UFC averaged 6.5M viewers on Paramount+ across the U.S. and Latin America for the July 11 main card featuring Conor McGregor and Max Holloway.

Per Paramount Skydance, the telecast peaked with 8.3M concurrent streams, which the company says is more than any other “exclusive” live event on the streamer and behind only Super Bowl LVIII across all live events on Paramount+.

That includes the Freedom 250 spectacle at the White House in June, which peaked with around 7.9M concurrent streams.

In all, UFC 329 reached nearly 16M viewers total across the U.S. and LatAm, indicating the total number of users who tuned in at any point during the telecast for at least one minute. A large majority of that audience (14.3M) was in the U.S.

UFC 329 was headlined by a rematch 13 years in the making that will see former two-division UFC champion McGregor take on former featherweight titleholder Holloway. UFC 329 also featured a lightweight contenders’ bout with No. 5 ranked Benoit Saint Denis vs. No. 6 Paddy Pimblett.

Canceled Netflix drama The Boroughs got a consolation prize — it was the most recent ongoing scripted series release to make the Top 40 of Netflix’s semi-annual What We Watched viewership report released Thursday, which spans January – June 2026.

The supernatural series, executive produced by Stranger Things creators the Duffer Brothers, logged 23.1 million views from its premiere on May 27 until June 30 to rank at #35. All renewable shows above it came out earlier, collecting views over longer periods of time. (This does not apply to limited series as newcomers I Will Find You and The Witness shot up to #3 and #22 despite their June premiere dates.)

For comparison, Season 2 of The Four Seasons, released at virtually the same time, May 28, finished #62 with 15.8M views through end of June. Season 2 of Running Point, which debuted a month earlier, on April 23, was at #44 with 21.1M. Both shows have been renewed for third seasons. Both are comedies, which are inherently less expensive than dramas and thus enjoy more leeway with renewal decisions.

Meanwhile, as Deadline has noted, the Stranger Things-esque The Boroughs, starring Alfred Molina, Geena Davis, Alfre Woodard, Denis O’Hare, Clarke Peters and Bill Pullman, carries a big price tag with its A-list cast and elaborate special effects, making for a higher renewal viewership threshold that the show had to hit. (Like the renewed comedies, The Boroughs got strong reviews, which helps to a degree.)

“There’s so many factors that go into when we ultimately decide that we’re not going to be able to bring a show back; it’s something we’re really thoughtful and considerate about,” Netflix’s Head of UCAN Scripted Series Jinny Howe told Deadline about The Boroughs cancellation last week. “I know you know that there were a lot of different factors that weighed into that decision in particular. We’re really, really proud of that show, we think they delivered a very entertaining cinematic experience for many, many people who loved it.”

Streaming giant Netflix anticipates content spending (of about $20 billion) will be up around 10% in 2026, accelerating from 8% increases over the last five years but below the 14% the company averaged over the past decade. Live, now a focus, will be about 5% of total.

The higher outlay comes even as generative AI lowers costs, allowing the streamer to make “higher quality output more quickly and efficiently,” said co-CEO Ted Sarandos in a video call after quarterly earnings. He said Gen AI workflows have been used in roughly 300 Netflix titles, concentrated in post-production. “We’re leveraging Gen AI for really complicated shots and sequences … enhancing crowds, or historical battle scenes, those kind of things. And keep in mind that that in many of the cases productions would have left out those key shots because they just wouldn’t have been able to afford them. So they’re saved by availability and access to these Gen AI tools.”

AI use cases “are scaling faster and faster,” he said. Documentary series The American Experiment features 17 minutes of AI-enhanced footage, which was “produced twice as fast and at half the cost of previous options.”

Cost savings will likely be reinvested in more content on the service, which fuels engagement and the “whole revenue, profit flywheel.”

The comments followed lackluster second quarter financials with execs on the defensive as analysts grilled the company on what Wall Street perceives as a bit of slump.

Live was a big topic as the streamer continues to ramp up its slate. Sarandos lauded live programming for driving subscriber acquisitions, accelerating ad revenue, fueling conversation and helping launch new shows. It’s been expanding its live sports lineup. Sarados also called out The Roast of Kevin Hart and the MLB Home Run Derby, which was followed by an exclusive Hot Ones special (via a partnership with Sean Evans) shot at a baseball stadium with guest Will Ferrell, whose new series The Hawk just debuted on Netflix. It’s “a cool example of the intersection between our core series, our expansion to creator content …  plus live sports.”

He touted new vertical video clips, podcasts and content deals with publishers including Conde Nast, Hearst and People that will bring more lifestyle programming, saying, “Over the last 15 years, the definition of TV has broadened and our definition has changed along with it.”