ESPN was set to lay off around 100 employees on Wednesday, including some of the network’s most popular on-air and online personalities, according to multiple reports.
The Disney-owned sports giant had no plans to announce the names of the employees affected, but a number of the anchors, reporters and analysts who were informed of their release spoke out on social media.
Notable names included veteran NFL reporter Ed Werder, MLB writer Jayson Stark, college football reporter Brett McMurphy, college basketball reporter Dana O’Neil and ESPN Dallas columnist Jean-Jacques Taylor.
MLB analyst Jim Bowden, college basketball reporter Eamonn Brennan and Big Ten football reporters Austin Ward and Jesse Temple were also among those let go.
“A necessary component of managing change involves constantly evaluating how we best utilize all of our resources, and that sometimes involves difficult decisions,” ESPN president John Skipper said in a company-wide memo disseminated Wednesday morning. “We will implement changes in our talent lineup this week. A limited number of other positions will also be affected and a handful of new jobs will be posted to fill various needs.”
Also included in the cuts were NHL writers Pierre LeBrun, Joe McDonald and Scott Burnside, which taken together offers an ominous sign for the network’s commitment to hockey coverage.
The long-rumored layoffs were inevitable given ESPN’s declining subscriber base and commitment to increased broadcast rights packages, a portfolio which includes a 10-year, $15.2bn deal with the NFL, a $7.3bn deal for the college football playoffs and a nine-year, $12bn deal with the NBA that started last fall.
It marked ESPN’s first major layoffs since October 2015, when around 300 mostly behind-the-scenes employees were let go.
