Getty Image
Paramount is shedding Rob Dyrdek’s massive contract.
After the Skydance-Paramount merger, CEO David Ellison asked his top execs to figure out a way to save MTV, which has lost it’s luster in recent years.
Ellison, whose company was in the midst of merging with MTV owner Paramount, and his top executive, Jeff Shell, told the group that they realized the network was in bad shape. Still, they wondered whether it could become a “music tastemaker” again.
One of the first moves Ellison’s team has made is to cut the longstanding franchise of Ridiculousness, which has been on the air for 14 years.
According to TMZ, the move was due to the network “exploring fresh formats, different creative voices, and refreshed programming.”
The move to cancel Ridiculousness comes one day after Bloomberg News reported that Dyrdek was being paid $32 million a year to host the show.
MTV pays Dyrdek, an ex-professional skateboarder turned serial media entrepreneur, at least $32.5 million a year for its typical 336 episode-per-year slate, according to court documents reviewed by Bloomberg News.
The pay, which hasn’t been previously disclosed, includes bonuses as well as a $21,000-per-episode executive producer fee and an escalating $61,000-per-episode on-camera fee, which could rise to as much as $101,000 near the end of the current agreement, the court papers say.
Fans eacted to the news on social media.
Ridiculousness another casualty of the Paramount/Skydance merger but then again the show had ran it’s course and should’ve ended about five years ago or so especially when similar shows and content creators started
— Corey Payne (@Cpayne1208) October 31, 2025
Might as well cancel MTV then cause what other reason is that channel being watched for now https://t.co/TIhn5ltWze
— 🥷🏾 (@NikeTechRanger) October 31, 2025