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NEWS: Latest On Brutal Disney/ESPN Layoffs. Senior execs leaving now include:
— Michael McCarthy (@MMcCarthyREV) April 25, 2023
- Nate Silver, founder of FiveThirtyEight
- Russell Wolff, head of ESPN+
- Peter Gianesini, senior digital audio director
- Mike Soltys, beloved PR guru + 43-year veteranhttps://t.co/yTmUroWJwn
I still only have 2 names at this point from ESPN (after my debacle of quoting a very old article and having to do the “rewrite of shame…). Russel Wolff and Mike Soltys which shifted the leadership for the streaming portion of the platform. Update - a couple more names released, and apparently ESPN radio is being “looked at…. Some reports that employees making 500k+ asked to take 15% pay reduction
The number being reported is that 300 jobs were cut, but all “non on air talent… at this point. 4,000 layoffs are expected in this round but span multiple IPs and include offices and locations across the globe. To keep this somewhat relevant to hockey, I’m keeping the focus local.
I wish I could give more article and video links, but I haven’t found one yet that isn’t polarizing politically to one side or the other. That is a sad state of affairs. If you want to know more about impending Disney issues in terms of potential billions lost, go find your political outlet of choice and you’ll see what current lawsuits and legislations are involved. I don’t really have a horse in this race. There is a fascinating video of an after dark show where a dragon burned to the ground as a fuel line sprung a leak and the fire took out the entire structure (which looked to be nearly 2 stories high). Not a good night for that attraction.
Back to ESPN. By making a huge mistake and quoting an old article, I stumbled onto an interesting trend. Over the past 10 years this is the 5th round of layoffs by ESPN. The 6th is coming pretty much at the end of the basketball and NHL playoffs. This is where on air talent will be affected. Another issue was brought to light. The NBA contract is coming up and the league wants a raise.
The numbers being tossed about in terms of viewership is around 2 million per game. In context, the NHL averaged around 700k per game this past season. A writer’s strike is all but guaranteed in the coming weeks and sports journalism isn’t exempt from the potential fallout. However, Netflix just paid 2.5 billion for Korean programming that has found some sort of large U.S. following. I’ve never seen any of the shows so I can’t really comment.
If the strike goes 100 days or more (see strike in ‘07-‘08) the first properties affected will be late night talk shows who have a constant stream of new writing. Any live show using teleprompters will have to make adjustment. Strangely, Artificial Intelligence is now being experimented for scripting everything from comic books to full movie scripts. With revenue reductions across the board as VPNs and streams replace cable and satellite subs, this isn’t an ideal time for raises as you can imagine.
NBC/Universal just released its earning reports so I’ll have to wade the waters of the ex-broadcast partners to see if they are better positioned to step in if Bally sports or ESPN is compromised in their ability to provide coverage. Rumors of a sale for ESPN are still just that. By July we’ll see what both companies are reporting in terms of stability and earnings.