Author Jim Miller said ESPN is planning cuts to its on-air talent "because times have caught up with them, in part because of these crazy deals” the company has signed with various leagues and college conferences. Miller, who co-wrote the '11 book "Those Guys Have All The Fun" that detailed ESPN's rise, appeared on "The Dan Patrick Show" yesterday and said there is a "weird kind of schizophrenia" to the situation. Miller: "We’re all talking about how ratings are kind of going down and there’s a lot of pressure on these networks. Yet at the same time, these deals get bigger and bigger and bigger.” ESPN is still able to “monetize” their properties, but Miller said at “some point advertisers can only pay so much.” Additionally, the loss of subscriber fees from viewers cutting the cord “starts to add up to real money” lost. Miller: “Should they have seen this coming when they were spending all that money on 3D and a new digital center? ... Should they have been thinking further down the road? Absolutely. But at the same time, are they in intensive care? Are they in real serious trouble? No, it’s just that we’re in a moment of dynamic change.” The “biggest problem” ESPN has had lately is “not delivering to Disney the kind of multiples, the kind of money they used to.” The company also is "having to literally come up with a new model.” Miller: “The one thing that we know for sure is that this is an incredibly dynamic moment in time. Technology has now … disrupted the very foundations of the models and now they have to re-examine” ("The Dan Patrick Show," 3/8).
