Several well-known on-air names at ESPN are leaving in a round of cost-cutting layoffs at Walt Disney Co. business units.
The cuts follow ESPN’s takeover of the NFL’s media assets as part of the deal that gave the league a 10% stake for $3 billion dollars. In a Tuesday memo to staff obtained by The Times, ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said most of the cuts are tied to the NFL Network acquisition.
“Over the past several months, we’ve made significant progress integrating the NFL assets that we acquired into ESPN,” Pitaro wrote. “Throughout this process, we have taken the time to carefully evaluate our collective teams, resources and organizational structure to best position us for the future.”
The company is also feeling financial pressure from rising live sports rights fees. In Disney’s second quarter earnings report, ESPN saw a 5% year-to-year drop in operating income even though its revenues of $4.6 billion were up slightly. ESPN’s direct-to-consumer streaming service, designed to lessen its dependency on declining cable TV revenue, is still in its nascent stage.
NFL analyst Ryan Clark was let go on Monday after reports leaked that he was among the layoffs. The former member of the Super Bowl XLIII-winning Pittsburgh Steelers has been with the network since 2015. He was appearing on ESPN’s “NFL Live” on Monday when he learned that he was out.
Clark was a fixture of ESPN’s NFL coverage, appearing on “NFL Live,” “First Take,” “Get Up” and “Monday Night Countdown.”
“Sending prayers and love to all those laid off today by ESPN,” Clark wrote on X. “So many of you have poured your life into that company, & I know how you’re feeling right now.”
According to a running list on the web site Front Office Sports, the cuts also include Tom Pelissero, a reporter for the NFL Network since 2017, Stephania Bell, a licensed physical therapist who provided analysis of NFL injuries for ESPN’s fantasy league and betting coverage, Charles Davis, a long time analyst for the NFL Network and Bart Scott, an NFL commentator and co-host on ESPN Radio.
The layoffs are going beyond the roster of football experts. ESPN is parting ways with Karl Ravech, a 33- year veteran of the network who handled play-by-play coverage of Major Leauge Baseball and college basketball. He also hosted the studio show “Baseball Tonight.”
Ravech called ESPN’s coverage of the Los Angeles Dodgers-Philadelphia Phillies game on Monday.
Longtime “SportsCenter” anchor David Lloyd is also out. Lloyd joined ESPN in 1997 as an anchor for its ESPNEWS channel.
An ESPN representative declined comment on the cuts.
Along with the overall pressures on its business, ESPN has invested heavily in its stars who bring the biggest audiences to its studio shows. Last year, “First Take” host Stephen A. Smith signed a deal that pays him around $20 million a year.
The network is also reportedly considering a richer deal for host and football analyst Pat McAfee, who already earns in the range of $30 million a year. Adam Schefter, who reportedly earned $9 million a year and is the network’s leading NFL insider, recently signed a new long-term deal.
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