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Count Billboard and Indiewire as the 2 latest “outlets… to be shut down. I’ve reported on a few others in digital media that have closed down (MTV News, Buzzfeed, Nat Geo got rid of internal reporters etc). We’ve now also seen Leafs Lunch and 1700 cuts coming to what is arguably the hottest media market in hockey. New York was right there, but times are changing fast.
I have one or two people who have never steered me wrong. Zadina’s contract of 1.825 is looked at as too high for “an AHL performance…. That one shocked me. I did not know Yzerman had been shopping the former first rounder by Zadina’s request and didn’t really expect him to clear. Maybe this adds value or leads to a buyout. Not sure.
I spent the morning rubbing my forehead. ESPNs parent co has recalled execs from vacation for an emergency meeting tomorrow. After ESPNs on air layoff (said not to be part of the Disney cut) magazines showed pics of the CEO and his 33 million dollar mansion that is undergoing upgrades (now has a 2 story horse stable). That’s one of those “friends in the media… pieces and it’s causing problems. A full month away from the earnings call and it looks like more multi billion dollar losses will be reported.
I ask everyone to keep an eye on the landscape as contracts are bandied about. Nylander is rumored to be asking for 10 million on his extension, with Matthews looking to be the highest paid in the league on a 3 or 4 year deal (looking at 15% of the cap or so). Something’s going to have to give as ad revenues are drying up in places I never expected. The player agents are saying, “all ships rise…. Right now, all ships are paying 1/5th of their checks back to the league.
Even though there’s been a lot of “unhappiness… in the comments, one thing I credit Yzerman with is knowing the landscape. He was part of the “Shanahan summit… years ago that saw changes to the game (which eventually lost their glean, but helped lead to 3 on 3 OT after a few years). The shootout had a good run for a few years.
The landscape I’m talking about is bizarre economic conditions. One major retailer announced 1.3 billion in theft (used to be called Shrinkage but I think Seinfeld may have helped with that change). We really do not know how thin things are. Venture capital is pulling out as a major corporation is restricting credit lines. This affects everyone. Lost in the shuffle is still ESPNs “streaming… balloon while many services are pulling shows for the tax write off. Netflix sent around 13b to Korea and Japan for original content that seems to have a growing following. (I didn’t watch Squid Games, seemed a little rough).
We won’t know for almost a month what the reported losses are going to be for ESPN/Disney but extra rounds of layoffs don’t signal well. The hockey end of things is so missed right now. There is so much floating around that will directly affect this great sport that I’m hoping for more clarity and better days ahead.