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 Dayze:
man, Primtime with Berman and TJ was sooooo good back in the day.
hard to imagine back in the day, I used to tune into Primtime just to see what else happened around the league that day before all the Monday morning newspaper articles etc. man...times have changed lol.
Have to agree here. I understand it is almost 100% a factor of nostalgia, but there is something special about the age before NFL Redzone and up to the minute stat updates on fantasy football when NFL Primetime was the best way to get highlights at the end of a Sunday.
I recently found that I have been watching this YouTube channel who has playlists of the highlights of every game for seasons in the 1990s and enjoying it immensely while we are in a dead NFL season.
Originally Posted by kcxiv:
i bet thats a very very small part of it, the real big part of it, is people are cutting cable. I know i did last year and i dont even miss it. There is no reason to watch espn or fox sports outside of live sports. Most people spend hours upon hours looking at their stupid phones and can get what they need from there. Hell, i fi want to check the score to say the Dodgers game now days, i just head on over to r/dodgers and open up the game thread. They have the highlights already imbedded in the thread in real time.
Hard to say how big a part it is but I'll bet it's more than just a small part. You're correct in your assessment but I think you're underestimating the negative effects of the constant woke bs. Hell, the NBA has suffered because they went all woke last year. I love the NBA but I stopped watching last year because I couldn't stand that shit.
Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud:
ESPN+ is growing quickly, in part because of Chris Berman and Prime Time.
I watch it every week and really missed it while Berman was "retired".
It's still the best weekly wrap up show, IMO, and by a wide margin. Inside The NFL on Showtime pales in comparison to the program it was in the 80's and 90's while on HBO.
I wouldn't be surprised if their numbers jumped up right around when they made all the articles from any columnist worth a damn espn+ only. [Reply]
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