Say Goodbye to those ESPN Personalities Ya'll Love So Much: Official ESPN Layoffs Thread
- Thread starter PortCityProphet
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UserNameless
Veteran
^Think AND post about another man’s reproductive organs , brethren . 
doesn't seem too bad, 200 of the jobs don't even exist, just laying off the excess fat they don't need with this ever changing digital way of conducting business
ESPN To Cut 300 Jobs, Eliminate 500 Positions Overall As It Reaches Digital “Inflection Point”
By Jill Goldsmith, Dade Hayes
November 5, 2020 6:35am
Jimmy Pitaro, Chairman, ESPN and Sports Content at DisneyCourtesy of Paley Center for Media
Walt Disney’s ESPN will eliminate 500 positions, including 300 jobs that are filled and 200 that aren’t, to reserve cash for DTC and digital initiatives, the sports media broadcaster, chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a memo (below) to staff Thursday.
He said the division had reached an “inflection point.”
“The speed at which change is occurring requires great urgency, and we must now deliver on serving sports fans in a myriad of new ways. Placing resources in support of our direct-to-consumer business strategy, digital, and, of course, continued innovative television experiences, is more critical than ever,” Pitaro said.
ESPN, along with the rest of Disney, has been hit especially hard by the pandemic. Sports were wiped out almost entirely for three months, and the major ones returning have done so in a diminished fashion.
College football, a major driver of revenue for ESPN, has seen sporadic game cancellations and entire conferences deciding to return to the field weeks later than they usually do. The NBA playoffs, while a major success in terms of safety, saw ratings decline. The NBA Finals, which aired on ABC, dropped 49% despite a high-profile team, the LeBron James-led LA Lakers, claiming the championship.
As a business, ESPN is continuing to grapple with the challenge of balancing traditional pay-TV carriage with its nascent streaming efforts. ESPN+, which launched in 2018, has almost 9 million subscribers. The outlet doesn’t have rights to many live games – the core of ESPN’s offering – though negotiations are increasingly contemplating a heavier streaming component.
PITARO MESSAGE TO EMPLOYEES
Dear colleagues,
As you know, we value transparency in our internal dialogue, and that means in both good and challenging times. After much consideration, I have some difficult organizational decisions to share. We will be reducing our workforce, impacting approximately 300 valued team members, in addition to 200 open positions.
Today is hard because ESPN has always been — and will always be — fortified by its fantastic people. Teamwork, dedication, spirit and grit have built this place and are what make ESPN special.
Prior to the pandemic, we had been deeply engaged in strategizing how best to position ESPN for future success amidst tremendous disruption in how fans consume sports. 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. The speed at which change is occurring requires great urgency, and we must now deliver on serving sports fans in a myriad of new ways. Placing resources in support of our direct-to-consumer business strategy, digital, and, of course, continued innovative television experiences, is more critical than ever.
However, building a successful future in a changing world means facing hard choices. Making informed decisions about how and where we need to go – and, as always, in the most efficient way possible – is by far the most challenging job of any leadership team. And, while it must be done looking through a business lens, it also must be done with great respect and genuine concern for people.
We are parting ways with some exceptional team members – some of whom have been here for a long time – and all of whom have made important contributions to ESPN. We’re very grateful for all they’ve meant to us, and I assure you we are taking steps to make their transitions easier.
I am proud of the people at ESPN. Together, we have overcome tremendous challenges and adversity over these past several months and please know that the decisions and plans executed today were not made lightly. They are, however, necessary and I am convinced that we will move forward and effectively navigate this unprecedented disruption.
Our Human Resources and Communications teams will continue to keep you posted on any updates, and you’ll be hearing more detail about our future direction in the next few weeks. In the meantime, if you have questions about anything outlined in this note, please do not hesitate to raise them with your leadership team or HR Business Partner.
With gratitude,
Jimmy
ESPN To Cut 300 Jobs, Eliminate 500 Positions Overall As It Reaches Digital “Inflection Point”
By Jill Goldsmith, Dade Hayes
November 5, 2020 6:35am
Jimmy Pitaro, Chairman, ESPN and Sports Content at DisneyCourtesy of Paley Center for Media
Walt Disney’s ESPN will eliminate 500 positions, including 300 jobs that are filled and 200 that aren’t, to reserve cash for DTC and digital initiatives, the sports media broadcaster, chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a memo (below) to staff Thursday.
