ESPN is laying off a bunch of its on-air talent
ESPN is letting go of around 100 staffers on Wednesday, with a large chunk of the layoffs hitting on-air talent, according to various reports.
The sports media titan has become the poster child for older, TV-focused companies that are being forced to confront a future that is often termed as "trading TV dollars for digital pennies."
Layoffs are not entirely unexpected at ESPN, which has been struggling with a combination of rising costs, declining ad revenue, and subscriber losses.
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Wednesday's cuts appear targeted at reducing ESPN's spending on its on-air anchors, many of which tend to command large salaries. Among the most notable exits is Ed Werder, a veteran NFL reporter, and Jayson Stark, a veteran MLB reporter.
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Others are looking at "reduced" roles, according to the Hollywood Reporter. That list includes names like Hannah Storm and Karl Ravech.
ESPN President John Skipper sent a message to the company's employees, noting that Wednesday's moves are part of a larger effort to change focus.
"A necessary component of managing change involves constantly evaluating how we best utilize all of our resources, and that sometimes involves difficult decisions," he wrote.
"These decisions impact talented people who have done great work for our company. I would like to thank all of them for their efforts and their many contributions to ESPN," Skipper added.
ESPN executives also published a blog post with additional context, pointing to some of its newer shows and recent successes as examples of where ESPN is headed.
John Buccigross was reportedly also on the outs, but who knows, based on this:
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Anchor Bob Ley closed Outside the Lines with a somber note about the layoffs.
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John Ourand at Sports Business Daily tracked numerous ESPN employees that tweeted out goodbyes.
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Jason Abbruzzese is a Business Reporter at Mashable. He covers the media and telecom industries with a particular focus on how the Internet is changing these markets and impacting consumers. Prior to working at Mashable, Jason served as Markets Reporter and Web Producer at the Financial Times. Jason holds a B.S. in Journalism from Boston University and an M.A. in International Affairs from Australian National University.
