The ESPN Layoffs Have Begun

[MSOrange]

 

[MSOrange]

 

[Marroniac]

Is ESPN going full on Producers/Major League/Ted Lasso and trying to sabotage their own network?

if you actually watch and enjoy those talking head shows like First Take, please come forward and speak up. I’m not shaming you however would simply like some proof that you exist.

 

[MSOrange]

 

[Marroniac]

Breaking: ESPN has let go the “SPN” and is now just the E! Network.

 

[Marroniac]

Somebody please tell me these guys are safe:

 

[UpstateSM]

They could let go anyone doing SportsCenter making more than $100k. Does anyone tune in to watch Scott Van Pelt's opinion about anything? Can't anyone that just graduated from a credible broadcasting program deliver highlights?

I think SVP is worth every cent. But I am a gambler so I enjoy content from that angle.

He’s near the top of my “I’d love to have a beer or 10 with” list

 

[orangefog]

I think SVP is worth every cent. But I am a gambler so I enjoy content from that angle.

He’s near the top of my “I’d love to have a beer or 10 with” list

That's cool, I just long for the day when they just showed highlights and scores. I don't need to hear what anyone thinks about things. I want them to deliver information, preferably facts, so that I can form my own opinions.

 

[UpstateSM]

That's cool, I just long for the day when they just showed highlights and scores. I don't need to hear what anyone thinks about things. I want them to deliver information, preferably facts, so that I can form my own opinions.

I agree with that. When I was kid I religiously watched sportscenter just for the highlights.

I haven’t sat down and turned my tv to sportscenter in years. If SVP is on after a game I’m watching I’ll leave it on to asleep too, sometimes. That’s the extent for me.

ESPN stinks outside of some CBB and CFB broadcasting, imo.

 

[orangefog]

I agree with that. When I was kid I religiously watched sportscenter just for the highlights.

I haven’t sat down and turned my tv to sportscenter in years. If SVP is one after a game I’m watching I’ll leave it on to asleep too, sometimes. That’s the extent for me.

ESPN stinks outside of some CBB and CFB broadcasting, imo.

That's where I am at with ESPN, I just tune in for live sporting events.

 

[ForCuseSake]

Not disappointed LaPhonso is unlikely to call Cuse hoops games in the near future.

Suzy Kolber deserved another 10-15 years for how she dealt with drunken Joe Namath.

 

[Cuse181]

Is ESPN going full on Producers/Major League/Ted Lasso and trying to sabotage their own network?

if you actually watch and enjoy those talking head shows like First Take, please come forward and speak up. I’m not shaming you however would simply like some proof that you exist.

Profits are down considerably, they either need to launch a streaming-only version of linear ESPN (like iger has suggested) or they need to spin ESPN off (which the activists have been asking for). Considering the lay offs, my expectation is a sale/spin off is the most likely path; max out EBITDA margin to get a favorable multiple.

 

[RoofBeam]

Politics and sports programming don't really mix- good way to alienate half of your audience, though.

 

[SUFaninNJ]

I used to have ESPN on constantly. It hasn’t been that way for me in years. I don’t enjoy most of the talking heads (except for PTI) and the gambling and betting lines are over the top. Tuning into SportsCenter these days seems to be about 90% NBA/NFL and every other sport falls into the other 10%. I know you can’t go back, but I long for the days of The Big Show.

 

[donniesyracuse]

Politics and sports programming don't really mix- good way to alienate half of your audience, though.

That’s not what happened Tucker.

 

[EnviroSciGuy]

THEY BETTER NOT TOUCH BILL WALTON!!!

 

[JustPherU]

Haven’t watched ESPN talk shows since Mike and Mike went off the air.

 

[UpstateSM]

 

[Stern]

Is ESPN going full on Producers/Major League/Ted Lasso and trying to sabotage their own network?

if you actually watch and enjoy those talking head shows like First Take, please come forward and speak up. I’m not shaming you however would simply like some proof that you exist.

1) TV Viewership has been down overall in recent years due to cord-cutting and streaming, and it's affecting all of television. Look at the cuts at WBD, it's worse than what ESPN is going through, but got less attention because less high profile names. WBD (which owns TNT) is telling the NBA we may be out or we may only want 1 day a week in the next deal, hence why Barkley got his CNN show since he is on payroll and they don't want to lose him and they want to maximize him across their platforms.

2) Showbuzz Daily the platform/outlet that delivers the ratings, went out of business this week due to these factors in the television industry and unreliable Neilsen ratings now with streaming.

