ESPN reportedly plans another big round of layoffs in the coming weeks
BY PETE GRATHOFF
NOVEMBER 10, 2017 9:10 AM
Once upon a time, “SportsCenter” was must-see television for fans. But ESPN’s one-time signature program apparently will be at the center of another round of layoffs that reportedly will happen in the coming weeks.
Sports Illustrated reported that more than 100 people will lose their jobs after Thanksgiving. This is from the SI story:
The layoffs, which were described by a person briefed on the plans, will hit positions across ESPN including front-facing talent on the television side, producers, executives, and digital and technology staffers. The SportsCenter franchise is expected to be hit hard—including on-air people—given the frequency of the show has lessened considerably on main network ESPN.
As more people drop cable in favor of streaming, ESPN has felt the financial pinch. In April, ESPN cut a number of long-time journalists as part of a round of layoffs that included 100 people.
According to the Los Angeles Times, ESPN weighed down the earnings of its parent company, Walt Disney, in a report on Thursday. The Times said that Disney’s “revenue declined 3 percent and the company failed to meet analysts’ expectations.”
The holiday season may seem like a harsh time to shed jobs. But Sports Illustrated said one reason why ESPN is planning the layoffs between Thanksgiving and Christmas is so employees can received another year in the stock vesting program.
Originally Posted by RunKC:
Steve Young, Max Kellerman, Suzy Kolber, Jeff Van Gundy, Matt Hasselbeck, Todd McShay, Keyshawn Johnson and Jalen Rose all got laid off by ESPN this morning
Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry:
ESPN would know through the traffic and video views which of the draft guys get the most hits, I'm sure Kiper's mocks do the trick.
Or hear me out here. They're really not sure what they're doing. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Mecca:
ESPN pays so much for game rights they are going to run skeleton crews with no names.
I was curious who is even doing their Sunday NFL countdown show these days. Haven't watched in years, probably since Berman retired.
Apparently it's somebody named Samantha Ponder as host as well as Tedy Bruschi, Randy Moss, and Rex Ryan, with Hasselbeck recently getting axed. Whether they'll replace any of those others remains to be seen, but I don't see anybody that makes me really go, "Oh, that guy says cool and funny things all the time! It's probably worth my time to watch this!"
Only so many times you can get good TV out of a former diva WR, a dick-sucking Patriot blowhard whose only contribution is telling players to do their jobs, and an old man yelling at a cloud because you can't hit QBs anymore. [Reply]
Originally Posted by RealSNR:
I was curious who is even doing their Sunday NFL countdown show these days. Haven't watched in years, probably since Berman retired.
Apparently it's somebody named Samantha Ponder as host as well as Tedy Bruschi, Randy Moss, and Rex Ryan, with Hasselbeck recently getting axed. Whether they'll replace any of those others remains to be seen, but I don't see anybody that makes me really go, "Oh, that guy says cool and funny things all the time! It's probably worth my time to watch this!"
Only so many times you can get good TV out of a former diva WR, a dick-sucking Patriot blowhard whose only contribution is telling players to do their jobs, and an old man yelling at a cloud because you can't hit QBs anymore.
They still have a metric shitton of NFL guys.
Damien Woody
Orlovsky
Bruschi
Ninkovich
Moss
Rex Ryan
Louis Reddick
Herm
I'm sure I'm missing a few... [Reply]
Originally Posted by BryanBusby:
By their own doing. They set the rates they pay for broadcasting rights to games so they respond with stupid decision making.
That's before covering other stupid shit like breaking up Mike & Mike.
Mike Greenberg didn't wanna keep doing that show and he's paid like one of their top anchors, it financially made no sense. [Reply]