“Happy Holidays – you’re fired!”
After another rough year, 150 ESPN employers learned that they’ll be beginning the new year unemployed. According to The Daily Wire, the announcement came earlier today from ESPN President John Skipper in a memo sent to employees. “Today we are informing approximately 150 people at ESPN that their jobs are being eliminated. We appreciate their contributions, and will assist them as much as possible in this difficult moment with severance, a 2017 bonus, the continuation of health benefits and outplacement services. They will also appreciate your support.”
Most of the jobs eliminated were in the departments of studio production, digital content, and technology. ESPN said that they “will continue to invest in ways which will best position us to serve the modern sports fan and support the success of our business.”
This came after other notable recent layoffs, when ESPN cut 300 jobs in October of 2015, and another 100 in April of 2017. Prior to the most recent layoffs, the company employed roughly 4,000 people domestically.
As we’ve documented previously, these layoffs were in the works for a while, as ESPN’s ratings have continued a constant trajectory…. downward. In fact, ESPN has lost around 13 million subscribers since 2011, when a record 100.13 million households subscribed to cable packages that included the network. That number fell to 87.22 million in August.
Both ESPN and the NFL have been on the same downward trajectory in ratings, and for similar reasons. The NFL allowing the “take the knee” protests was wildly unpopular with viewers – and ESPN has been injecting left-wing commentary into their sports coverage for even longer.
Is it really a surprise that nobody wants to hear politics on a sports network? Insiders at the network have even admitted as much – that they’ve shot themselves in the foot.
The network’s public editor, Jim Brady, admitted back in November of last year: “One notion that virtually everyone I spoke to at ESPN dismisses is what some have perceived as unequal treatment of conservatives who make controversial statements vs. liberals who do the same.”
He continued, stating, “the company’s perceived move leftward has had a stifling effect on discourse inside the company and has affected its public-facing product. Consumers have sensed that same leftward movement, alienating some…. For most of its history, ESPN was viewed relatively apolitically. Its core focus was — and remains today, of course — sports.”
A year later, people still have yet to perceive that “core focus” as sports.
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So sorry for the 150 employees. ESPN executives are to blame for the fake news that doesn’t work. Send them over to the Trump side. He is creating jobs by the minute, while you thrash your people.
I think this is expected and will be followed by other cost cutting in other industries. As a corporation, when you disrespect about 50% of the US population by politicizing EVERYTHING instead of just doing sports, your base will eventually shrink to just those liberals who think your comments are appropriate. This is already happening to late night talk shows.
Scott van Pelf is a perfect example of the gigantic bubble of denial at the cable outlet, bordering on delusion. He ignores the 13 million lost subscribers, claiming that ESPN doesn’t need those viewers. And he claims never to have heard any complaints about the bias, yet they are plastered all over the internet and social media. He dismisses all those complaints as a bunch of angry, anonymous trolls, who would never say such things to his face and never have. They’re people who never watched ESPN and never will and, therefore, are safely ignored, according to him. He never even mentions the layoffs. In fact, his proof that ESPN is still afloat and briskly skimming the waves is his receipt of his monthly paycheck: it just keeps coming.
Yes, Mr. van Pelf, but how much longer? Mwahahahaha!
I hope ESPN goes bye-bye very soon, flushed into the abyss. Along with the National Felon League.
Exactly. Apparently, the very dumb CEO’s of these companies don’t feel the need for conservatives to exists in the marketplace.
If the NFL and Roger Goodell do not take firm decisive action in favor of America and the respect for the American people and the flag, their down-ward spiral will continue along with their bloated salaries. Also, ever since ESPN has been injecting left-wing commentary, our family has quit watching them. Periodically we turn-in and are immediately encouraged to tune-out.
I still am wondering, just how ALL involved, thought this could possibly turn out well?
the really sad thing, is that you’d think, espn would learn from their mistakes, but instead they keep stepping into that big smelly pile of…
ESPN supported the NFL kneelers and now they are paying the price. I wonder how many other jobs are being lost because of the over-paid brats. Maybe when they see their owns jobs gone and/or their salaries cut it might start to sink in that they are destroying the “good thing” they had. There will still be fans but no where near what there was before – as Howard Stern says – “They’ve jumped the shark”.
Let ’em go find work at The Clinton Foundation, MoveOn.org, or working for socialist Soros. ESPN has surely conditioned them to think only the “politically correct” way.
So sorry for the 150 employees. ESPN executives are to blame for the fake news that doesn’t work. Send them over to the Trump side. He is creating jobs by the minute, while you thrash your people.
I think this is expected and will be followed by other cost cutting in other industries. As a corporation, when you disrespect about 50% of the US population by politicizing EVERYTHING instead of just doing sports, your base will eventually shrink to just those liberals who think your comments are appropriate. This is already happening to late night talk shows.
Scott van Pelf is a perfect example of the gigantic bubble of denial at the cable outlet, bordering on delusion. He ignores the 13 million lost subscribers, claiming that ESPN doesn’t need those viewers. And he claims never to have heard any complaints about the bias, yet they are plastered all over the internet and social media. He dismisses all those complaints as a bunch of angry, anonymous trolls, who would never say such things to his face and never have. They’re people who never watched ESPN and never will and, therefore, are safely ignored, according to him. He never even mentions the layoffs. In fact, his proof that ESPN is still afloat and briskly skimming the waves is his receipt of his monthly paycheck: it just keeps coming.
Yes, Mr. van Pelf, but how much longer? Mwahahahaha!
I hope ESPN goes bye-bye very soon, flushed into the abyss. Along with the National Felon League.
If the NFL and Roger Goodell do not take firm decisive action in favor of America and the respect for the American people and the flag, their down-ward spiral will continue along with their bloated salaries. Also, ever since ESPN has been injecting left-wing commentary, our family has quit watching them. Periodically we turn-in and are immediately encouraged to tune-out.
Exactly. Apparently, the very dumb CEO’s of these companies don’t feel the need for conservatives to exists in the marketplace.
I still am wondering, just how ALL involved, thought this could possibly turn out well?
the really sad thing, is that you’d think, espn would learn from their mistakes, but instead they keep stepping into that big smelly pile of…
ESPN supported the NFL kneelers and now they are paying the price. I wonder how many other jobs are being lost because of the over-paid brats. Maybe when they see their owns jobs gone and/or their salaries cut it might start to sink in that they are destroying the “good thing” they had. There will still be fans but no where near what there was before – as Howard Stern says – “They’ve jumped the shark”.
Let ’em go find work at The Clinton Foundation, MoveOn.org, or working for socialist Soros. ESPN has surely conditioned them to think only the “politically correct” way.