Turner Broadcasting CEO John Martin sent out a memo to the Turner staff on Monday announcing a new “Turner 2020” initiative and likely staff changes.
In the memo Martin explained: “To commit to staying top of market, we need to prioritize programming, monetization and innovation investment while reducing spending in less-impactful areas.”
Later, the honcho added: “This may mean staff changes. In fact, I’ll be surprised if it doesn’t.”
Martin also applauded many successes he’s seen happen in the year, but clearly he is looking to ‘iron out the creases’. “I want to see Turner vibrant and market-leading in programming, branding, innovation and profitability in 2020 (the 50th-anniversary year of our company’s founding),” the exec wrote towards the end.
Martin is not the only chief executive officer in the family who has taken issue with some of Turner’s programming. On an 30 April earnings call, Jeff Bewkes who is head of Time Warner Inc, Turner Broadcasting’s parent company, expressed his frustration with Turner property TNT. “We didn’t take enough creative risk with its programming, and as a result, TNT has lost some ground with younger viewers,” Bewkes said.