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MTV News to end as Paramount cuts US staff by 25 percent

By Nithya Bose in US Business & Employment News, posted May 10, 2023

Paramount is planning to cut 25 percent of its domestic cable networks staff and shut down its media brand MTV News.

MTV News was once a household name among adolescents from Generation X and millennials for its coverage of topics ranging from pop culture to politics.

The decision to wind up the news division comes less than a month after BuzzFeed revealed plans to close its award-winning news division.

Vice Media has also suspended its popular "Vice News Tonight" show as part of a larger restructuring.

Chris McCarthy, CEO of Paramount Media Networks, MTV, and Showtime, told staff that despite continuing “success” in streaming, it continues to “feel pressure from broader economic headwinds like many of our peers.”

He added: “As a result, we have made the very hard but necessary decision to reduce our domestic team by approximately 25%.

“Through the elimination of some units and by streamlining others, we will be able to reduce costs and create a more effective approach to our business as we move forward.”

The closure of MTV News symbolizes the end of an era, as the news division rose to prominence in the 1980s and 1990s as an alternative to traditional cable news that appealed to young Americans.

McCarthy describes the changes as a "strategic realignment," aiming to simplify operations and reduce overall costs, allowing the company to be more efficient as it moves forward.

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A company spokesperson said alongside MTV News some of the company's divisions are being removed, primarily the operations unit.

The layoffs impacted a large number of employees, who were informed in person on Tuesday, May 9.

The news of MTV News' closure and company-wide restructuring is another big blow to the media and entertainment sector, which has been severely struck by a falling advertising market and other challenges.

CNN, The Washington Post, NPR, Gannett, Vox Media, and NBC News are among the major news, entertainment, and tech firms that have lately downsized their workforces.

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