Looks like this game of cyber-gossip telephone might have gotten its wires tangled. Numerous websites have reported, via anonymous sources, that layoffs at MTV Networks went beyond the 250 announced on Tuesday. Some of those sites have definitively stated that hallmark MTV programming like Total Request Live and perhaps even whole satellite channels, like MTV2 and VH1 Classic, were nixed entirely. Not so, according to network brass. "There is no truth to the rumors about TRL, MTV2 and VH1 Classic going away," states David Bittler, a spokesperson for MTV Networks. "Some of the staff have been let go from positions within those networks, but those networks will continue. And from the consumer's point of view, there will be no changes to the programming on those networks or on [TRL]." Further clarifying the distinction between lost personnel and the retaining of long-standing programming, Bittler adds that, "There will be some centralization going on between VH1 Classic, MTV2 and the other music channels we have, but I cannot stress enough that those businesses are not going away."
