MOVIE NEWS – The well-established Paramount Television Studios is closing amid major layoffs…
Paramount Television Studios (PTS) is closing in the wake of massive cost-cutting layoffs at Paramount Global. Paramount Television Studios was formed in March 2013 as the successor to Paramount Television, which was spun off from CBS Paramount Television following the 2005 split between CBS and Viacom. During its 11-year run, PTS has produced series such as Jack Ryan, Reacher, The Offer, and the most recent Paramount+ hit, Knuckles.
According to Deadline, PTS is being cancelled due to layoffs at Paramount Global, which will reportedly affect 15% of the company. Variety previously reported that the parent company wants to cut costs by $500 million by the end of 2024. Part of the PTS team was downsized earlier, in February, due to costs. Now, just six months later, the entertainment conglomerate’s TV arm has been hit with a killer blow. All current series and development projects under the PTS umbrella will be transferred to CBS Studios. This includes the studio’s hit series Reacher, which returns for Season 3 on Prime Video.
Nicole Clemens, president of Paramount Television Studios, issued a statement to the crew.
“As you’re all aware, Paramount Global has made the difficult decision to close Paramount Television Studios as part of the company’s broader restructuring plans. This has been a challenging and transformative time for the entire industry, and sadly, our studio is not immune.”
You can read the full text of the letter at the link below.
Paramount makes people pay the price of frugality
One of the reasons for the closure of PTS is the upcoming merger between the parent company and Skydance. Skydance Television and PTS have worked together in the past on series such as Jack Ryan, so there seems to be some overlap that benefits the consolidation. A similar situation occurred when Disney bought 20th Century Fox and then closed Blue Sky Animation Studio, as the company already owned Walt Disney Animation and Pixar Animation. In both cases, this cost-saving decision has a very high human cost, and many workers are now out of work.
This is always a problem arising from corporate consolidations. Fewer studios and production companies mean fewer jobs, which means more people will have to fight for work opportunities. A $500 million cut has to come from somewhere, and in this case, it comes at the expense of the people who made these studios profitable. Even though PTS has been around for just over a decade, it has already developed a history of its own, and the people whose jobs depended on it are now in a difficult position…
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