Paramount+’s Communications Team Dissolved As Layoffs Hit Streamer Hard

We had been hearing for weeks that Paramount+, which was spared in the first wave of Paramount Global’s ongoing layoffs last month, would take the brunt of cuts in the second round. That has been happening today, with entire departments eliminated.

One of the units that is essentially being dissolved is Paramount+’s communications operation, with SVPs Morgan Seal and Amanda Cary among those impacted. The move was foreshadowed last week by the departure of Erin Calhoun who oversaw the department as EVP, Head of Communications, Paramount Streaming & Showtime and Cross-Company Publicity. Seal and Cary both reported to her.

The functions under Calhoun: publicity, photo, events, awards, talent relations, etc, are all being eliminated at Paramount+ and will be handled by the studios supplying the streamer, including CBS Studios and MTV Entertainment Studios, I hear. That already was done on the programming side with the disbandment of the Paramount+ Originals team during one of the previous rounds of Paramount Global cuts.

A rep for Paramount Global declined comment.

As Deadline reported exclusively earlier today, 29-year veteran Tina Koyanagi-Rosener and her eight-person team in content strategy for Paramount+ were among the hundreds who were laid off as part of Paramount Global’s plan to slash 15% of its U.S. workforce.

Seal was a 13-year company veteran, Cary had been at Showtime and Paramount+ for 12 years. Both sent out farewell notes today, announcing their departures.

During her tenure, Seal helped to shepherd publicity for the Taylor Sheridan projects and the Star Trek universe, among others. After working for Clicker Media Inc., Seal joined CBS Interactive in New York in 2011. She served as the Director of Communications from 2015 to 2019 before joining Paramount+ communications as a VP in 2019. She was upped to SVP in 2022.

Cary, who joined Showtime in 2013 and was promoted to SVP in 2022, oversaw the New York-based entertainment PR team, working on series such as Dexter and Yellowjackets, before segueing to Paramount+ last year. She came to Showtime after five years at USA Network, where she helped launch series including Suits and Covert Affairs.