EXCLUSIVE: NBCUniversal is winding down LX, a 3-year-old network with the stated mission of delivering viewers “the stories you need with more sass and less suits.”
People familiar with the decision told Deadline the nearly 40 workers affected by the move are being actively considered for new positions within NBCU.
NBCU declined to comment when contacted by Deadline.
Like every media company, NBCU has been tightening its belt during the currently challenging economic times and entered 2023 with some scattered staff reductions rippling across the company. The economics of the TV network business have changed dramatically in recent years and NBCU and parent Comcast have not hesitated to unplug operations like NBC Sports Network and G4 as the company’s strategy has evolved.
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The exact timing of when LX will sign off is unclear, but it is likely to happen in mid-2023, insiders said.
NBCUniversal Local, the division overseeing several dozen local stations, regional sports networks and other assets, developed LX initially as a digital news network and then expanded it to broadcast and streaming. Just as it was widening its scope in 2020, Covid upended the world and the media business along with it.
LX was focused on attracting Gen X and Y viewers, roughly those between 18 and 49, as part of an effort to retain younger audiences increasingly lured away from linear TV by social media, gaming and other options. The network is distinct from the LX-branded production entity, which is remaining in the fold as a specialist in lifestyle programming, which it has supplied since NBC’s 2008 acquisition of startup LX.tv.
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