In an enormous cultural loss reminiscent of the degaussed tapes incidents in the early days of television, Paramount Global has removed the online archives to ComedyCentral.com, TVLand.com, MTVNews.com, and CMT.com from public access.
The move takes away a quarter century or more of online content. It is unclear if the content has been saved for future use.
In a statement, a Paramount Global spokesperson said the takedowns came as part of a broader website strategy across Paramount. “We have introduced more streamlined versions of our sites, driving fans to Paramount+ to watch their favorite shows.” The writers, editors and videographers on the sites were apparently given no warning of the changes, sparking outrage that their work has now vanished.
Michael Alex, part of the team that launched MTV News in 1996, posted to Facebook about the move. “It’s a huge loss and a waste of something extremely valuable to anyone who cares about the history of great music,” he wrote.
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