MTV News has come to an end. After a 36-year run, Paramount Global has announced it will shut down the iconic music news show and cut its workforce by 25%.
Described by Paramount president and CEO Chris McCarthy as “strategic realignment” in an attempt to reduce overall costs, the decision to close MTV News comes as part of a more extensive overhaul within the entertainment business. According to USA Today, the closure comes less than a week after a review of its parent company’s first-quarter earnings, in which Paramount Global showed an 11% decrease in television ad revenue.
On Tuesday, McCarthy detailed the network’s “pressure” to rebuild its operations to “create a more effective approach” for the future.
“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…We have made the very hard but necessary decision to reduce our domestic team by approximately 25%. This is a tough yet important strategic alignment of our group. 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,” he said in the memo.
MTV News first aired as “The Week in Rock” in 1987 and became a popular news outlet for the young generation thanks to its untraditional coverage style.
The show went on to feature Barack Obama, John McCain, Bill Gates, and others but also covered more than the news and politics and won Emmys and Peabody Awards. However, the outlet began its reduction in 2017, just five years before it closed for good.
Paramount Global is the latest media outlet forced to slash its staff due to a declining advertising market.
