The amount and intensity of political expression among ESPN talent during former President John Skipper's tenure "generated sharp internal disagreements" over whether the company was "appropriately taking part in the broader national conversation, or whether top executives were encouraging a divisive company culture and giving too much leeway to hosts to promote left-leaning views," according to a front-page piece by Shalini Ramachandran of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. Sources said that "well before" Jemele Hill’s Twitter controversy involving President Trump, the net's Bob Ley had approached Skipper to say there "was a problem with balance internally." Ley has since said Skipper “was always extremely receptive.” Why ESPN found itself "torn up by the nation’s partisan politics traces back to its fundamental business challenge." Its status as cable TV’s most expensive channel had "become a liability." Sources said that ESPN’s relationship with parent company Disney "grew tense as the once reliable profit engine turned into a public headache." A source said that new ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro believes the net "leaned too much into politics and that has influenced how the company was perceived." Pitaro has said that "despite the political debates roiling the network last year, total day ratings were up 1%" in '17 from the previous year. Several network employees said that the company has "turned a corner."
SKIPPER'S TENSION WITH DISNEY: Though publicly Skipper "seemed to have good relations with Disney’s top brass, tensions had built up over time." Sources said that early in his tenure, Skipper had "missed a corporate plane ride" with Disney Chair & CEO Bob Iger after a "night of partying" following the ESPYs. The sources added that Disney later "investigated to find" out about Skipper’s "comings and goings that night, including looking at his company phone records." Sources also said that a few years later, Iger was "frustrated" when Skipper "made comments in a Wall Street Journal article that seemingly contradicted his explanation for why ESPN was losing subscribers." Sources said that Disney Senior Exec VP & Chief Communications Officer Zenia Mucha also called Skipper and "said ESPN should be restrained in its public statements at a time of rapid industry change -- a stern message" that ESPN executives including Skipper "took as an effective gag order" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 5/25).
