A number of television executives have been affected by the major round of layoffs at Paramount, the first since the company was established by the $8.4 billion merger of Paramount Global and Skydance in August.
With Paramount Global’s headcount, 18,600 globally as of the end of 2024, dwarfing that of Skydance (about 1,300), the vast majority of the cuts are coming from the Paramount side.
As has been the case with legacy companies over the past several years, the linear cable networks and marketing/distribution are heavily impacted.
Among those leaving is Teri Fleming, EVP and head of marketing for Paramount Global Content Distribution. She is a company veteran who previously spent more than a decade as SVP Marketing for CBS Studios International.
In current, Pamela Soper, who has been with CBS for over 20 years, is exiting. Soper, SVP, Current Programming, CBS Entertainment, overseeing series including The Neighborhood, Bob Hearts Abishola, Mom, The Good Fight, and Your Honor.
Also in current, Amanda Palley is leaving. Palley, who is SVP, Current Programming, CBS Entertainment, has been with the company for over 11 years. She has worked on series including The Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon, Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.
Creative executive Rose Catherine Pinkney, who has been with BET for nearly ten years, is impacted. Pinkney was most recently SVP, Scripted Programming and Development, working on series including Average Joe, The Ms. Path Show, and Real Husbands of Hollywood.
As rumored over the past few weeks, MTV is putting its music video legacy in the rearview mirror, with the network’s music team disbanded and Wendy Plaut, SVP and Head of Music & Celebrity Talent, departing. She has been at Paramount for almost more than 27 years and was the executive in charge of celebrity talent for the company’s Video Music Awards.
Amanda Culkowski, VP, Music Program Development and Documentaries at MTV/Paramount+, is also impacted. Culkowski has been with the company for over six years, having joined from AMC Networks. She was responsible for developing original music and talent driven series for MTV’s networks and Paramount+ and has worked on projects including Hip Hop My House and Lolla: The Story of Lollapalooza.
Elsewhere at the cable group, Margaret Comeaux, who is SVP, Music and Events Production for CMT, is exiting. Comeaux has been with the company for nearly 25 years and oversees tentpole events and music specials including the CMT Music Awards.
Paramount+ has also been hit. Jeff Grossman, who is EVP, Programming, is exiting after around 15 years at the company. He led content, planning, scheduling, acquisitions, merchandising and operations for the streamer. He was promoted in 2023, having previously been EVP, content and business operations for Paramount Streaming. Patricia Kollappallil, who was SVP, Corporate Communications, is also out, having held the role for the last two and a half years, after a similar time spent at Showtime.
Amy Campbell, Chief Marketing Officer, Paramount Media Networks & MTV Entertainment Studios, is also leaving. Campbell worked across brands such as MTV, VH1, CMT, Logo, Comedy Central, Paramount and Smithsonian Channel, and told colleagues last week that she had decided to “step away” from her role.
Andrea Ballas, VP, Communications, CBS Entertainment, is also affected. Ballas has been with the company for over 27 years, working on shows such as Matlock, Ghosts, NCIS, Two and a Half Men, Mom, Mike & Molly, Bob Hearts Abishola, 2 Broke Girls and CSI. Recently, she was also instrumental is getting Paramount+ to board The Children of October 7, bringing the project to the attention of Shari Redstone after she met activist and dancer Montana Tucker.
We will update the story with more exits when they are confirmed.
Paramount Skydance predecessor Paramount Global went through multiple waves of layoffs in preparation for the merger.
The most recent in June cut 2.5% of the overall Paramount workforce. The many areas affected across the company included Comedy Central, MTV, BET, kids and adult animation, business development operations, franchises and consumer products as well CBS Studios casting.
The previous one in August 2024, which reduced Paramount Global’s U.S. staff by 15%, included the shutdown of Paramount Television Studios, with the majority of its team laid off. (The moniker was revived after the merger with a new streaming-focused production unit.)
Paramount is laying off about 1,000 staffers today, with an additional thousand to follow. The vast majority of the affected employees are based in the U.S., with international divisions planning cuts in the coming weeks.
“In some areas, we are addressing redundancies that have emerged across the organization. In others, we are phasing out roles that are no longer aligned with our evolving priorities and the new structure designed to strengthen our focus on growth,” Paramount CEO David Ellison wrote in a memo about the layoffs this morning. “Ultimately, these steps are necessary to position Paramount for long-term success.”
The cuts, come as the leadership of the merged company promised Wall Street after the transaction that they would deliver $2 billion in cost savings, including through workforce reductions.
On the spending side, Paramount Global on the eve of the transaction spent $1.5 billion on South Park streaming rights and its creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, Paramount post-merger committed $7.7 billion for exclusive rights to the UFC, made a mega deal with the Duffer brothers and has been bidding for Warner Bros. Discovery.
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