Viacom Suffers Layoffs

Viacom last week handed pink slips to approximately 100 employees across the Viacom Media Networks, according to company officials.

The layoffs represented 1% of Viacom's employee base and were spread across Viacom cable networks and companies, including MTV, Nickelodeon and BET Networks, according to Viacom sources. Among the most prominent executives leaving the company as part of the downsizing is Nickelodeon and Viacom Consumer Products president Leigh Anne Brodsky, according to sources.

"Our individual brands and business units regularly adjust resources to address their evolving strategies and needs, and they will continue to do so," said a company spokesman.

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.