ESPN will see "significant cost-cutting over the next four months on its talent side," according to sources cited by Richard Deitsch of SI.com. Sources said that ESPN has been "tasked with paring tens of millions of staff salary from its payroll, including staffers many viewers and readers will recognize." Sources added that those with contracts coming up "would be particularly vulnerable." The company is also "expected to buyout some existing contracts, which is something rare for ESPN historically beyond a few NFL talents." The cuts are "expected to be completed by June." Sources within ESPN say that there is "no set list of names yet and stressed that behind-the-scenes people will likely (key word) not be impacted by these cuts." Reuters last month reported Disney had a "lower-than-expected quarterly revenue," and ESPN "continues to shed subscribers at an enhanced rate." Though it "remains one of the great destination jobs in the sports media and hiring will continue, ESPN has experienced significant layoffs over the last two years" (SI.com, 3/5). CNN MONEY's Ahiza Garcia cited sources as saying that the cuts will "only affect 'talent' -- not rank-and-file employees." ESPN in '15 "laid off about 300 employees -- roughly 4% of the network's global workforce." Hosts, reporters and commentators "generally weren't affected" during those layoffs (MONEY.CNN.com, 3/6).
