MTV News Isn’t Dead Yet
By Movieguide® Contributor
An iconic website that dates back to the ’90s is being put to rest…well, sort of.
The MTV News website was recently shut down by Paramount Global in an effort to cut costs. However, the content didn’t disappear for long.
Variety reported, “In the days after Paramount Global disabled mtvnews.com and mtv.com/news — removing a trove of hundreds of thousands of articles about music and pop culture from the internet — the not-for-profit Internet Archive assembled a searchable index of 460,575 web pages previously published at mtv.com/news.”
Users can still access the content on a special archive website called the Wayback Machine. Michael Alex, who helped create and lead MTV News from 1994-2007, said of the new website, “It’s incomplete, but it’s very impressive…It’s like a treasure when you find something you’re looking for.”
The company also shut down beloved cable channels including TV Land, Comedy Central and CMT. A statement from Paramount reads, “As part of broader website changes across Paramount, we have introduced more streamlined versions of our sites, driving fans to Paramount+ to watch their favorite show.”
In the first quarter of 2024, Paramount struggled with earnings. In fact, it lost $286 million, but the downward trend seems to be coming to an end.
In another effort to make up for the loss, the streamer has increased its monthly rate for subscribers. Forbes reported, “The cost of Paramount+ with Showtime will increase $1 to $12.99 monthly. The monthly cost for Paramount+ with ads also increased $1 to $7.99. The cost of the Paramount+ Essential plan will increase $2 to $7.99 monthly for new subscribers.”
Earlier this year, Movieguide® reported on some of Paramount’s strategies for 2024:
Paramount’s CEO, Bob Bakish, revealed the company’s plans for the upcoming year, revealing a continued focus on finding profits through strategic marketing and staff cuts.
“We’re unleashing the power of our content, which remains our mission no matter what challenges we face,” Bakish said. “As an industry we’ve confronted a soft ad market, a volatile macroeconomic environment and two historic strikes just in the last year. All while navigating the ongoing evolution of the streaming business, as industry sentiment and metrics for success continue to shift.”
“And we’ve been on our own journey as a company – to realize the full potential of One Paramount as we transition our business from linear to streaming, and continue fine-tuning how we window and monetize our content,” he continued.
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