What do Seth Meyers’ “Late Night” band and the MTV News archives have in common? More than you might think. Both are among some of the tiny business cuts that have been making their way through the media industry in recent weeks as companies like NBCUniversal, Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery try to winnow down costs while their main flows of revenue — cash from advertising and distribution — grow less reliable.
Most late-night shows have a band — one of the de rigueur elements that have been in place since Johnny Carson held sway with Doc Severinsen. But Meyers’ 12:30 a.m.
program on NBC will, starting this fall, no longer boast one, owing to what has been described as “budget cuts.” MTV is a shadow of the cultural behemoth it was in the 1980s and 1990s, but fans could get a taste of its power by surveying the archives of MTV News — until recently. Paramount Global has scaled back many of its properties’ digital assets in recent weeks, working instead on strategies that push people to its subscription streaming services.
Paramount also pulled the “Daily Show” and “Colbert Report” video archives it once made available on Comedy Central ‘s website. Such maneuvers show some of the biggest purveyors of entertainment sweating really small stuff. Heck, Meyers’ “8G Band” doesn’t even have a regular drummer.
Are such antics the equivalent of rummaging under couch cushions for quarters and dimes? Maybe so. There are few alternatives .
