Paramount Global shuts down MTV News, laying off 25% of TV network employees – New York Daily News

CEO Chris McCarthy told his Paramount Global division on Tuesday that 25% of the staff would be let go, and certain units such as MTV News would be shut down entirely.

The McCarthy division consists of the newly joined Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios as well as Paramount Media Networks. The majority of the cuts are expected to happen in the networking segment, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

McCarthy says The division will now be divided into two functions, ‘Studios’ and ‘Networks’, Which will consolidate nine separate teams into one portfolio.

The merger with Showtime “led to a solid track record”, McCarthy said in a staff memo, citing hits such as “Yellowstone”, “Defiance”, “Your Honor” and “Yellow Jackets”.

He added, “However, despite this success in broadcasting, we continue to feel the pressure from economic headwinds as do many of our peers.”

The decision comes after almost half a year Showtime leader David Nevins has resigned from his post, and other top executives, including Showtime President, Jana Winograd, followed earlier this year.

Since then, McCarthy has been busy finding a new strategy to rebrand Showtime. It now focuses on three specific programming elements: diverse cultures, heroes, and high-stakes worlds. Projects that do not fit into one of these categories are either shelved or sold elsewhere.

According to McCarthy, the strategy provided the company with clarity and led to “method with the highest infection rate. “

[ Disney to begin laying off 7,000 employees in multiple stages ]

Despite this, Paramount Global got involved Dismal quarterly earnings last week, including an 11 percent drop in television advertising revenue.

Paramount CEO Bob Bakish told investors that the company is “navigating a challenging and uncertain macroeconomic environment, and you’re seeing the impact on our financials, as the combination of peak streaming investment intersects with the resilience of cyclical announcements.”

But the tough times are being felt across the industry. Warner Bros. Discovery announced a series of layoffs as well as a company reorganization last year, while Disney is in the process of laying off 7,000 employees across the company.