ESPN and the rest of the sports media industry were left reeling Tuesday as the Mothership ejected approximately 10 on-air talents, while pink-slipping a large contingent of behind-the-scenes staffers at NFL Network.
After speaking with multiple sources, here are my five takeaways from the layoffs, which included ESPN dropping talents such as Ryan Clark, Karl Ravech, David Lloyd, Tom Pelissero, Cam Newton, and Bart Scott:
Chairman Jimmy Pitaro made it clear that ESPN's biggest round of layoffs in three years was tied directly to Disney's acquisition of NFL Network. Anytime two companies merge, the bean counters look at who's doing what. When they find two people doing the same job—or close to it—one goes out the door.
That's what's happening as ESPN absorbs a network it competed with for over 20 years. ESPN has made "significant progress" integrating NFLN, Pitaro wrote in an internal memo obtained by Front Office Sports. But as always with mergers, it "had to make some difficult decisions," added Pitaro.
ESPN will broadcast its first-ever Super Bowl from SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on Feb. 14, 2027. Televising a Super Bowl has been a corporate dream of ESPN's since its founding as a scrappy wannabe in 1979. ESPN management and parent company Disney are laser-focused on creating the best, most thorough Super Bowl coverage ever. Anybody on-air during what ESPN is humbly calling its "Year of the Super Bowl" will go down in company history. The competition for those choice on-air slots will be brutal.
The game announce team of Troy Aikman, Joe Buck, Lisa Salters, and Laura Rutledge are locks. Ditto for Sunday NFL Countdown regulars Mike Greenberg, Rex Ryan, Randy Moss, Alex Smith, Tedy Bruschi and Adam Schefter. And look for legendary anchor Chris Berman to play a major role as the living embodiment of ESPN's 47-year history.
#espn #network #sports #talents
After speaking with multiple sources, here are my five takeaways from the layoffs, which included ESPN dropping talents such as Ryan Clark, Karl Ravech, David Lloyd, Tom Pelissero, Cam Newton, and Bart Scott:
Chairman Jimmy Pitaro made it clear that ESPN's biggest round of layoffs in three years was tied directly to Disney's acquisition of NFL Network. Anytime two companies merge, the bean counters look at who's doing what. When they find two people doing the same job—or close to it—one goes out the door.
That's what's happening as ESPN absorbs a network it competed with for over 20 years. ESPN has made "significant progress" integrating NFLN, Pitaro wrote in an internal memo obtained by Front Office Sports. But as always with mergers, it "had to make some difficult decisions," added Pitaro.
ESPN will broadcast its first-ever Super Bowl from SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on Feb. 14, 2027. Televising a Super Bowl has been a corporate dream of ESPN's since its founding as a scrappy wannabe in 1979. ESPN management and parent company Disney are laser-focused on creating the best, most thorough Super Bowl coverage ever. Anybody on-air during what ESPN is humbly calling its "Year of the Super Bowl" will go down in company history. The competition for those choice on-air slots will be brutal.
The game announce team of Troy Aikman, Joe Buck, Lisa Salters, and Laura Rutledge are locks. Ditto for Sunday NFL Countdown regulars Mike Greenberg, Rex Ryan, Randy Moss, Alex Smith, Tedy Bruschi and Adam Schefter. And look for legendary anchor Chris Berman to play a major role as the living embodiment of ESPN's 47-year history.
#espn #network #sports #talents
4 months ago
