Layoffs Coming to Fox O&O's

Yesterday, FTVLive told you that budget cuts are being made at the Fox O&O's.​

We reported that the usual steps are being taken, no overtime, no purchase of stringer videos, ect. 

There have been no layoffs as of yet, but that may soon change.​

Sources tell FTVLive that Betsy Swanson, the CFO for the Fox Stations is crunching the numbers and it looks like job cuts are a real possibility.

Many of the O&O's have seen their newscasts numbers remain flat or even drop.

Sources point to two reasons for that.​

First is that Fox's primetime ratings are down. When your lead in drops, you news ratings drop, simple as that. 

The second reason, could be because  Fox News numbers are also down.  Fox corp has wanted the stations for sometime to look and feel like FNC and one source tells FTVLive that might it's coming back to bite them in the ass. 

Word is that at the highest level a hiring freeze and layoffs have been talked about ​

Sources also tell FTVLive that Shari Berg, VP of news ops, is exploring cheaper ways to produce the news.

The company is looking at technology that will all but replace live trucks. With video over Internet getting better and better, this is a path that many stations will be taking. But it looks like the Fox O&O's maybe looking to lead the way. 

Stay tuned... ​