On Friday in a surprise announcement, the entire staff for StarTrek.com team was laid off as part of a larger series of cost cuts at CBS Interactive. The layoffs have put the future of the official site for Star Trek in doubt. Now TrekMovie.com has been sent an official statement from CBS, see below
Official Statement from CBS (should be available on STARTREK.COM shortly)
CBS Interactive, which oversees StarTrek.com, is reorganizing the way it does business to align the division’s workforce with its new vision that focuses on building communities online.
CBS Interactive remains absolutely committed to StarTrek.com and to growing the site along with its users by directly tapping into and utilizing the passionate fan base that has supported the site.
It has been your support and contributions to the lore of Star Trek that are what make StarTrek.com a vibrant place to be. To that end, we encourage you to keep the conversation alive and flowing using our message boards.
Jump into the conversation here!
CBS committed to keeping StarTrek.com alive
The statement is similar to the more general statement issued by CBS on Friday. CBS appears to be committed to keeping a site up at startrek.com, but what site and who will run it is still up in the air. Someone close to the matter tells TrekMovie.com “the site will get stronger, better, faster, live longer and prosper even more…there are no plans to shut it down.” TrekMovie.com can confirm that the Friday decision was entirely made by CBS Interactive and was part of a larger cost-cutting and restructuring effort at CBS-I. TrekMovie.com has also learned that some within CBS (outside of CBS Interactive) are not happy about the layoffs and are making inquirees internally about the fate of the site and the laid off staff. There is some speculation that the budget cuts are related to belt-tightening across all the networks who are going to be facing a big drop in ad revenue in the new year due to the WGA strike.
UPDATED: Farewell removed…staff still laid off
The above statement has now been put up at StarTrek.com, it has replaced the ‘farewell’ message and banner that were put up by the staff on Friday. However, this is not because they have been rehired. TrekMovie.com has confirmed that the staff are still laid off. You may notice some updates to the site today and over the next week, but these are all automated updates that were programmed in last week.
Nothing to do with new moive
The lay offs at StarTrek.com have nothing to do with Paramount or their plans for promotion of the new Star Trek movie over the next year. As has been the custom with other recent films, Paramount will have a separate promotional site for the new movie (which would be linked to startrek.com). To date Paramount has been using ‘startrek.com’ as the destination for all promotional materials related to the upcoming Star Trek film. It is likely that this would also be the case for the upcoming trailer premiering on January 18th with Cloverfield. It is unknown what effect the changes at StarTrek.com will have on Paramount’s plans for the online promotion for Star Trek. Bear in mind that CBS and Paramount share the Star Trek brand and although they work closely together, they are totally separate entities with their own agendas and decision making structures.
I couldn’t imagine an internet without a startrek.com in it.
Commited to startrek.com, sure, but not to the people who made it for the last years. Growl.
Oh, and, first :)
oh, well..
This is really a shame. I can only hope that once we get closer to the release of the new film a new site will be launched in its place.
This is a kind of a weird situation.
The people behind StarTrek.com were awesome. It was always a site that listed official news, and related news, as fast as possible. They got to break news, and they didn’t make us wait for much. Anything that was happening, we learned about fast, and they rarely sugar-coated. The love was there, and the site was set up pretty nicely, just from a browsing a cool looking website point of view.
On the other hand, if this means we’ll be a step closer to the people actually creating and working on Star Trek, I’ll be glad to know that every once in a while they’ll read what I have to say. Of course, I’d already be inclined to believe that the people behind Trek are pretty internet savvy, and get around to the majority of the popular viewpoints, and even read some pretty obscure, off-beat ones as well.
My opinion either way doesn’t get too crazy … Trek is a franchise, and they’re gonna do what they’re gonna do to make money. I just think it’s cool if this is so fan feedback is easier to get to the highest level.
“Christmas is cancelled…. thanks CBS.”
overheard outside Startrek.com offices Friday.
1.: you’re looking at it.
