- Websites for MTV News, Comedy Central and others have been shuttered
- Rumors this is part of wider cost-cutting by Paramount
- Fans are upset that years of clips and content is now inaccessible
After the unexpected closure of the MTV News website this week, Paramount has also cleared the websites of several other cable channels, to the horror of users.
Websites for Comedy Central, CMT, Paramount Network and TV Land were just directing users to streaming platform Paramount +. A popup on Comedy Central informed readers that while episodes from Comedy Central shows were no longer available on the website, Comedy Central could still be watched through TV providers and many seasons of shows are available on Paramount+.
Streamlining
The Hollywood Reporter reported that in a statement Paramount said that as part of broader changes across Paramount, more streamlined versions of sites have been introduced to drive fans to Paramount +.
However, this move means that archive material from The Daily Show and many other series is no longer available. While some is available on other sites, such as YouTube, it is not as easily accessible.
This followed MTVnews.com being taken down on Monday, and with it more than 20 years of stories disappeared too.
The shuttering of the websites comes after the bosses of Paramount – co-CEOs Brian Robbins, George Cheeks and Chris McCarthy – told staff at a meeting that the company was starting a period of cost-cutting due to profits dropping. Paramount is said to be looking to save $500 million.
Fan horror
Reaction to the shutting down of the MTV News site has been largely critical. One user on X (formerly Twitter) said: “A Sad Day in Rock and Roll History on this day” followed by a crying emoji. Another called it a “big blow to music history”. Another said it was “an unbelievable act of corporate vandalism… wiping out more than 30 years of hundreds of thousands of pages.”
