Viacom will cut some of the staff at AwesomenessTV, just three weeks after media giant bought the millennial-skewing digital entertainment company.
“As we begin to integrate Awesomeness and streamline the organization within Viacom, a number of positions were impacted yesterday,” said a Viacom spokesperson. “We are grateful for the many contributions of each individual and continue to work diligently to ensure a smooth transition.”
It had already been announced that AwesomenessTV CEO Jordan Levin would depart after a transition period. The company would not say how many jobs were being cut, but an insider familiar with the situation told TheWrap it’s more than 20 staffers.
Viacom acquired the company last month in a deal that valued Awesomeness at a significant discount compared to its 2016 valuation of $650 million, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told TheWrap. Viacom did not share terms of the buyout in its announcement.
The company — which has targeted millennial and Gen Z viewers through an array of content across several social platforms, subscription-video-on-demand services, and thousands of YouTube channels — was integrated within Viacom Digital Studios, under Kelly Day. Day is the president of Viacom Digital Studios and former Chief Business Officer of Awesomeness.
Awesomeness has 158 million subscribers across several platforms, leading to about 300 million views each month.