THIS ALL HAPPENED BECAUSE THEY DIDN’T CAST SHATNER IN STAR TREK XI…!
And you know it! :)
What ever happened to “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”?
I’ve visited StarTrek.com many times a week going back nearly 10 years. Though I visit here more often each day than StarTrek.com, I love having the website for having the database of each series, each episode, each movie, and more, not to mention coverage of conventions and more. Years ago they called it the Continuum. Since when does a continuum end? Luckily there’s still this site.
There’s better Trek sites out there than ST.com. This site, and Trek Today, etc.
You know I never really frequented that site. Used to go to trekweb or trektoday back in the day.. then trekmovie showed up.. good site you got here. I do recall the startrek.com site was in good form though so I will be sad to see it go..
So as this site is called trekmovie, any plans for trekmovie post trek (what are we on now?) 11? trek 12?
We live in a disgusting world where bean counters rule the fates of too many…….
R. I. P. Star Trek.Com!!!
You will be missed!
CBSi, YOU SUCK!!!
Until Next Time,
FM!!
Thank goodness the 23rd century isn’t an economy based civilization. There is nothing civilized about laying people off at the holidays. Kudos to the team behinf startrek.com. I’ve been a long-time and regular visitor of the site. If CBS is laying off this team, I highly doubt the site will remain online very long…at least as it is now. Will we lose all the great libraries? All the news updates? I’m sure Paramount will have a separate site dedicated to the new movie in the near future but I doubt CBS will maintain a site for fans of the various series. It makes me long for the days of all the great fan-based sites that used to exist before Paramount and CBS forced their closures.
Oh, and thank goodness for this site. Although these are my first potinfs, I visit this site at least once daily. Keep up the great work!
I like the wizard of OZ.
#9 Jeff
That only works if it doesn’t cost you a couple geeks worth of salary every month.
That announcement is just a typical steaming pile of meaningless corporate buzzwords. Barf.
St.com never updated the site! It never had con updates, or what was going on with the latest movie. Everything was a huge ad.
Why does the phrase, “reorganizing the way it does business to align the division’s workforce with it’s new vision” have to include mass firings?
The words “reorganizing” and “align” would seem to suggest a reshuffling of personnel or, at most, a reassignment.
Hmmmm…………..maybe CBS stands for
Can’t
Bull____
Straight!
Disgraceful!!!
It’s not like I didn’t know this was coming. I mean, they’d be insane not to use the domain and we all said so at the time.
They fired the decade-old staff ten days before Christmas! No forgiveness! No CSI! No Jericho! And no HD-DVD!
this is outrageous. such a shame what money can do. i loved the photos, info, and all the other news. great site, terrible end.
If that speculation regarding the WGA strike holds out… if the studios started paying the writers what they deserve, then maybe there wouldn’t have to be any of these cost-cutting lay-offs.
To those responsible for laying off the StarTrek.com team: your statement does not impress me. Whatever you are planning for the site can be done with the old team. In the immortal words of Bender the robot, bite my shiny metal ass!
Not that my ass is shiny or made of metal… but that’s not the point, now is it? :P
I’ve never been a go-out-of-my-way pro-unionist, but this smacks of corporate crapweasel tit-for-tat. Maybe if they concentrated less on the bottom line and more on creativity, they’d garner a bigger audience, leading to increased revenus and then they could pay the gaddamned writers a decent wage. Jeezus, that Economics 101, but I haven’t seen much on any of the alphabet networks that’s captured my interest and invaluable time for 20 years. I have an agenda to keep. The History Channel is more enlightening and entertaining. And I watch it.
Their comitted to the money those of us who visit startrek.com like to spend.
Well the http://www.keepstartrekalive.com site is still active. I won’t shut it down, but it looks like I might not even need the site :(
Just be skeptical of all the blah! blah! Join this! Buy that!
Sorry guys, we joined and bought a long time ago. Anything else?
TrekCore rips off ST.com anyway. Just go there.
