COMMENTARY

Media Layoffs Hit Print, TV And Digital Alike

• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, January 28, 2019

It’s January, and media layoffsare back.

You might nod your head when you hear Gannett is laying off journalists, a newspaper-focused company in a business that is still suffering. Truth is, that reality is widespread; it's beyond legacy media.

Verizon says its Verizon Media Group (formerly Oath) -- which contains AOL, Yahoo, TechCrunch, HuffPost and Tumblr -- is also seeking staff efficiency -- 7% of its employees, around 800 employees are getting sacked.

Days ago, BuzzFeed announced 15% of its staff will be nixed as the digital news publication seeks a faster approach to profitability.

Now, I’ll harken back to our good MediaPost friend, Dave Morgan, and his bold prediction -- a vision, really -- that half all TV advertising related jobs will be gone in five years.

Here’s why, among other things: Marketers will be taking more control of their media spend. Data-driven deals will continue to grow. Automated/programmatic services are rising.

The economy may still be growing -- some. But TV and media jobs? Not necessarily. Content TV/movie production? Content continues to rule -- but not necessarily as the king. Few can blue-sky where production costs will go when it comes to producing “premium” TV and movie content for any platform.

Much has to do with legacy traditional media companies, which recognize there will be much shifting to more digital media areas.

Plus, Walt Disney may possibly lay off around 5,000 staffers, due to its purchase of Fox businesses after the deal closes.

Moving to more digital media -- especially OTT -- isn’t a sure bet either. OTT platforms that have disappeared in recent years include NBC’s SeeSo, Otter Media’s FullScreen.

And considering that many others are still losing big amounts of money, such as Hulu, around $1 billion a year. You could imagine some degree of pain will continue, all the while there is overall industry growth.

Digital media might still look to save even more advertising costs.

Last year, SnapChat laid off 100 from its advertising division, which included Jeff Lucas, global head of sales for Snap, who then move to Verizon’s Oath. Here’s a big reason why: Snap gets 95% of its advertising revenue from programmatic/automated buying.

Now, Facebook is allowing cross-platform messaging with WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger.

Recession coming? Keep tuning in -- and tune up your resume.