He said the division had reached an “inflection point.”
“The speed at which change is occurring requires great urgency, and we must now deliver on serving sports fans in a myriad of new ways. Placing resources in support of our direct-to-consumer business strategy, digital, and, of course, continued innovative television experiences, is more critical than ever,” Pitaro said.
ESPN, along with the rest of Disney, has been hit especially hard by the pandemic. Sports were wiped out almost entirely for three months, and the major ones returning have done so in a diminished fashion.
College football, a major driver of revenue for ESPN, has seen sporadic game cancellations and entire conferences deciding to return to the field weeks later than they usually do. The NBA playoffs, while a major success in terms of safety, saw ratings decline. The NBA Finals, which aired on ABC, dropped 49% despite a high-profile team, the LeBron James-led LA Lakers, claiming the championship.
As a business, ESPN is continuing to grapple with the challenge of balancing traditional pay-TV carriage with its nascent streaming efforts. ESPN+, which launched in 2018, has almost 9 million subscribers. The outlet doesn’t have rights to many live games – the core of ESPN’s offering – though negotiations are increasingly contemplating a heavier streaming component.
PITARO MESSAGE TO EMPLOYEES
Dear colleagues,
As you know, we value transparency in our internal dialogue, and that means in both good and challenging times. After much consideration, I have some difficult organizational decisions to share. We will be reducing our workforce, impacting approximately 300 valued team members, in addition to 200 open positions.
Today is hard because ESPN has always been — and will always be — fortified by its fantastic people. Teamwork, dedication, spirit and grit have built this place and are what make ESPN special.
Prior to the pandemic, we had been deeply engaged in strategizing how best to position ESPN for future success amidst tremendous disruption in how fans consume sports. 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. The speed at which change is occurring requires great urgency, and we must now deliver on serving sports fans in a myriad of new ways. Placing resources in support of our direct-to-consumer business strategy, digital, and, of course, continued innovative television experiences, is more critical than ever.
However, building a successful future in a changing world means facing hard choices. Making informed decisions about how and where we need to go – and, as always, in the most efficient way possible – is by far the most challenging job of any leadership team. And, while it must be done looking through a business lens, it also must be done with great respect and genuine concern for people.
We are parting ways with some exceptional team members – some of whom have been here for a long time – and all of whom have made important contributions to ESPN. We’re very grateful for all they’ve meant to us, and I assure you we are taking steps to make their transitions easier.
I am proud of the people at ESPN. Together, we have overcome tremendous challenges and adversity over these past several months and please know that the decisions and plans executed today were not made lightly. They are, however, necessary and I am convinced that we will move forward and effectively navigate this unprecedented disruption.
Our Human Resources and Communications teams will continue to keep you posted on any updates, and you’ll be hearing more detail about our future direction in the next few weeks. In the meantime, if you have questions about anything outlined in this note, please do not hesitate to raise them with your leadership team or HR Business Partner.
With gratitude,
Jimmy
if espn lets go of stephen a he'd have like 50 offers by noon
doesn't seem too bad, 200 of the jobs don't even exist, just laying off the excess fat they don't need with this ever changing digital way of conducting business
ESPN To Cut 300 Jobs, Eliminate 500 Positions Overall As It Reaches Digital “Inflection Point”
By Jill Goldsmith, Dade Hayes
November 5, 2020 6:35am
Jimmy Pitaro, Chairman, ESPN and Sports Content at DisneyCourtesy of Paley Center for Media
Walt Disney’s ESPN will eliminate 500 positions, including 300 jobs that are filled and 200 that aren’t, to reserve cash for DTC and digital initiatives, the sports media broadcaster, chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a memo (below) to staff Thursday.
He said the division had reached an “inflection point.”
“The speed at which change is occurring requires great urgency, and we must now deliver on serving sports fans in a myriad of new ways. Placing resources in support of our direct-to-consumer business strategy, digital, and, of course, continued innovative television experiences, is more critical than ever,” Pitaro said.
ESPN, along with the rest of Disney, has been hit especially hard by the pandemic. Sports were wiped out almost entirely for three months, and the major ones returning have done so in a diminished fashion.
