{"id":15800,"date":"2025-07-22T16:10:08","date_gmt":"2025-07-22T16:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/15800\/"},"modified":"2025-07-22T16:10:08","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T16:10:08","slug":"paramount-may-close-african-offices-and-local-channels-exclusive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/15800\/","title":{"rendered":"Paramount May Close African Offices and Local Channels (Exclusive)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tParamount Global<\/a>\u2018s Africa offices may close, local channels may be shuttered, and staffers\u2019 roles could be impacted, company executives told employees in the region on Tuesday, sources familiar with the situation tell The Hollywood Reporter.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe company has been prioritizing investments in its growing streaming business and core global content as it navigates shifts in audience behavior and the macro-economic environment. As part of that, it is reviewing its international<\/a> pay TV strategy and considering adjustments to its linear channel portfolio in international markets, with a focus on cable brands. Management has also signaled a focus on businesses and regions with the most opportunity for revenue growth.<\/p>\n

\n\tTuesday\u2019s news comes as Paramount continues to wait for FCC approval<\/a> of\u00a0Skydance Media\u2019s deal<\/a>\u00a0to acquire it. THR understands that Paramount has fewer than 100 employees in Africa between its offices in Johannesburg, South Africa and Lagos, Nigeria.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe are at a point in our journey where we are facing immense industry disruption,\u201d Monde Twala and Craig Paterson, co-general managers of Paramount Africa, said in a staff memo obtained by\u00a0THR. \u201cOur team is not immune to potential changes as our organization evaluates its pay TV strategy and local channel footprint here in Africa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn June, Paramount\u00a0unveiled<\/a> further U.S. workforce cuts to the tune of 3.5 percent, following a 15 percent reduction last year. As of the end of 2024, Paramount Global had 18,600 employees worldwide. Co-CEOs\u00a0George Cheeks,\u00a0Chris McCarthy\u00a0and\u00a0Brian Robbins said in a June memo that the focus was on U.S. headcount but the moves \u201cmay also result in some impacts to our workforce outside the U.S. over time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tTwala and Paterson acknowledged in their staff memo: \u201cToday was incredibly difficult. We want you to know your greatness is seen. We reach out with a heavy heart, but also with immense pride. Your dedication to excellence, creativity and passion for leveraging the power of our content have been the driving force behind our many accomplishments.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThey concluded: \u201cWe understand the coming weeks may be tough and feel unsettling. Through it all, please know your efforts are valued beyond measure.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Paramount Global\u2018s Africa offices may close, local channels may be shuttered, and staffers\u2019 roles could be impacted, company…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15801,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[49,48,75,77,13959,348],"class_list":["post-15800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-entertainment","tag-international","tag-paramount-global","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15800","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15800"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15800\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}