Entertainment is in a pretty harrowing place right now. More and more, studios and networks are callously disposing of their properties, erasing projects and the hard work of countless folks all for like a .000045th% bottom line increase. It’s putrid, it’s short-sighted, and it’s really, really dumb.
Completely unrelated, Paramount has recently gone on a killing spree of its longtime websites and blogs, stripping them of important archival material and accessible content that, you know, promotes the properties they own.
Paramount slashes MTV’s web presence
Among the more notable slashes to its own history, someone at Paramount decided to redirect links to mtvnews.com and mtv.com/news to MTV’s homepage, eliminating access to work from the news site’s founding in 1996 that documented the emergence and development of nearly every music artist since then.
@theamandaflores Stand by for an MTV News update….that it no longer exists! #8#80s9#90s80skids #90skids#musically #genx #millenials #xennialsoftiktok #xennials #musictrivia ♬ original sound – Amanda Flores
This comes after MTV News was shut down as part of a round of layoffs in 2023 by Paramount, which touched their entire workforce.
@producerpatrick So many journalists are frustrated that their years of blood sweat and tears… decades of articles, archives and work just erased overnight ##news##mtv ♬ Breaking News Background Music (Basic A)(1001538) – LEOPARD
Oh, but that’s not all, sports fans.
Comedy Central archives disappear
The online archives of little-known television programs The Daily Show and The Colbert Report have been completely wiped. These included clips from every single episode of each, dating back to 1999.
One thing though. Most of the shows and clips previously offered are completely MIA on Paramount+. You know, the service that charges $12.99 for access to the vast Viacom library? Heck, iconic shows like The Colbert Report are nowhere to be seen.
Now, links to the old Comedy Central site just redirects users to Paramount+, with a message reassuring us, “while episodes of most Comedy Central series are no longer available on this website,” fans can still watch the channel through their TV providers and—great news, everyone—“many seasons of Comedy Central shows” on Paramount+.
Additionally, the websites for both TV Land and CMT seem to have suffered the same fate.
Social media users react to the news online
The changes come after a town hall meeting Tuesday held by Paramount’s co-CEOs — George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy and Brian Robbins, who indicated that they were focused on cutting costs. These include layoffs and “looking at selling certain Paramount-owned assets—in fact, we’ve already hired bankers to assist us in this process—and we’ll use the proceeds to help pay down debt and strengthen our balance sheet.” (Not mentioned as cost-cutting measures: their own salaries, bonuses, etc.) Good stuff guys, great work.
It goes without saying that most people are not happy about this. Many of those same people? On the internet!
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