ESPN

[DanC78]

they are beggining to lay folks off per the interwebs.

Curious to see who goes. I hope Danny makes the cut. He seems valuable as a radio guy, commentator, and on air personality. I'm sure he comes at a descent price as well.

http://www.businessinsider.com/espn-layoffs-2017-4

 

[Fijimn]

Ed Werder got cut. He was pretty good, even if it was about the Cowboys.

 

[SoddyNole]

 

[funksouljon]

I wonder how they are handling it. If it is walking up and sticking thier head into offices "Hey, go see management!" or some other method. Looks like Skipper it was no notice. Sure hope Danny makes the cut, agree he is likely pretty cheap compared to many.

I agree with Soddy for most of them. I would have thought that so many high dollar "talent" leaving in the last year would have cleared the books. Hill and Smith can go too.

 

[NDallasRuss]

And yet Stephen A Smith continues to get a paycheck for arguing and yelling non-sensically at people who don't even disagree with him.

 

[kelleynole#1]

They sealed their own fate as a network when they gave Caitlyn/Bruce that courage award.

 

[HilltopperNole]

Could be a good day for Fox Sports.

I agree with a lot of what people are saying. They roll out the circus at 6 everyday, keep people like Beedle, Steven A, Schlabach, Dinich and keep the political agenda more than reporting actual sports.

I mean, who saw this coming?

I don't remember the last time I went to ESPN other than the app to check scores. Other places to get scores and scoops without all the side shows.

 

[NDallasRuss]

Could be a good day for Fox Sports.

They were bound to have one sooner or later.

 

[funksouljon]

Hey, Fox getting a legitimate shot at being a rival to ESPN is a good thing IMO. I just question if ESPN will make the correct cuts. I think we can all agree that ESPN, like any other entertainer, is going to focus on eyes and exposure and not necessarily the best sports reporting though.

 

[funksouljon]

Well dang, looks like DK is out. Guess I will watch the last RK show today. Then remove it from daily recording.

http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2017/04/espn_begins_laying_off_100_emp.html

 

[SoddyNole]

I am surprised and hate to see Danny get the ax.

 

[funksouljon]

I usually don't cheer for bad things to fall on people, but Smith, Hill and Finebaum should be on the list..... should be.

Oh, and Le batard too.

 

[mnole03]

Brett McMurphy's gone. Sad.

 

[OsceolaNole]

Well dang, looks like DK is out. Guess I will watch the last RK show today. Then remove it from daily recording.

http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2017/04/espn_begins_laying_off_100_emp.html

DK didn't get on. Based on his twitter feed he got laid off 30 min before the show was to start. Also reports of a diminished role for Russillo - safe to say the show is done. Adnan is hosting today and not referring to it as the RK show, just ESPN Radio.

 

[funksouljon]

DK didn't get on. Based on his twitter feed he got laid off 30 min before the show was to start. Also reports of a diminished role for Russillo - safe to say the show is done. Adnan is hosting today and not referring to it as the RK show, just ESPN Radio.

Well crap.

Downside of being a public figure, everyone knows your professional business.... good and bad.

 

[Fijimn]

When you stay with a company for a long time, you will price yourself out of the job after the normal annual raises. That's why I always try to push my comp into bonuses instead of base salary. ESPN crappy management spent way too much money on unprofitable ventures in collegiate sports networks, so now they got to cut expenses.

 

[Fijimn]

Adios, Trend Dilfer and Jayson Stark.....looks like Gameday is going to be filled with a bunch of newbies from Syracuse.

 

[Gonolz]

Does anybody know how the on-air talent contracts work? Is it employment-at-will, do they go season-by-season or are there long-term contracts? Is ESPN taking a big hit with buyouts?

 

[NDallasRuss]

Hey, Fox getting a legitimate shot at being a rival to ESPN is a good thing IMO.

I think it would be a great thing, but they keep messing it up. They hired the canadian guys to run their Sportscenter competition, which was wrong. Those guys were funny and entertaining, but not in a widely-relatable way. I think their personalities were lost on a lot of people because they weren't "over the top" enough. Then they got Skip freaking Bayless, who is the absolute worst of the worst. It's like they're trying to mimic what ESPN is now, instead of improving upon where ESPN has gone wrong in recent years.

 

[NDallasRuss]

Oh, and Le batard too.

No way!! LeBatard and Bomani are by far the best on-air talent they have, IMO. Then again, the reason I like them is that they aren't the typical "Mike and Mike" vanilla-white, generic sports talk programming.

