http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/espn-preparing-lay-on-air-talent-payroll-purge-article-1.2989757
ESPN preparing to lay off on-air talent in payroll purge
BY BERNIE AUGUSTINE
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
(JESSICA HILL/AP)
Start saying goodbye to some of ESPN’s most familiar faces.
SI.com reported Monday that the network
will face a major round of layoffs between now and June as part a “significant cost-cutting” measure aimed at clearing tens of millions of dollars in salary from its payroll. The emphasis will be on forward-facing personalities — those who are present on TV, audio and digitial platforms — and people nearing the end of their contracts will be vulnerable, SI reported.
There is no list of names on the block, an ESPN source told SI.
ESPN underwent a staff reduction in 2015 and terminated roughly 300 behind-the-scenes employees. This time around, SI reported, people in those roles will not be impacted. ESPN will continue to hire employees during this round of cuts,
SI reports.
SI points out that fewer subscribers — 88.4 million households in Dec. 2016 compared to 100.002 in Feb. 2011,
according to SI — coupled with the rising cost of rights for live sports and lower earnings for Disney play a role in the reductions.
In a statement to SI, an ESPN spokesperson pointed to the changing ways in which fans get their sports news and videos and said that the network is “in a continuous process of adapting to change and improving what we do.
“Inevitably that has consequences for how we utilize our talent. We are confident that ESPN will continue to have a roster of talent that is unequaled in sports.”
