Key Points
Sweeping layoffs at Paramount Global have impacted several programming initiatives at CBS News, including shows for the company’s flagship international streaming television channel.
Around 100 jobs at CBS News were affected by the layoffs at Paramount, which started on Wednesday and are likely to continue through the end of the year. Shows that were launched with streaming in mind, including “CBS Evening News Plus” and “CBS Mornings Plus,” are expected to wind down as a result of the cuts.
Many of those shows were launched as part of a broader, streaming-related initiative effectuated by Wendy McMahon, the former head of CBS News and Stations, who left earlier this year amid turmoil over Paramount’s decision to settle a news distortion lawsuit brought by President Donald Trump. The lawsuit was settled primarily to grease the wheels of Paramount’s merger with Skydance Media, which received its final approval from a Trump-influenced Federal Communications Commission (FCC) within weeks of the settlement.
The merger was the catalyst for the layoffs that started at Paramount this week, as executives focused around streamlining various operations with the goal of long-term growth and profitability. Every business unit at Paramount was impacted, including its cable networks, streaming platforms, local television stations and national broadcast network. No group was spared.
CBS News, which has occasionally invited criticism from Trump and FCC Chairman Carr in the past, was never immune from the shifting business goals at Paramount. As part of the cuts, CBS News will also consolidate production efforts for “CBS Saturday Morning,” a news magazine program that focused primarily on in-depth reporting, arts and music, and will close its bureau in South Africa, Variety reported on Wednesday.
“CBS Evening News Plus,” a show that launched on the CBS News streaming platform and which aired on some CBS stations and affiliates across the country, will close down, as will “CBS Mornings Plus,” a similar show that aired earlier in the day.
The changes come about two weeks after Paramount CEO David Ellison confirmed the company was acquiring “The Free Press,” a Substack-based news outlet founded by former New York Times columnist Bari Weiss, for $150 million. Weiss was installed as the editor-in-chief of CBS News the same day as the announcement.
Paramount is scheduled to report its third quarter (Q3) financial earnings on November 10.
