Menu
Media

Pitaro: Pandemic Losses "Clearly Accelerated" Layoffs At ESPN

Jimmy Pitaro in a message to employees noted ESPN has taken a series of steps to weather the pandemicESPN IMAGES

ESPN today will begin to cut about 500 jobs through a combination of about 300 layoffs and 200 open positions that won't be filled, with remote production expected to be hit especially hard. ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro in a note to employees this morning said, "The pandemic's significant impact on our business clearly accelerated those forward-looking discussions. In the short term, we enacted various steps like executive and talent salary reductions, furloughs and budget cuts, and we implemented innovative operations and production approaches, all in an effort to weather the COVID storm. We have, however, reached an inflection point." Corporate layoffs have hit sports media hard since the beginning of the pandemic, as accelerated cord-cutting combined with a soft ad market hurt revenue and sent the business into a cost-cutting mode. Production departments have been hit particularly hard, as networks have relied more on producing games remotely, which takes less manpower. Fox Sports, NBC Sports and DAZN have pared back their work forces in recent months. In September, ESPN's parent, Disney, announced plans for 28,000 layoffs in its parks and resorts division. Disney will hold its Q4 earnings call on Nov. 12 after the markets close (John Ourand, THE DAILY).

WAITING GAME: In N.Y., Andrew Marchand cites sources as saying that on-air personnel "will mostly be spared at the moment," but ESPN has been "scrutinizing contracts more fastidiously in recent months, letting some expire." As is the case across Disney, ESPN is "trying to shift more of its business" to direct-to-consumer; ESPN+ reported 8.5 million subscribers as of this summer. The pandemic also has "created new ways to deliver programming with less people." ESPN had around 6,000 employees headed into today (N.Y. POST, 11/5).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: April 25, 2024

Motor City's big weekend; Kevin Warren's big bet; Bill Belichick's big makeover and the WNBA's big week continues

TNT’s Stan Van Gundy, ESPN’s Tim Reed, NBA Playoffs and NFL Draft

On this week’s pod, SBJ’s Austin Karp has two Big Get interviews. The first is with TNT’s Stan Van Gundy as he breaks down the NBA Playoffs from the booth. Later in the show, we hear from ESPN’s VP of Programming and Acquisitions Tim Reed as the NFL Draft gets set to kick off on Thursday night in Motown. SBJ’s Tom Friend also joins the show to share his insights into NBA viewership trends.

SBJ I Factor: Molly Mazzolini

SBJ I Factor features an interview with Molly Mazzolini. Elevate's Senior Operating Advisor – Design + Strategic Alliances chats with SBJ’s Ross Nethery about the power of taking chances. Mazzolini is a member of the SBJ Game Changers Class of 2016. She shares stories of her career including co-founding sports design consultancy Infinite Scale career journey and how a chance encounter while working at a stationery store launched her career in the sports industry. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2020/11/05/Media/ESPN.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2020/11/05/Media/ESPN.aspx

CLOSE