Russia-backed US news channel RT America ceases production, lays off all its employees

Russian government-controlled U.S. cable news channel RT America has ceased production and laid off all of its employees. A memo was sent to the staff on Thursday stating that the news channel will be “ceasing production.” The move comes after other versions of RT were banned across Europe and other countries. The channel has been removed by several cable operators in Canada and was also banned by the video streaming platform Youtube. 

RT America ceases production

Russian state-controlled international news channel RT America has decided to cease all production amidst the Russia-Ukraine crisis. As per Hollywood Reporter, the staff were sent a memo and were also informed of the decision in a town hall meeting Thursday. Employees of the channel in cities like New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and Miami are said to be impacted by the layoff.

In the memo sent by, Misha Solodovnikov, the general manager of T&R Productions, the company that manages and runs RT America, he told his employees that the move was made "as a result of unforeseen business interruption events."

He also added that they had no plans to start production again and that "unfortunately, we anticipate this layoff will be permanent." Holland Cooke, who is the host of RT America’s show The Big Picture, also confirmed the news in a blog post for Talkers magazine, writing, “We’ve been cancelled, by cable/satellite/online distribution platforms.”

Hollywood studios halt movie releases in Russia

As the Russian army continues to mount its military assault on Ukraine, the global entertainment fraternity has collectively decided to ban several events and releases of tentpole movies in Russia. Studios like Warner Bros., Walt Disney Co., and Sony Pictures announced on February 28 that they will halt the release of their films in Russia. Warner Bros. halted the release of The Batman in Russia, just a few days before the movie was set to open in theatres there. A studio representative stated in a statement, "In light of the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, WarnerMedia is pausing the release of its feature film The Batman in Russia. We will continue to monitor the situation as it evolves. We hope for a swift and peaceful resolution to this tragedy."

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