ESPN bracing for another round of widespread layoffs
A large chunk of ESPN employees won’t be feeling the holiday spirit this winter.
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ESPN is planning to unload another round of layoffs in late November or early December, according to a Sporting News report, a little more than six months after more than 100 employees were sent packing from the Worldwide Leader.
The ax could come down on 40 to 60 people, both on-air TV and radio personalities and production staffers, multiple sources told the website.
It’s possible the brains and faces behind ESPN’s flagship program, “SportsCenter,” could be targeted, Sporting News reported, even after the network committed the past year to promoting new editions of the show: “SportsCenter AM” with Sage Steele, Jay Harris and Randy Scott and “SC6” with Jemele Hill and Michael Smith, to name two.
While ESPN has generally enjoyed more positive ratings than its network rivals — its “Monday Night Football” program was the only NFL package with better year-over-year ratings through Week 7, according to Sports Business Daily — many believe the sports behemoth still is recovering from billion-dollar TV deals it inked with the NFL and NBA while subscriber numbers were dropping.
