Streaming and cable companies have approached (and emerged from) the pandemic quite differently.
Netflix (NFLX) spent big on original content, betting it could ultimately outgrow beloved reruns with sheer volume. Apple TV (AAPL )bet on live and burgeoning sports, buying the rights to Major League Soccer (MLS) in a $2.5 billion deal to last 10 years.
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While some streaming companies doubled down on original content and iterated with the times, other providers did not.
Those providers, which tend to be legacy giants popular decades ago, are now struggling the worst. Sure, Netflix, Disney (DIS), and Comcast (CMCSA) all felt the pinch. Netflix considered integrating ads on its platform for cash flow and Disney considered selling Hulu. But these companies have all made to the other side, and, if not stronger, they are all certainly more agile.
The exception here, of course, is Paramount (PARA). With few originals to keep it alive during the pandemic, the parent company of CBS, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and Showtime announced it will cut 25% of its staff and shutter MTV News completely.
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MTV News Gets the Axe
"Despite this success in streaming, we continue to feel pressure from broader economic headwinds like many of our peers. To address this, our senior leaders in coordination with HR have been working together over the past few months to determine the optimal organization for the current and future needs of our business," an email from CEO of Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks Chris McCarthy reads.
MTV News was struggling heavily due to the ongoing WGA writers' strike. Earlier this month it announced it would cancel the MTV Movie & TV Awards live show due to the lack of writers.
Paramount Global has been struggling with dwindling ad revenue for a while, and with an increasingly crowded streaming space, it struggled to differentiate itself from the other mammoths churning out new shows every week.
Its landmark hit, "Yellowstone," a western drama, will wrap with season 5 after the departure of its protagonist Kevin Costner.
At the end of 2022, Paramount Global had around 24,500 employees.
