💆🏼 Dior is opening its first spa in the US atop its flagship store in NYC.

🐻 Ralph Lauren is making its Polo Bear mascot the star of a new short film. Time to suit up, Paddington.