ESPN will part ways with more than 40 people, all of them “talent,” a label that ESPN applies to radio hosts and writers (almost all of whom regularly do video or audio), not just traditional TV personalities. ESPN says it has 1,000 people in the category. Still, you can expect most of the people cut to be faces you’ve seen on TV. In some cases, ESPN may buy people out of existing long-term contracts—as Sports Illustrated points out, that is unusual.
The cuts will mostly be done by May 9, when Disney announces its quarterly earnings, but could extend until May 16, when ESPN presents its annual Upfronts in Manhattan.
In a statement, an ESPN spokesperson said the approaching cuts are about innovating to suit the needs of consumers: “Today’s fans consume content in many different ways and we are in a continuous process of adapting to change and improving what we do. Inevitably that has consequences for how we utilize our talent. We are confident that ESPN will continue to have a roster of talent that is unequaled in sports.”
ESPN’s last major layoff round was in 2015, when it cut around 300 employees—a much larger number than is coming in May, but this time it’s viewer-facing, recognizable names. Before that, ESPN cut around 300 people in 2013, so we see a recent pattern of big layoffs every two years.
The reasons are clear if you’ve followed the fallout of cord-cutting: ESPN (and Fox Sports 1 just as much) is seeing viewership fall and rights fees continue to rise. ESPN pays fat fees for the right to show Monday Night Football ($1.9 billion per year through 2021), NBA games ($1.4 billion through 2025) and the College Football Playoff ($600 million through 2026), to name just a few. Its total programming costs are up to $8 billion this year. The situation is not tenable.
I stopped watching anything on espn other than 30 for 30 a while back. Don't miss it one bit, fuck them and their social commentary. Just do sports gat dangit.
I saw an article about this on Yahoo, and every single comment said the same thing: "Bullshit that this is about people cutting the cord. I stopped watching as soon as they started relentlessly shoving leftist politics down our throats."
sadic1 - I saw an article about this on Yahoo, and every single comment said the same thing: "Bullshit that this is about people cutting the cord. I stopped watching as soon as they started relentlessly shoving leftist politics down our throats."
It's not just that.
They also were like the Lebron/Manziel/Tebow network for like 3 straight years
sadic1 - I saw an article about this on Yahoo, and every single comment said the same thing: "Bullshit that this is about people cutting the cord. I stopped watching as soon as they started relentlessly shoving leftist politics down our throats."
yep, saw the same thing, Disney is trying to spin it that its people cutting the cord is why subscriptions are down, I agree 100% thats its the PC garbage they are shoving down your throat
sadic1 - I saw an article about this on Yahoo, and every single comment said the same thing: "Bullshit that this is about people cutting the cord. I stopped watching as soon as they started relentlessly shoving leftist politics down our throats."
It's not just that.
They also were like the Lebron/Manziel/Tebow network for like 3 straight years
Pretty much all of New England hates ESPN
What is funny about that is I hear Bill Burr shit on ESPN but then almost everyone else claims they suck the Pats dicks. I think they suck a lot of dicks so I can see both sides. F ESPN
