There have been times where we’ve reported about studios removing content from their own streaming services as a cost-cutting measure. Netflix has been guilty of it, as has Hulu and certainly MAX. Hell, how many films/shows has HBO scrapped for a tax write-off? If there were two big takeaways from this, one is that no content is truly guaranteed to be archived by media corporations, and the second is that nothing is sacred if it means saving a dollar. This proved more true than ever when over the last couple of days, Paramount erased decades of history from the websites of their cable channels.
The first domino fell when MTV News shut down after over three decades of existence. The cause was chalked up to budget cuts as Paramount was attempting to save money across their media empire. But at least the 30 plus years of journalism would still be archived on their website, right? After all, it can’t cost that much to keep a website going …right…?
On Monday, June 24th, the MTV News archive was wiped off the face of the digital earth. Every article, interview, and video- gone. There was no build up, no last hurrah, just gutted in silent, cost-effective viciousness. It’s not as if MTV News was some minor piece of media either, just like the network itself there was a time where it carried a good deal of clout. To have it up and gone is in a way, disturbing.
Two days later, other networks under the Paramount umbrella including Comedy Central, TV Land, CMT, and Paramount Network (formerly Spike) have also been gutted. If you visit them, you’ll be directed to a Paramount+ site. Try it right now if you want to, go attempt to visit the site for “The Colbert Report.” Gone. Along with nine years of clips. Same for “The Daily Show” and its extensive archive. And no, you won’t find archived episodes on Paramount+ to compensate.
It’s a shame to see history just ripped away like that with no send-off. People complained about Nintendo closing down the eShop for the 3DS but at least they gave people plenty of notice! The same can’t be said for Paramount’s treatment of its websites and respective content.
As we know, Paramount has been courting a sale. Most recently with perspective buyers Sony and Skydance, both of whom reportedly walked away from the budding deals. So, perhaps this purge has something to do with that. We’ll let you know what we hear about this and other news.