 

[SeaPA]

I know some of you have a pretty strong disdain for ESPN, but I'll always have a soft spot for the network. I'm sure it comes from growing up as a sports-crazy kid in the pre-ESPN days, when the options for seeing games were limited to the Saturday/Sunday game of the week, and the only highlight reels were played during Saturday afternoon's TWIB.

 

[DanC78]

If DK is gone and they keep Joey Galloway and Trevor Matich....I'll be.....I don't know, where else can I go from here.

Let's just say I'll really have lost respect from these guys....whatever is left.

They only thing from ESPN that I still liked was mike and mike and college gameday; and some of their 30 for 30s.

 

[DanC78]

I know some of you have a pretty strong disdain for ESPN, but I'll always have a soft spot for the network. I'm sure it comes from growing up as a sports-crazy kid in the pre-ESPN days, when the options for seeing games were limited to the Saturday/Sunday game of the week, and the only highlight reels were played during Saturday afternoon's TWIB.

All the folks you have a soft spot for are long gone. The corp machine has come in and taken over. It's not the place we grew up loving to watch.

 

[ReliableOstrich]

They sealed their own fate as a network when they gave Caitlyn/Bruce that courage award.

Umm, how did that impact their bottom line?

Could be a good day for Fox Sports.

I agree with a lot of what people are saying. They roll out the circus at 6 everyday, keep people like Beedle, Steven A, Schlabach, Dinich and keep the political agenda more than reporting actual sports.

I mean, who saw this coming?

I don't remember the last time I went to ESPN other than the app to check scores. Other places to get scores and scoops without all the side shows.

The real mistake espn has made is overpaying for their various content contracts. They created a monster they couldn't control with their NFL coverage. Putting so many hours into it, they helped the NFL rise to where it is now, but in doing so they became completely reliant on the NFL for hours of content, even in the offseason. Because of that the NFL had significant leverage to overcharge ESPn and they did.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...times-more-for-nfl-games-than-nbc-cbs-and-fox

That is why ESPN is now cutting heads wherever possible, not some misguided, self-aggrandizing paranoia many people have about a political agenda getting shoved down their throat.

 

[DukeFan1]

I've been saying for years that the entire "pay outrageous amounts for broadcast rights" model was unsustainable...every time a broadcast rights contract for a pro league or college conference is up for renewal, some broadcast entity obscenely overpays, like an arms race (which certainly pertains to the endless discussions about the ACC Network and their payouts to member schools), and now it's reached a point where somebody can't recoup on their "investment"; ESPN/ABC is the canary in a coal mine in this case, but I also expect for CBS, NBC, and Fox to either follow suit, or else refuse to pay up what the NFL, NBA, MLB, and college conferences ask for when the next contract is up for renewal....

 

[West Duval Nole]

Then they got Skip freaking Bayless, who is the absolute worst of the worst. It's like they're trying to mimic what ESPN is now, instead of improving upon where ESPN has gone wrong in recent years.

Exactly. Skip is an idiot!

 

[DanC78]

I agree there is an overlay of them overpaying for the rights to televise certain sports, and these folks being let go; but it has to be a very small overlay. I would think the salaries of these folks are peanuts compared to the gross miscalculations that took place with over bidding.

how much could they be possibly saving on an annual bases by cutting the on air personalities....$250M??? That would be an average of $2.5M per employee let go. I couldn't imagine it being much hire than that.

There has to be something larger going on. Maybe they are divesting and having to get the general ledger cleaned up????

 

[ReliableOstrich]

There has to be something larger going on. Maybe they are divesting and having to get the general ledger cleaned up????

I assume we're going to see a shuffling of their programming line up as well as their online content.

I'd disappointed that so many of the folks dropped were local & sport-specific contributors who left local publications to work for espn. Local journalism has collapsed to the extent that they may not have anywhere to go -- and we may not have anywhere to read their analysis, instead we'll be stuck w/ the "personalities" who over no in-depth dissection of the game. Admittedly those of us who enjoy analysis and dissection are in the minority of viewers, so I can understand why espn went the other way.

Hopefully NFL Network, Fox Sports, CBS, and NBC pick up a lot of these folks.

 

[funksouljon]

No way!! LeBatard and Bomani are by far the best on-air talent they have, IMO. Then again, the reason I like them is that they aren't the typical "Mike and Mike" vanilla-white, generic sports talk programming.

instead we'll be stuck w/ the "personalities" who over no in-depth dissection of the game. Admittedly those of us who enjoy analysis and dissection are in the minority of viewers

NDRuss, Bacardi hit the nail on the head for me. Between not adding substance and quality analysis, and having to strain to understand his favorite guest. No thanks. I do like Bomani tho. And my opinion was formed BEFORE I knew he was a UM guy.