I HATE CBS and MOONVES. I am so sick of awful business decsions, not just limited to Trek. Most notably the cancellation of Enterprise, but also the “firing” of Dan Rather, the suing of Howard Stern, and now Startrek.com’s “cancellation”.
Trek fans are continuously dismissed by upper management, with the exception of Paramount’s new direction in budget for STAR TREK.
They didn’t need to fire those people, especially before the holidays. They continue to alienate us, good job CBS.
CBS: “Are there no fan sites?”
Former staffer: “They are. I wish I could say there were not.”
CBS: And the BBS’s, are they still in operation?”
Former staffer: “Many would rather die than go there!”
CBS: “Then if they’d rather die, they had better do it and decrease the surplus web builder population!”
I had the honor of working on star trek.com during the redesign a few years back and I can say they will be sorely missed.
The staff at st.com are an immensely talented group of people and will certainly land feet up. Good luck to you all!
Well said Jar Jar.
#13
Your statement about bean counters ruling the world is dead on unfortunately. Here’s hoping that they do a better job of running things when the reigns are handed to the younger generation.
This is the last connection to the old Star Trek. In with the NEW trek.
^
Cleary (IMO) this is a result of the majority of the fans that support the Writers.
^
And its the STUDIOS that are striking back out of greed revenge…
Just like cbs/viacom when they canceled “Enterprise” and fired Berman Braga, and also shut down the Star Trek Magazine “Communicator” that was the last big slap in the face to the fans.
^
#18 Tom hit it right on, this is strait from Moonves ASSistant. he hates the trek fans.
^
And a majority of us hate you back…
Moonves. Don’t forget we can make you or break you with our fan dollars at the BO.
#18
Hear, hear!
If it smells like BS and looks like BS, it most likely is BS.
This is corporate BS in its most odious and detestable form!
Worst of all, this “statement” assumes the fans will swallow this BS!
CBS needs a wake up call from all of us who love Trek and appreciate folks like the ST.COM staff who really have a stewardship for the franchise.
Glad to have people like Anthony who don’t have to answer to the corporate powers.
“There is some speculation that the budget cuts are related to belt-tightening across all the networks who are going to be facing a big drop in ad revenue in the new year due to the WGA strike.”
So, the writers go on strike, and CBS take it out on us fans?
Star Trek.com was at one time my fav site but I hardly ever go there these days. The site is tooo comercial and slow in posting news. Also I dislike the current form of the site.
If the site was to close down it would be no real loss these days.
Long live Trekmovie.com.
LLAP
Yeah, this makes sense. You need to save costs, lay off the staff but promise that the site will keep growing.
They deserve hate mail. Those arrogant corporate bastards. Lots of it.
I’m serious.
Corporate lowlifes! They will kill us all.
The suits never know what is best.
However this just sounds like someone
who wants to start from scratch with a new staff.
It seems they look at un-official websites like this
as kicking they’re asses in the hits department.
And they would be right.
For the last year or so I’ve been hitting this website everyday.
Meanwhile visiting the official site much less.
The official site has had piss poor coverage of the Movie.
Plus they’re updates on the Star Trek B & sometimes C actors,
just makes me feel like a big “Who Gives A Rats Ass”!
The official site has a great episode & movie guide
& has great media to go with.
The content they have is great.
They need a message board & more focused reports.
Everyone wants to know if Shatner is in the film.
We never get sick of hearing about what Nimoy is saying.
What its going on with the film?
What is going on with the online animation project?
Talk to the Okuda’s about the re-mastered.
But please I could give two shits about what some
un-employed Voyager actor is doing in some new crappy project.
Who every takes over should read Trek Movie Report Posts.
Keep the focus on Star Trek.
This is but another sad chapter in the long and shitty history of Star Trek marketing by Paramount/Viacom/CBS. If only Trek were as well handled as the Star Wars franchise. The inaccuracies of Star Trek toys and kits during my ’70s childhood used to piss me off no end. (the poorly-sized, inaccurate “Exploration Set” anyone?)