Despite those eye-popping Super Bowl ratings, Paramount Global has announced layoffs.
The company, which owns TV networks like CBS, Nickelodeon, MTV and Comedy Central, is laying off 800 employees — that’s 3% of its workforce.
Like other media outlets, Paramount is struggling to adjust to the digital age as the company's streaming service, Paramount Plus, lost a reported $1 billion last year.
In a memo addressed to the company's staff members and obtained by the New York Times, CEO Bob Bakish wrote, “While I realize these changes are in no way easy, as I said last month, I am confident this is the right decision for our future ... These adjustments will help enable us to build on our momentum and execute our strategic vision for the year ahead — and I firmly believe we have much to be excited about.”
The news comes as Paramount released metrics on Monday stating a record-breaking viewership for Super Bowl LVIII, with an average of 123.4 million people tuning in across various platforms, including CBS, Paramount Plus, Nickelodeon, Univision, CBS Sports, and digital channels like NFL+, with CBS obtaining the largest viewership for a single network at 120 million.
According to CNBC, the media company had already warned employees of the layoffs in a Jan. 25 memo.