College football, a major driver of revenue for ESPN, has seen sporadic game cancellations and entire conferences deciding to return to the field weeks later than they usually do. The NBA playoffs, while a major success in terms of safety, saw ratings decline. The NBA Finals, which aired on ABC, dropped 49% despite a high-profile team, the LeBron James-led LA Lakers, claiming the championship.
As a business, ESPN is continuing to grapple with the challenge of balancing traditional pay-TV carriage with its nascent streaming efforts. ESPN+, which launched in 2018, has almost 9 million subscribers. The outlet doesn’t have rights to many live games – the core of ESPN’s offering – though negotiations are increasingly contemplating a heavier streaming component.
PITARO MESSAGE TO EMPLOYEES
Dear colleagues,
As you know, we value transparency in our internal dialogue, and that means in both good and challenging times. After much consideration, I have some difficult organizational decisions to share. We will be reducing our workforce, impacting approximately 300 valued team members, in addition to 200 open positions.
Today is hard because ESPN has always been — and will always be — fortified by its fantastic people. Teamwork, dedication, spirit and grit have built this place and are what make ESPN special.
Prior to the pandemic, we had been deeply engaged in strategizing how best to position ESPN for future success amidst tremendous disruption in how fans consume sports. 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. The speed at which change is occurring requires great urgency, and we must now deliver on serving sports fans in a myriad of new ways. Placing resources in support of our direct-to-consumer business strategy, digital, and, of course, continued innovative television experiences, is more critical than ever.
However, building a successful future in a changing world means facing hard choices. Making informed decisions about how and where we need to go – and, as always, in the most efficient way possible – is by far the most challenging job of any leadership team. And, while it must be done looking through a business lens, it also must be done with great respect and genuine concern for people.
We are parting ways with some exceptional team members – some of whom have been here for a long time – and all of whom have made important contributions to ESPN. We’re very grateful for all they’ve meant to us, and I assure you we are taking steps to make their transitions easier.
I am proud of the people at ESPN. Together, we have overcome tremendous challenges and adversity over these past several months and please know that the decisions and plans executed today were not made lightly. They are, however, necessary and I am convinced that we will move forward and effectively navigate this unprecedented disruption.
Our Human Resources and Communications teams will continue to keep you posted on any updates, and you’ll be hearing more detail about our future direction in the next few weeks. In the meantime, if you have questions about anything outlined in this note, please do not hesitate to raise them with your leadership team or HR Business Partner.
With gratitude,
Jimmy
Another one will be coming a few months from now. This is just the starting point.
True, but probably not at what he's making at ESPN currently. Every sports network is having to take a paycut and reduce salary.
he'd prob get more, he's making 8.5 mill
fox would pay
so would netflix, amazon, spotify
DAAAAAAAN
Now that I think about it, the shipping container might be sweating right now. They're moving the simulcast from TV to ESPN+ next Monday. Only a matter of time before someone does a headcount and starts asking questions.
He's surely not getting it from any other sports network. Their personalities are having to take paycut themselves. Theoretically he could get that asking price from those networks that you mentioned IF they were involved in sports.
I'd be rather pissed if I were him or any other sports personality. ESPN already came asking for 2-3 month reduction in pay a while back and now they are asking for them to take one again. Especially if I just recently signed an extension with more job duties. At the end of the day though, the mouse runs things and ESPN has to do what is asked.
No more simulcast on TV anymore?
thenatural
Superstar
Nope. You need to access the app in order to watch. Granted, I only have ESPN+ for combat sports but they have some "ehhh" stuff on there.
I knew they were moving some of the written content to ESPN+, but I never heard anything about the simulcasts as well. Just his show in particular or others as well?
Nope. Starting next Monday, it's on ESPN+
Doesn't effect me much, since I'm subscribed, but that still sucks. Hard to see it as anything other than another demotion after they took the third hour from them. I imagine the company spun it as if it's not, since ESPN is moving all but their most basic of content to ESPN.
Also, ESPNews has a schedule consisting entirely of radio simulcasts during the day, replays of old school ESPN 2 level events, and usually some of the least intriguing college football games on Saturdays. Not even sure what's supposed to fill that gap.