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 ChiefBlueCFC:
Man I miss the SportsCenter and ESPN of old. I used to be able to watch it for hours back in the 90s. They had so many great people on there. Now it is all about opinions and who has the most ridiculous take to rile up the people
Originally Posted by Coogs:
I have not watched more than 10 minutes of ESPN since the draft in April. And those 10 were this week when Mahomes signed his deal.
Originally Posted by Mecca:
If MTV still showed videos they would be a channel that's dead in the water.
Originally Posted by Bowser:
The few times I've turned it on I've seen a show called Ridiculousness that's made some stoned out of head girl famous for having a terrible laugh. And like Mecca said, shows promoting teenaged girls popping out kids.
Yeah, Viacom is making an absolute killing on their reality shows and have for years on end. I have music on all of those shows and a good friend of mine wrote the Theme Song for the Teen Mom shows, so he's been making a killing for more than a decade.
Look for the same type of shows on TNT and TBS in the coming years because they're switching to Reality TV while all of their scripted shows and repeats move to HBO Max. [Reply]
Originally Posted by BigRedChief:
Sounds like America in 2020.
From my understanding, ESPN is trying to skew younger with their talk shows and plan to add more content for that demographic.
I subscribe to ESPN, ESPN 2 and ESPN+ and I really couldn't care less about the majority of their programming outside of sports and haven't watched Sportscenter in ages.
I did like NFL Primetime with Berman and Jackson last year on ESPN+, although I don't care for the re-records of the classic music from the 80's because they just didn't capture that sound, IMO.
Sample libraries and scooped guitars just sound weird to my ears, probably because I've heard the original versions for decades but regardless, I didn't care for their production choices with the new versions. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Bowser:
The few times I've turned it on I've seen a show called Ridiculousness that's made some stoned out of head girl famous for having a terrible laugh. And like Mecca said, shows promoting teenaged girls popping out kids.
My apologies for going off the thread topic: VH-1 airs all of the MTV videos from the 80's these days in one or two hour blocks, although it's not broadcast in High Def, let alone, 4K, so it's a bit of an adjustment.
That said, watching all of those videos is super fun because the music, clothes and artists were super fun. It's definitely a trip back in time. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud:
My apologies for going off the thread topic: VH-1 airs all of the MTV videos from the 80's these days in one or two hour blocks, although it's not broadcast in High Def, let alone, 4K, so it's a bit of an adjustment.
That said, watching all of those videos is super fun because the music, clothes and artists were super fun. It's definitely a trip back in time.
It would be good to take a trip back in time to the 80's right about now. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud:
From my understanding, ESPN is trying to skew younger with their talk shows and plan to add more content for that demographic.
I subscribe to ESPN, ESPN 2 and ESPN+ and I really couldn't care less about the majority of their programming outside of sports and haven't watched Sportscenter in ages.
I did like NFL Primetime with Berman and Jackson last year on ESPN+, although I don't care for the re-records of the classic music from the 80's because they just didn't capture that sound, IMO.
Sample libraries and scooped guitars just sound weird to my ears, probably because I've heard the original versions for decades but regardless, I didn't care for their production choices with the new versions.
I run a bar game that is basically Bingo with 45 second song clips. Had a 90s category last night and had forgotten how many butchered covers there were. [Reply]
Originally Posted by :
Tom Rinaldi, one of ESPN’s top on-air reporters, is leaving for Fox, where he is expected to be featured across all of its major events from the Super Bowl to the World Series to the World Cup and college football, according to sources.