The National Geographic Society has announced the largest employee layoff in its venerable history.
The move comes weeks before NGS expands its content partnership with Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox.
- The Washington Post‘s Paul Farhi covers the layoffs here.
- The headline: “National Geographic chief says layoffs done to avert financial derailment.”
- Watch out for coverage of future impacts on NG Studios and Channels.
NG Channels Viewing Up!
- I just checked the average primetime ratings for 3Q 2014 vs 3Q 2013.
- Nat Geo Channel is up 12%, and plucky Nat Geo Wild gained 41%!
- That’s very good news in a year of severe audience losses for the U.S. cable channel sector.
- Read more next week.
Cross Ownership
BTW, in a reminder of the shrinking world of independent media ownership in our New Gilded Age:
- The Post is now owned by Amazon billionaire, Jeffrey Besos.
- With Netflix, Amazon is leading the global VOD boom that is shaking the documentary / unscripted sector.
- Read our unique VOD coverage here, beginning at last month’s MIPCOM.
UPCOMING EVENTS
World Congress of Science & Factual Producers
Vienna, December 1-4. (Sold Out!)
EDN Online Pitching Sessions 2015: History
December 15, 2015 from 14:00-15:00 (Central European Time).
- At the online EDN Video Conference Room.
- Read about the sesssion here.