MTV Networks To Cut 250 Jobs

NEW YORK, February 12: MTV Networks, a division of Viacom,
is eliminating about 250 jobs at its U.S. operations in a bid to cut costs and
redirect some of its resources into digital businesses.

According to wire reports, Judy McGrath, the chairman and
CEO of MTV Networks, sent a memo to employees noting: "In the U.S., we
will build resources against some new businesses—our interactive
properties and some of our new networks—and we will make reductions in
others.”

The cuts are expected at MTV, Comedy Central, Spike TV and
Nickelodeon, among other youth-skewing brands. The divisions expected to see a
boost are mobile, online media and the new Hispanic-targeted offering MTV Trés.

It is not yet clear if cutbacks will be made at MTV Networks
International. A restructuring has been under way in the Asian operations with
a scaling back of the Singapore headquarters.

Improving profitability at the international divisions is
among the goals set out by Philippe Dauman, the president and CEO of parent
company Viacom. In December, Dauman, who was tapped by Viacom chairman Sumner
Redstone to take over from Tom Freston in September, said he wanted to raise
the company’s international profit margins by 10 to 15 percentage points in the
next few years. Dauman, speaking at the Credit Suisse Media and Telecom Week
Conference on December 4, noted: “We’re going to make some aggressive moves to
improve profitability” outside the U.S.

The MTV news is the latest in a round of cuts at major media
companies of late. NBC Universal last year said it would be cutting about 700
jobs, and last week Discovery Communications’ new CEO, David Zaslav, announced
a significant restructuring that led to the exits of five senior staffers,
including Dawn McCall and Billy Campbell.