West Coast Evening Edition
Paramount to Close TV Studio Amid Restructuring
Paramount Global is restructuring its TV-production business as part of a cost-cutting effort and what the company said were significant changes in the TV and streaming marketplaces.
Paramount on Tuesday said that Paramount Television Studios was shutting down at the end of the week, and that its sister TV unit—CBS Studios—would absorb the production of Paramount shows as a result of the move. CBS Studios produces content for the CBS network, Paramount+ and other platforms.
For decades, Paramount has been one of the pre-eminent producers of television shows, and Paramount Television Studios recently produced several hits for streaming services including “13 Reasons Why” for Netflix, “Reacher” for Amazon Prime Video and “Defending Jacob” for Apple TV+. Over the past several years, however, the studio has shrunk in size and status—a victim of industry consolidation and challenges facing its parent company.
The move is part of a shake-up at Paramount Global that will result in about 15% of its U.S. workforce being eliminated, or a cut of approximately 2,000 jobs. Paramount Global parent National Amusements is in the process of being acquired by Skydance Media in a complex deal that would result in the combination of Paramount and Skydance. [WSJ]
Tubi has exploded in popularity over the past 18 months, outpacing some competitors with much bigger budgets.
Tubi has exploded in popularity over the last 18 months, establishing itself as one of the most popular streaming outfits in the United States. It now consistently outranks Peacock, Max, Paramount+ and Apple TV+ in total viewing time, according to Nielsen — and is drawing even with Disney+. Only YouTube, Netflix, Amazon and Hulu are still ahead.
The streaming service, which is owned by the Fox Corporation, runs a different business model from those competitors. In addition to being free — with revenue coming from advertising — it doesn’t require an account to use, making it more similar to services like Roku and Pluto. And it comfortably commands more engagement than those peers, according to Nielsen. [NY Times]
Gen Z’s loneliness crisis may be changing entertainment tastes. Can Hollywood adapt?
Gen Z is lonelier than previous generations, and that could present opportunities for Hollywood.
Social scientists say the group of people born between the late 1990s and the early 2010s, a cohort who grew up communicating digitally, is more socially isolated than their elders, thanks to a double whammy of the COVID-19 pandemic and social media supplanting in-person connection. Last year, the World Health Organization deemed loneliness to be a pressing global health threat.
Entertainment companies and researchers are trying to learn more about how this generational trend is changing young people’s tastes and preferences in media.
UCLA’s 2023 “Teens & Screens” study found that people ages 10 to 24 wanted to see more platonic relationships between onscreen characters, and weren’t as interested in media that portrayed romantic entanglements and sex. The survey, conducted by the Center for Scholars & Storytellers, found that among 1,500 U.S. adolescents, more than half (52%) wanted to see more content focused on friendships and platonic relationships.
Beverly Hills-based United Talent Agency, one of Hollywood’s biggest representation firms, took the study of Gen Z’s entertainment habits a step further.
In a nationwide poll conducted in June, the firm’s data division, UTA IQ, found that nearly 70% of U.S. Gen Zers’ favorite TV and film character duos were friends, while just 17% of respondents favored a romantic couple. [LA Times]