 

[GoNolesTX]

I keep holding out hope for a Sports2Nite reunion. I loved coming home from school (elementary/middle) and watching Kilborn/Scott/Kolber/Davis/Eisen/Olbermann doing the casual SportsCenter... highlights, just give me highlights w/o commentary or slants.

 

[funksouljon]

I keep holding out hope for a Sports2Nite reunion. I loved coming home from school (elementary/middle) and watching Kilborn/Scott/Kolber/Davis/Eisen/Olbermann doing the casual SportsCenter... highlights, just give me highlights w/o commentary or slants.

Um, what decade do you think we are in? Holding out for acid washed jeans to come back as well? But I agree, for me that was the golden years. NOT what we have now. Poor a little out for the dead homie. Ever read "Those guys have all the fun" ? That version of ESPN would have been an amazing place to work.

 

[NDallasRuss]

I'm surprised that Jayson Stark was one of the guys let go.

 

[funksouljon]

Deadspins running list. Also includes details of where they worked since I don't recognize most of them.
http://deadspin.com/a-running-list-of-espn-layoffs-1794664091

 

[ReliableOstrich]

I keep holding out hope for a Sports2Nite reunion. I loved coming home from school (elementary/middle) and watching Kilborn/Scott/Kolber/Davis/Eisen/Olbermann doing the casual SportsCenter... highlights, just give me highlights w/o commentary or slants.

Um, what decade do you think we are in? Holding out for acid washed jeans to come back as well? But I agree, for me that was the golden years. NOT what we have now. Poor a little out for the dead homie. Ever read "Those guys have all the fun" ? That version of ESPN would have been an amazing place to work.

I would agree, I liked those sportscenter years the best, but let's be honest. All of that content is now available to us much more easily than before, on our devices at the touch of a button. Who waits for sportscenter when they can see highlights instantly?

The old sportscenter model of highlights doesn't work in today's internet/mobile age, it's redundant and silly to spend broadcast time on that. Gotta tantalize to keep viewers from flipping the channel.

 

[noleclone2]

Sorry to hear DK was let go. Thought he was great and it seems like most of my non FSU friends liked him too. His tweet was bitters, as it should be. I hate ESPN even more now. They suck.

 

[funksouljon]

Sorry to hear DK was let go. Thought he was great and it seems like most of my non FSU friends liked him too. His tweet was bitters, as it should be. I hate ESPN even more now. They suck.

Unless by "non FSU friends" you mean SEC fans or Paul F. Most of them cant stand him based on what I have seen. I loved his trolling of SEC and Paul. Have no idea if it was part of the decision.

 

[Hayduke GW]

Interesting article from deadspin on how today's layoffs don't really make much of a financial impact on ESPN's bottom line.

ESPN's Latest Layoffs Are Just A Way To Buy Time

[T]oday’s layoffs seem to follow a kind of logic: If ESPN is bleeding money from subscriber losses, they need to offset the damage by making cuts elsewhere in the company. That doesn’t, though, really follow, mathematically. Look at the people who have been laid off today. Sure, it’s possible that veterans like McManus and Stark and Ed Werder were carrying hefty salaries, but no amount of fired reporters and columnists is going to put even the tiniest dent in ESPN’s rights fees. Add up all the salaries of the people who lost their jobs today, and how much of a single Monday Night Football broadcast does it buy? Ten minutes? Fifteen?

 

[OsceolaNole]

Interesting article from deadspin on how today's layoffs don't really make much of a financial impact on ESPN's bottom line.

ESPN's Latest Layoffs Are Just A Way To Buy Time

[T]oday’s layoffs seem to follow a kind of logic: If ESPN is bleeding money from subscriber losses, they need to offset the damage by making cuts elsewhere in the company. That doesn’t, though, really follow, mathematically. Look at the people who have been laid off today. Sure, it’s possible that veterans like McManus and Stark and Ed Werder were carrying hefty salaries, but no amount of fired reporters and columnists is going to put even the tiniest dent in ESPN’s rights fees. Add up all the salaries of the people who lost their jobs today, and how much of a single Monday Night Football broadcast does it buy? Ten minutes? Fifteen?

Was just coming to post this article. Some good insight.

 

[FSUTribe76]

Whelp, another reason to never watch BSPiN unless a game is literally on right then. The only show I watched other than Gameday on those channels period was Russilo and Kanell. So I'll be deleting it from my DVR now. I enjoy the SiriusXM College Sports shows better than BSPiNs shows as well as several independent podcasts. That's what I usually listen to while working.

 

[noleclone2]

Well I guess we still have Mike and Mike. Who I think both co host together approximately 38 days a year.