Yesterday, as fans around Australia were digesting the news that Channel V, Foxtel’s long-running music channel, would be discontinued, staff at the pay-TV giant were digesting the far tougher to swallow news that they may soon be out of a job.

As Tone Deaf reported, after more than 20 years on the air, Channel V would be absorbed into sister channel V Hits this Friday. Unlike Channel V, which features long-form programs and interviews, V Hits and V Hits +2 focus solely on music videos and countdowns.

Meanwhile, Foxtel’s other music channels, like MAX and Smooth, will not be affected. In an internal email, Foxtel’s Executive Director of Television, Brian Walsh, said the changes are part of a bid to keep Foxtel “match fit in an increasingly competitive landscape”.

“For us, this is a decision that really was taken in view of what our customers and our audiences are telling us,” Walsh recently told The Music. “It’s an evolution really of where music television has been going globally over the last five years.”

“MTV abandoned the music format five years ago, in favour of long form and they’re best known as a reality channel now. The Channel V brand is not disappearing. We are absolutely retaining V Hits, which is the number one music brand on Australian subscription television.”

“But the audiences for music television on linear have been fragmenting for some time,” Walsh explained. “There are a lot more options now, particularly for that younger demo, the under ’40s market.”

It seems somewhat counterintuitive. Channels like MTV found success after abandoning a primarily clip-based format as audiences migrate away from such programming, so Foxtel respond by doubling down on music videos?

“Foxtel spent $ 2.5 billion on securing rights to the AFL and $ 1.8 billion for the NRL.”

As the Daily Mail reports, on the same day the news of Channel V’s axing surfaced, the paper learned that at least 50 Foxtel staffers are set to lose their jobs as the cable provider makes cuts across the organisation to accommodate their multi-billion dollar bid for the AFL and NRL.

With on-demand services like Netflix slowly cannibalising Foxtel’s user base, it’s hardly surprising the company would shift focus to the one thing it still has over on-demand streaming – live sports.

According to the Daily Mail, some staff members have already been called into meetings and offered redundancies as part of the company’s latest restructure. The cuts follow the more than 100 redundancies Foxtel made less than a month ago across their technical and installation teams.

“Like every business, we regularly review our cost base and structure to make sure we are operating in the most efficient manner,” a Foxtel spokesperson told the Daily Mail Australia.

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“By doing this we can free up resources to invest in content and innovative technology. To achieve this we have recently undertaken a review and are in the process implementing the resulting changes, which unfortunately do involve some redundancies.”

“We have managed this issue where possible through not filling vacant roles over the last few months.” The spokesperson did not offer an exact number but denied rumours another 100 staffers are set to get the axe.

“There’s an overall push for the platform to cut promos across channels and all creative areas to make up the deficit of purchasing sport and funding local productions,” a Foxtel insider told the Daily Mail Australia.

The Daily Mail reports that Foxtel spent $2.5 billion on securing rights to the AFL and $1.8 billion for the NRL.

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