GoPro Slashes 15% of Workforce, Shuts Down Entertainment Division (variety.com)

GoPro has announced that it will lay off more than 200 employees and freeze hiring, amounting to a reduction of about 15% of its workforce. As part of the restructuring, the company is also shutting down its entertainment division. In addition, the company said president Tony Bates will be leaving the company. From a report on Variety: Also Wednesday, GoPro also said Black Friday camera unit sales were up more than 35% year-over-year at leading U.S. retailers. GoPro said its Hero5 Black camera has been the best-selling digital-imaging device in the U.S. since it launched Oct. 2, citing NPD Group data. GoPro shares climbed more than 4% in premarket trading Wednesday on the news. The move appears to spell the end of the struggling company's ambitions to branch out beyond device sales into the entertainment biz, which had included plans to produce original shows. The GoPro entertainment unit has been led by Ocean MacAdams, who previously held programming posts at MTV, Warner Music Group, and the Madison Square Garden Co., after Zander Lurie left in January to become CEO of SurveyMonkey. The division at one point had about 200 staffers, including Bill McCullough, who produced award-winning sports documentaries for HBO, and Joe Lynch, who previously led Time Inc.'s live-streaming initiatives.

Comments

Possible solution

[WormholeFiend]

Sell GoPros to the low-blood-in-the-brain pot smokers from the previous article, who will make crazier videos and in turn promote the GoPro brand? /be a hero

Re: Possible solution

[Nunya666]

GoPro is an overly-priced digital video recorder. What made it become a successful product is that it includes a waterproof acrylic case that is designed to hold the camera, along with multiple gadgets that let you mount the case to just about anything. Using a GoPro, you can get 1st-person video of outdoor sports activities, without worrying about getting your camera wet.

The problem is the price. $400 (or more) for a sport camera is a bit pricey for many people, including me. Although some models are cheaper than that, most are too much $$$.

I have a GearPro that I bought for less than half the price of a GoPro, and mine works great. It is mounted to my bicycle helmet that I wear while commuting to work on my bike. The video quality is amazing.

Yeah, GoPro

[GeekWithAKnife]

Got one as a present. Videos look nice butc I learn that;

Getting quality footage is hard and gets in the way of the activity.

I'm not a cameraman and should never quit my day job to become one.

There's always some fucking annoying mount to get, fix, attach or remove.

Batties, storage and lens dirty are always an issue.

There's far better options online and most people would not care much to see yours because "awesome" stuff is like garbage these days.

There's a fuckton of shit to do with the money a GoPro is sold for these days.

I am not a hero and neither is 99.999% of people.

Will anyone record the meeting?

[gachunt]

I wonder if anyone will record/stream the meeting where they are getting fired.