Paramount Global — which has agreed to a merger with David Ellison’s Skydance Media that is expected to close in the first half of this year — is hitting pause on select events in 2025, including the MTV Europe Music Awards (EMAs) and the CMT Music Awards, to reimagine what they might look like in the future and “optimize” its tentpole strategy.Also affected are the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards Mexico and the MTV MIAWs, formerly known as the MTV Millennial Awards, an annual ceremony honoring Latin American music and youth culture, according to an internal memo, obtained by The Hollywood Reporter. The memo came from the office of Bruce Gillmer, Paramount’s president, music, music talent, programming and events, media networks and chief content officer, music, Paramount+.The pause will not affect the VMAs and the Kids’ Choice Awards in the U.S., as well as such local events as Isle of MTV Malta and the VMAJs, according to sources familiar with the situation. It wasn’t immediately clear when a decision about the future of the events affected by the move would be made.Paramount has been slimming down in several regards over the past year. In August, the conglomerate’s co-CEOs George Cheeks, Brian Robbins, and Chris McCarthy unveiled a sweeping plan to cut 15 percent of the company’s U.S. workforce in pursuit of $500 million in cost savings. The first of three rounds of layoffs took place shortly after that. Among the changes back then was the shuttering of Paramount TV Studios, as well as the departure of a number of high-profile execs. The second phase in the fall affected such parts of the business as CBS News.
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