By My Estimates, the Streaming Industry is in the Midst of 50,000 Job Cuts With More Coming
By my estimates, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗱𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝟱𝟬,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝗰𝘂𝘁𝘀. Jobs in the streaming industry are disappearing for many, and getting a job will be hard. 𝗜’𝗺 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 (details below). Since my post two days ago about layoffs, [https://lnkd.in/p/gG5es2Hs] I’ve gotten hundreds of messages from people at WBD, Paramount, Disney, Roku, NBCU/Sky, etc. I will return every call and email/message.
In addition to the layoffs and early buyout offers we have already seen, more are coming. Fox just closed on the Roku acquisiton and while layoffs haven’t been announced, overlap across many divisions at Roku and Fox makes them inevitable. More cuts will be coming from Disney, Paramount and WBD. By the end of the year, SkyShowtime’s board will decide what to do with the company, including whether to shut it down.
Netflix recently laid off 1,000 people, Scripps laid off more than 430, and Cloudflare laid off more than 1,100 employees. Apple is estimated to have laid off over 200 employees in its Vision Pro headset division. Comcast, NBCU and Sky made an unknown number of layoffs, including some this week. Oracle and Microsoft have laid off and offered early buyouts to tens of thousands, including some people who worked on video-related products and services. NPR offered voluntary buyouts to 300 newsroom employees after losing federal funding.
Next year, Comcast will complete the spin-off of NBCUniversal and European broadcaster Sky into a separate, publicly traded company, which could impact headcount. Additionally, Comcast-owned Sky agreed to acquire ITV’s media and entertainment division, and while that deal has not yet been approved, layoffs are expected if it is.
For those evaluating whether or not to accept buyouts, especially at WBD and others where stock options have been accelerated, you have to look at all the data points and the risk. Everyone has different financial needs, lifestyle needs and different variables. You also have to look at the health of the market you are in now for the role you want (it’s not great) and what adjacent industries you may be able to move to.
If you want help, I will talk to you (917-523-4562), free of charge and walk you through options. I won’t tell you what to do, but my goal is to give you some data to make the best-informed decision. I’ve already spoken with nearly two dozen people this week, from C-level down, across many job functions at DTC companies. If you want to chat, call me or email me (mail@danrayburn.com). That said, for those sending me messages on LinkedIn saying nothing other than “get me a job” or “can you hire me,” I won’t reply. 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗲, 𝗜𝗡𝗖𝗟𝗨𝗗𝗘 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗡𝗨𝗠𝗕𝗘𝗥!
The good news is that Philo, Bloomberg, Google and others saw my earlier post and reached out with open roles, and I will highlight as many of them shortly. #streamingmedia #streamingmediajobs