The long-rumored ESPN layoffs are taking place this morning, as the company is eliminating around 150 jobs. An ESPN source said the job cuts are mainly coming from the studio production, digital content and tech groups. In a memo sent to employees this morning, ESPN President John Skipper said the cuts “generally reflect decisions to do less in certain instances and re-direct resources." Skipper: "We will continue to invest in ways which will best position us to serve the modern sports fan and support the success of our business.” The layoffs, which impact less than 2% of ESPN's 8,000 employees, come as the media industry is trying to figure out how to grow in an era of declining subscriber numbers and increasing sports rights fees. As evidenced by Skipper’s statement, ESPN is going to emphasize that it is trying to pivot to deal with the current media environment, one that saw it launch a “SportsCenter”-branded show on Snapchat and plan for an '18 launch of its direct-to-consumer ESPN+ platform. This marks the third time in the past two years that ESPN has laid off a sizable group of employees. In the fall of '15, it shed about 300 behind-the-scenes employees, including longtime execs and producers. Earlier this spring, it laid off around 100 employees, many of them on-air reporters, analysts and hosts. With its most recent layoffs, Skipper said the network is committed to pay affected employees a severance, their '17 bonuses, continue health benefits and provide outplacement services (John Ourand, Staff Writer).
CHANGES COMING TO "SPORTSCENTER": SI.com's Richard Deitsch reports ESPN, as "part of cost savings," likely will not re-sign "SportsCenter" anchors with contracts "coming up in the next 12 months." Sources said that it is likely "some 'SportsCenter' shows will be cut from airing on ESPNews." ESPN sources earlier this month said that they "expected some front-facing television talent to be part of this round of layoffs," but that does not appear to be the case (SI.com, 11/29). YAHOO FINANCE's Daniel Roberts notes these cuts come six months after ESPN "announced big changes to its flagship news brand," including "shifting its anchor roster and launching new digital-first live updates called SportsCenter Right Now that run on both ESPN and ABC." "SportsCenter" has had to "adapt to a time in which sports fans can find replay clips online and don't feel the need to watch a full highlight show every night." Meanwhile, ESPN is "looking to cut" about $100M in costs, "though that savings will come from a combination of staff cuts and other business changes." Just over half of the people affected by today's cuts are "based at headquarters in Bristol" (FINANCE.YAHOO.com, 11/29). In Charlotte, Katherine Peralta cites a source as saying that impact on the approximately 200 employees based in the city is "minimal." Charlotte is home to SEC Network and "other studio production functions" (CHARLOTTEOBSERVER.com, 11/29).
SIGN OF THE TIMES: In Philadelphia, Rob Tornoe notes the cuts come with ESPN "being squeezed by the combination of expensive contracts to secure live sports rights and viewers who have ditched cable subscriptions in favor of less-expensive TV offerings." ESPN topped 100 million subs in '11, but the net is "estimated to now have 86.94 million subscribers" (PHILLY.com, 11/29).
