MTV News is closing this week as its parent company Paramount Globel announced that it is cutting its US workforce by 25%. The network began as a broadcast in 1987 and became a cultural trend for millions of Gen X viewers in the 1990s.

In a statement to staff, Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks president Chris McCarthy said that despite the “Paramount’s success in streaming, we continue to feel pressure from broader financial issues, like many in our industry.” “Senior executives in coordination with Human Resources have been working together over the past few months to determine the optimal organization for the current and future needs of our business“, he clarified.

“As a result we have taken the very difficult but necessary decision to reduce our domestic team by around 25%“, he added.

“This is a difficult but important strategic readjustment of our group. By eliminating some departments and streamlining others, we will be able to reduce costs and create a more efficient approach to our business as we move forward.“, he added.

MTV News became a hit with younger audiences when Rolling Stone editor-turned-TV host Kurt Lauder joined the network in 1987 and launched The Week in Rock.

In 1992, US presidential candidates George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Ross Perot appeared on MTV News interviews, unable to resist the channel’s influence on younger viewers.