Paramount to lay off 15% of staff, takes $6 billion writedown in latest sign of TV troubles
The cuts, which will affect around 2,000 staffers in the coming weeks, are part of Paramount’s bid to trim $500 million companywide in annual costs ahead of its merger with technology scion David Ellison’s SkyDance.
Paramount, which controls a vast cable and television portfolio, said Thursday the writedown of its TV business “is primarily as a result of recent indicators in the linear affiliate marketplace, and the estimated total company market value indicated by the Skydance transactions.”
The announcement is the latest painful sign of the dramatic changes impacting the traditional television business.
On Wednesday, Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of CNN, TNT, HGTV and other cable networks, posted a $9.1 billion write down on its television business.
“It’s fair to say that even two years ago, market valuations and prevailing conditions for legacy media companies were quite different than they are today,” WBD chief executive David Zaslav said on a call with investors. “And this impairment acknowledges this.”
The turbulence in the media business extend well beyond the traditional television industry, affecting digital news outlets and print publications.
In recent days, Axios announced it would lay off 10% of its staff, or around 50 employees, making the first time the news outlet has conducted layoffs in its history amid “changes in the media business.”
“This is a painful but necessary move to tighten our strategic focus and shift investment to our core growth areas. We’re making some difficult changes to adapt fast to a rapidly changing media landscape,” Axios chief executive Jim VandeHei wrote in a memo to staff obtained by CNN, calling it “the most difficult moment for media in our lifetime.”
Also this week, the venerable TV trade magazine Broadcasting+Cable, which was founded in 1931, announced it would shutter over what its parent company described as a “rapid transformation” of the industry.
The decision to merge with SkyDance by Paramount, aiming to save $500 million annually, also includes cuts in their media business. This move is reflective of the broader challenges facing traditional media companies, as evidenced by Warner Bros. Discovery's $9.1 billion write down on their television business.
