Following the sudden shuttering of the MTV Information web site earlier this week, Paramount has now largely cleaned home on the websites for a number of extra of its cable channels, in a possible cost-cutting transfer.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the websites for Comedy Central, CMT, Yellowstone airer Paramount Community and TV Land have been as an alternative directing customers to the media conglomerate’s streaming platform Paramount+. On Monday, MTVnews.com was taken down, purging some 20 years of tales from the online.
A pop-up window on the Comedy Central website reads, “Whereas episodes of most Comedy Central sequence are now not out there on this web site, you’ll be able to watch Comedy Central by way of your TV supplier. You may as well join Paramount+ to look at many seasons of Comedy Central exhibits.” Related language exhibits up on the CMT, Paramount Community and TV Land websites, in addition to that of MTV (which was separate from MTVnews.com).
Paramount stated in a press release, “As a part of broader web site modifications throughout Paramount, we’ve got launched extra streamlined variations of our websites, driving followers to Paramount+ to look at their favourite exhibits.”
As famous by LateNighter, the cleansing out of the Comedy Central website particularly wipes out an enormous trove of archival materials from The Each day Present and different late night time sequence, together with clips from South Park, Key & Peele and Workaholics, amongst many others. A few of that materials is offered on YouTube, nevertheless it’s not as simply searchable or accessible because it was on the community web page. (The oldest video on the Each day Present YouTube channel, as an example, is from 2016, whereas the present’s historical past stretches again 20 years earlier than then.)
On Paramount+, solely the 2 most up-to-date seasons of The Each day Present can be found. The platform has a number of South Park specials and the 1999 function movie Larger, Longer and Uncut, however the present’s major streaming house is on Max. Paramount+ does have the complete runs of Key & Peele and Workaholics.
As of publication time, websites for Paramount’s BET, Nickelodeon and VH1 have been nonetheless lively, whereas MTV.com provided some episodes and clips.
The web site modifications come on the heels of Paramount’s co-CEOs — George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy and Brian Robbins — telling staff at a city corridor assembly Tuesday that they have been embarking on a cost-cutting mission as income have dropped for the corporate. Paramount is on the lookout for $500 million in diminished prices, which can imply layoffs for some staff. Cheeks additionally stated on the city corridor that “We’re taking a look at promoting sure Paramount-owned property — in reality, we’ve already employed bankers to help us on this course of — and we’ll use the proceeds to assist pay down debt and strengthen our steadiness sheet.”