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Paramount, the proprietor of TV networks like Nickelodeon, MTV and Comedy Central, is shedding a whole bunch of staff, chopping prices because it continues its painful transition away from conventional tv.
About 3 % of the corporate’s roughly 24,500 staff will probably be affected by the layoffs, in line with an individual acquainted with the cuts, who spoke on the situation of anonymity to debate delicate company data.
Bob Bakish, Paramount’s chief government, mentioned in a memo to staff that the cuts had been a part of a bid to “return the corporate to earnings development.”
“While I notice these adjustments are under no circumstances straightforward, as I mentioned final month, I’m assured that is the suitable determination for our future,” Mr. Bakish wrote. “These changes will assist allow us to construct on our momentum and execute our strategic imaginative and prescient for the yr forward — and I firmly imagine we’ve got a lot to be enthusiastic about.”
Paramount is at a crossroads. The firm’s controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, is contemplating promoting her stake within the firm, a deal that might carry a long time of household possession to an finish. Skydance, the media firm that helped produce Paramount franchises like “Top Gun” and “Mission: Impossible,” has expressed curiosity, however no deal has but materialized.
Like all its friends in conventional media, Paramount has struggled to maintain tempo with Netflix as streaming companies supplant conventional TV and moviegoing. The firm’s greatest streaming service, Paramount+, has not but grow to be worthwhile, placing a drag on the corporate’s earnings. Paramount’s streaming division, which additionally consists of the ad-supported service Pluto TV, misplaced greater than $1 billion final yr.
Though viewership of Paramount’s cable networks is in decline, components of its TV enterprise stay resilient. Paramount’s CBS community, which broadcast the Super Bowl on Sunday, generated report rankings for the sport, which noticed the Kansas City Chiefs defeat the San Francisco 49ers in extra time. About 123.4 million folks watched the sport, in line with Nielsen, up from 115.1 million the yr earlier than.
