The Super Bowl was last Sunday, and though the game was just ok, the ratings were the highest in the game’s history. Much of the bump can likely be attributed to Taylor Swift fans who tuned in to see their hero for the grand total of 54 seconds she was featured on-screen, and they weren’t disappointed.
The matchup wasn’t particularly appealing, with the San Francisco 49ers taking on the Kansas City Chiefs, who were appearing in the third of the last four Super Bowls. Despite that, the game still set records. The broadcast was on CBS, among other platforms, and with the much-publicized struggles of the broadcast networks, one would think CBS’ parent company, Paramount Global, would be in a celebratory mood.
The broadcast giant celebrated by announcing mass layoffs of approximately 3 percent of its workforce. That amounts to around 800 people who will be out of work after the layoffs take effect. Paramount Global owns CBS, Paramount Pictures, Pluto TV, Comedy Central, BET, and several other media properties.
CEO Bob Bakish announced the cuts Tuesday. He said in a memo: “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.” While Paramount Global may be excited, the employees losing their jobs certainly aren’t.
They also may be wondering why after the viewership numbers were revealed. CBS scored 123.4 million viewers for the big game, up from last season’s 115.1 million. Considering CBS charged advertisers $7 million per 30-second spot, with some, like Chinese retailer Temu, buying numerous spots, the network raked in hundreds of millions in advertising dollars alone. The layoffs were expected despite the success of Sunday. There had been rumors circulating for months about potential cuts across all of Paramount Global’s properties and rumors of a potential acquisition of Paramount Global by Skydance Productions.
The cuts are just the latest bad news for an industry struggling to stay afloat. There have been job losses from Disney, NBC Universal, Amazon MGM Studios, and Universal Music Group as the entertainment industry struggles with subscription numbers and lost advertisers. Hollywood is taking huge losses under Joe Biden as more folks cut costs at home to keep up with inflation. When given the choice between food and cable, most Americans make the obvious choice.
Last year, Paramount shuttered MTV News, among other things, as they cut 25 percent of their workforce. The struggles of network television and their accompanying streaming services are well documented. Viewers are continually being turned off by woke programming, forced diversity, and the continued sterilization of comedy due to pressure from the left.
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Network television is dying a slow death, and streaming might not be far behind. If Americans are forced to choose between paying their bills and watching bad television, it is a pretty easy decision what to sacrifice. Perhaps a change in administration can course-correct our economy, and Americans can begin to get some economic relief, but by then, many folks probably won’t go back to network television.