The State of Digital Media

TYT has been riding through a difficult storm that is consuming the entire digital media landscape. Last year, we witnessed over fifty media companies lay off their staff or shut down completely. But that was last year. Today, we’re going to give you an update on the state of digital media.

Rooster Teeth is no more. This company was a pioneer of online animated short-form content before YouTube even existed. For over twenty years, they built a small but loyal fanbase of dedicated fans. In March, Warner Bros. Discovery announced that they were shutting the studio down and laying off all their staff. Rooster Teeth is fondly remembered for their “Red Vs. Blue” and “RWBY” series. But they aren’t the only ones. 

Two news companies have disappeared this year. The 24-hour news channel Scripps News and The Examiner are the latest victims in this industry-wide downturn. One million people tuned in to Scripps News’s VP Debate coverage in September and The Examiner once boasted having 20 million monthly readers. But despite these achievements, these media companies could not survive these difficult times. 

But these are relatively small companies. Some of you have probably never heard of them. But maybe you’ve heard of MSNBC? No, they are not being shut down. But they are in big trouble. On November 20th, NBC Universal announced they are ending their relationship with the network along with CNBC, E!, Syfy, USA, Oxygen, Golf Channel, Fandango, and Rotten Tomatoes. Essentially these companies can no longer be able to rely on their behemoth parent company Comcast and will have to survive on their own as a new entity. They might even lose their name since NBC is still a part of the Comcast company. Rick Cordella of NBC Sports referred to the spin-off deal as, “a microcosm of our larger industry…wWhen NBCU was first purchased by Comcast, [the cable channels] were the crown jewel, and now we’re looking at things a bit differently in this fragmented media world that we’re in.”

No one is safe, including our network. There’s nothing to spin off here. TYT needs your support to survive this difficult time. But that’s okay. Our audience has supported us for over 22 years and we love being accountable to you. TYT will be here fighting for positive change as long as viewers like you support us.