TVN Cuts Staff

TVN Entertainment Corp. will eliminate 15 positions as part of a restructuring effort that will move the company more toward the video-on-demand business.

The 80-employee company will eliminate those positions related to its pay-per-view operations, which will be phased out sometime in March, according to chief operating officer Doug Sylvester.

“The majority of the people affected are in operational roles that are supporting the PPV business, although all parts of the business are affected,” he said.

TVN announced last November that it would discard all but one of its 20 linear PPV channels in an effort to focus more resources on its VOD business. Sylvester said TVN -- which reaches about 14 million subscribers -- will continue to sign up content providers looking to showcase their shows via VOD.

“This is an opportunity to focus our resources fully on VOD,” Sylvester added. “We think this is the year for VOD to break through, and that’s why we’re really positioning everything we have to go against that part of that business.”

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.