Doom & Gloom In Unscripted TV: Producers Battle Challenging Conditions As Mid-Sized Firms Face Layoffs

deadline.com:

EXCLUSIVE: It’s a tough time to be a mid-sized unscripted production company right now. A slow-down of greenlights amid cost-cutting within all of the major media conglomerates and seemingly no bump from the writers and actors strike, as many were expecting, has led to doom and gloom across the non-scripted sector.

This has led to many companies having to undergo layoffs. Deadline understands that companies including Bunim/Murray, Half-Yard Productions and Propagate Content have all cut staff recently and more are expected to follow suit.

ITV America-backed High Noon Entertainment informed its local production staff in Denver that due to production cycles, the number of workers contracted when shows weren’t in production would be reduced, while we hear Hot Snakes Media is in a similar situation. “It’s the toughest time to be in unscripted that I can remember,” one unscripted producer told Deadline.

Another source said it was a “brutal” moment in the sector given all of the layoffs. Bunim/Murray Productions, which is part of the Banijay empire, is best known for producing long-running series such as Keeping Up With The Kardashians and The Real World with more recent projects including The Challenge, for networks including MTV and CBS, Paramount+’s The Family Stallone and the first season of Amazon Prime Video’s Lizzo’s Watch Out For The Big Grrrls as well as CBS’ upcoming Buddy Games and Hulu’s Vanderpump Villa.