Sesame Street and Jewelry Television have more in common than you think: Neither the Sesame Workshop nor the home shopping channels hawking jewelry are immune to a waning economy. Sesame Street layoffs and Jewelry Television job losses now bring proof of the recession to wider TV audiences.
Sesame Street Layoffs Result in 20% Cut
A sign of the times, not even Sesame Street is unaffected by the current recession. Sesame Workshop announced that there will be Sesame Street layoffs, and Variety – quoting the Associated Press – reports that out of 355 Sesame Street staffers, 67 will be let go. Perhaps it is gallows humor, but already there are jokes about Oscar the Grouch becoming a slumlord on Sesame turned Skid Row.
From Sesame Street Layoffs to Jewelry Television Cuts
All joking aside, television is indeed feeling the recession and Knoxville Biz reports that the home shopping channel known as Jewelry Television is entering into yet another round of layoffs. Located primarily in Knoxville and Nashville, thus far 200 workers have been let go, and until sales pick up again, personnel cost cutting will continue as often as needed to keep the business solvent.
In the past, when the economy was strong and disposable income apparently more plentiful, Jewelry Television employed about 2,000 workers; prior to the latest round of layoffs, the staff had already been cut down to 1,300.
Wider Television Audiences Notice Loss of On Air Talent
Even casual television viewers have begun noticing that some of the polished on air personnel appears to be absent. Keeping a watchful eye on the trends, Broadcast Engineering reported almost a year ago that major television markets – most notably Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago – had begun layoffs of their well known on-air personalities to remain competitive and in the black.
Cost cutting is the new name of the game, and neither Sesame Street, nor Jewelry Television or CBS are immune to the economy’s downturn. Of course, Sesame Street layoffs are unlikely to seriously rock the children’s television giant that has weathered about 40 years of the TV business’ ups and downs. The same cannot be said for news broadcasts and home shopping channels that must garner and hold on to fickle audiences.
Sources
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118001089.html?categoryid=3284&cs=1; http://www.tvsquad.com/2009/03/12/sunny-day-everythings-not-so-a-ok-for-the-sesame-workshop/; http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=29&entry_id=36865; http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/Jan/07/jewelry-television-starts-new-layoffs/ ; http://broadcastengineering.com/news/layoffs_sweep_tv_networks_0407/
