ESPN has "extended" Scott Van Pelt's contract with another multiyear deal, according to Marisa Guthrie of the HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. Van Pelt is among ESPN's "best-known personalities," with his primary role now as host of the midnight ET "SportsCenter." The show is "routinely the top-rated program among young men in its time slot," averaging 181,000 viewers among males 18-34 for the year, which tops NBC's "Tonight Show" and CBS' "Late Show." Van Pelt's extension "comes as ESPN has undergone a shift in its resources to better position the company amid subscriber losses." There have "already been multiple rounds of layoffs at the network, and another 100 staffers, including on-air and production workers," are expected to lose their jobs after the Thanksgiving holiday (HOLLYWOODREPORTER.com, 11/14).
TALKING THE TALK: The Ringer's Bill Simmons feels the upcoming round of layoffs will affect "mostly talent and 'SportsCenter.'" Simmons said he was "not surprised to hear that." The Ringer's David Shoemaker said, “This has got to be one of the most sustained, demoralizing periods in that network’s history.” Simmons: “On the one hand, you’re saying you’re cutting back and these are different economic times, but on the other hand you’re actually spending money. On Wednesday, ('NBA Countdown') went to Boston. I was on that show, it’s expensive ... so it’s not layoffs, it’s about they’re restructuring what they’re spending money on." He added, "These aren’t layoffs, these are resource reallocations, and they are basically saying our business has changed. We don’t need these people anymore, we’d rather spend their money on these people, which is a different thing than layoffs.” The Ringer's Bryan Curtis said, “They would probably make the case that these are separate silos, and that these decisions are made separately, but that’s certainly the way it looks. I don’t think there’s any way to really talk around that” ("The Bill Simmons Podcast," The Ringer, 11/11).
HIGHLIGHTS WITHOUT HIGHLIGHTS? ESPN this week debuted a Snapchat-exclusive version of its flagship "SportsCenter" brand, but RECODE's Kurt Wagner wrote the "problem" with the partnership is that ESPN "doesn’t have the rights to show highlights from the NFL inside of Snapchat." It is a "bit of an issue, considering that it’s arguably the most popular sport in America, and we’re in the middle of the NFL season." It is "tough to have a highlights show without highlights." Snapchat does have "some NFL highlights, but it’s through a partnership the company has directly with the NFL" (RECODE.net, 11/14).