3) In the next round of NBA TV rights talks (which is going on now or will in the near future) TNT and ESPN are losing games, NBC and AMAZON are getting some, hence less need for NBA talent for ESPN and why Van Gundy, Rose, and other ESPN NBA talent is getting axed.

4) ESPN (which this is not really ESPN making this call, this is all coming from Disney) is cutting costs across the board, and their goal with ESPN is to gut the radio division (hence Max/Keyshawn...Jay Williams's contract expires in a month so that won't be renewed) and shift to Video content (Hence McAfee)...AND they want to get rid of talent who, for the most part, are one-trick ponies (ie Steve Young and Suzy Kolber only work NFL. Laphonso Ellis only does College Basketball) and offer little to no versatility. They want to maximize talent like McAfee who will do 1 hour on TV, give them 4 hours of YouTube each day, and be a part of their Radio, plus do the Manning-Cast for College games. Or Stephen A Smith who does First Take, the NBA Pre-Game shows, and other projects for ESPN, Wilbon who does NBA pre-game and PTI. SVP does his SportsCenter, Golf, and a few other events. The people getting let go, are really (for the most part, but not in all cases) people who just do one sport, make over a million or more, and are just part-time for the "season" their sport is active.

5) Shows like FIRST TAKE, PTI, Around the Horn...etc are cheap to produce typically and draw the biggest ratings, and get a ton of eyeballs. Because anyone can watch highlights if you have a smartphone these days, hence why SportsCenter is outdated. But people want to hear opinions. And being louder and more outrageous means more ratings and more attention. Whether you agree or disagree with the opinion, whether you like or don't like those types of shows...from a business standpoint, they draw RATINGS and bring in REVENUE! I do watch those shows because hearing people debate is more entertaining than watching highlights I can watch on my own time.

6) This gutting of talent and reducing the workforce is really Phase 1 of what ESPN is looking at in the next 3-5 years. They are preparing a DTC (Direct to Consumer) model streaming service which is their future. They are calling their streaming service "FLAGSHIP," and all eyes, money, and attention is on that. In order to make that profitable, they had to trim the fat of their talent roster. Today (and for the last few months) that has begun. In 2011 ESPN had over 100 million cable subscribers. Today they are down to 74 million and that number will continue to drop, hence ESPN is going DTC and it needs to cut talent and reduce costs to make that a financially feasible business. In Q1 of this year, 2.3 million people cut the cord and got rid of the cable, the most of any quarter in recent history. The number of American households with cable TV is the lowest it has been in over 30 years. That is what this is all about in the big picture, ESPN's shift to a DTC streaming service that is coming.

 

[GoSU96]

I suppose the Kardashians do as well.

Doesn’t change the fact that he has an audience.

I don’t listen to it.

 

[Stern]

That's cool, I just long for the day when they just showed highlights and scores. I don't need to hear what anyone thinks about things. I want them to deliver information, preferably facts, so that I can form my own opinions.

If you have a smartphone you can get highlights on demand from about 50 different places. Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, ESPN.com, NBCSports.com, Foxsports.com, CBSsports.com, Instagram, Tik Tok...etc. Hence, why SportsCenter is kind of an outdated show and has been de-emphasized in recent years and you have more talking head shows.

 

[SUFaninNJ]

Doesn’t change the fact that he has an audience.

I don’t listen to it.

Just like the Kardashians have an audience. I don’t happen to like either.

 

[orangenauburn]

David Pollack was promoting GameDay and asking fans where they want to see them this coming season, just yesterday on Twitter, and today, he is gone.

Amazing.

 

[OrangeFoo]

I feel for anyone losing a job… but given these peeps have been paid millions of dollars by ESPN over the years, I’m happy about the behind the scenes people whose jobs these cuts saved.

 

[Nicknack]

AND they want to get rid of talent who, for the most part, are one-trick ponies (ie Steve Young and Suzy Kolber only work NFL. Laphonso Ellis only does College Basketball) and offer little to no versatility. They want to maximize talent like McAfee who will do 1 hour on TV, give them 4 hours of YouTube each day, and be a part of their Radio, plus do the Manning-Cast for College games. Or Stephen A Smith who does First Take, the NBA Pre-Game shows, and other projects for ESPN, Wilbon who does NBA pre-game and PTI. SVP does his SportsCenter, Golf, and a few other events.

And this is one of the main reasons I've found espn to be unwatchable. If you start your morning with that Greenberg show, at least 2-3 of those fools will appear on the very next show, which i think is stephen a smith. Recycle Repeat. That's espn. It reminds of my wife's favorite station, which I enjoy some myself - HGTV. Every damn show is now the same. It's like some of these companies find something that works and they lose all creativity to add to it but instead, recycle and repeat.