Paramount Global to lay off 800 employees after record Super Bowl ad revenue and ratings

Paramount Global, the proprietor of broadcast and cablegram TV networks, announced Tuesday it volition laic disconnected hundreds of staffers arsenic the media elephantine looks to trim costs and turn revenue. The quality comes conscionable days aft its CBS web saw record-breaking advertizing income and the highest-rated telecast for the Super Bowl.

The company's main executive, Bob Bakish, announced the layoffs successful a memo to employees Tuesday obtained by CNN. While Bakish did not specify the fig of layoffs, sources acquainted with the substance told CNN astir 800 employees, oregon astir 3% chopped of the company's workforce, volition beryllium affected. The announcement follows a January 25 memo successful which Bakish warned that Paramount Global would "reduce our workforce globally" arsenic portion of "our way to net growth."

The cuts volition interaction staffers astir the world, with those successful the US being notified by the extremity of concern Tuesday, Bakish wrote.

Paramount CEO Bob Bakish attends an interrogation during the Barron's Roundtable astatine the Fox Business Network successful New York, Friday, August 5, 2022.

AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez

"These adjustments volition assistance alteration america to physique connected our momentum and execute our strategical imaginativeness for the twelvemonth up - and I firmly judge we person overmuch to beryllium excited about," Bakish wrote.

The layoffs travel amid reports that Shari Redstone, the household heiress of Paramount's parent, National Amusements, has been successful talks to merchantability her involvement successful the company. In caller months, David Zaslav, the main enforcement of CNN genitor Warner Bros. Discovery, met with Bakish and broached a imaginable merger betwixt the 2 companies. David Ellison's Skydance and RedBird Capital person besides made takeover offers.

Paramount declined to remark for this story.

The media giant, which is attempting to modulation its concern from accepted linear tv to streaming, announced Monday that CBS's broadcast of Super Bowl LVIII broke ratings records with a staggering 123.4 cardinal viewers, marking the largest US TV assemblage since the 1969 satellite landing. The web besides broke advertizing income records for the large game.

"We acceptable the high-water people for advertisement income for a Super Bowl, and it's looking similar connected Sunday we'll acceptable an all-time viewing fig with immoderate luck," Bakish said Friday successful a Bloomberg TV interview.

Paramount is the latest media conglomerate to laic disconnected staffers successful 2024. In January, the quality manufacture saw cuts astatine The Los Angeles Times, TIME and Business Insider, portion staffers astatine Condé Nast, Forbes and The New York Daily News staged historical walkouts to protestation planned cuts.

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