ESPN layoffs

[CatsnRoses]

Read her piece on Gonzaga during the Final Four about the bond between Dan Monson and Mark Few and about the origin of creating Gonzaga. It's a very good piece and well written.

Obviously her being against Kentucky skews judgment sometimes.

With that type of access it's almost impossible not to stumble into a few good stories every now and again. I just never found her pieces very well written or particularly interesting. And her Twitter account certainly didn't help that perception, IMO.

 

[MWes11]

Eamonn Brennan out.

 

[Double Oaked Juice]

ESPN deserves this because they don't practice fair journalism anymore but extremely liberal and PC tabloid muckraking (and I am quite liberal!) speculation and unfounded punditry. They ignore actual news like the UNC scandal but constantly preach about LeBron's views on rap music, his favorite breakfast cereal, what Tom Brady is doing, why everything is racist, and countless other stories that aren't sports related. People have had enough and are cutting the cord for financial and political reasons. The people that work there behind the scenes create and support this nonsense and are ultimately just as responsible as the on-air personalities.

I've noticed the same thing in a number of other shows. My wife is obsessed with all of those Chicago shows (Fire, Police, Doctors, Janitors). In one of them, an attorney talks matter-of-factly about global warming, saying that "people who don't believe in global warming are flat earthers."

Now, I couldn't believe the writers would drop a bomb like that into a show which plenty of republicans watch. From a business perspective, I don't see how the benefits of broaching such a hot issue outweigh the risks of alienating a substantial amount of the viewership. Just doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but I suppose I'm old fashioned.

 

[SemperFiCat]

Far more interesting than this is what will happen down the line with the money ESPN pours into college sports, the NFL, and the NBA for broadcast rights. ESPN hit its peak, and has nowhere else to go but down. It's inevitable, because you have 10's of millions of people who aren't really interested in sports who are no longer willing to subsidize ESPN via paying a bloated basic cable bill every month. We could be seeing, for really the first time ever, where the ceiling is on the absurd economics of professional and big-time college sports. We could actual see a reduction in salaries within the next 10 years.

So much of the money in sports comes from TV now that it's hard to see how it's sustainable. Turner and ESPN are paying the NBA 2.6 billion dollars this year, which is over 85 million per team. That type of money, on a contract signed relatively recently, was a desperation maneuver by those networks, because live sports is about the only thing left that guarantees viewers.

But what happens when that desperation maneuver proves an unsustainable failure? NBA arenas generally seat 16-20,000. Even if they manage to get an average of $100 per seat per game (which they generally don't), that's still only 80 million dollars from ticket sales for the regular season, max. Yet the NBA salary cap this year was 94 million.

That's exactly why ESPN keeps pushing the NBA as a 'can't miss' sports event. It's an investment for them. But in all actuality, it's a horrible product. And it's been horrible for for close to 20 years. But ESPN will push the five months of NBA playoffs like it's the greatest thing in sports. I hate seeing anyone loose their job for non performance issue (even if the have a negative opinion of UK/Cal), but ESPN has brought this upon themselves with poor programming and dabbling in politics.

 

[Smashcat]

Former C-J writer.
C.L. Brown‏Verified account@clbrownespn 5m5 minutes ago
Landed in Madrid. Turned on phone 1st time all vacation. Got texts asking if job was safe. Found out it was not. Enjoyed my 4 years, ESPN.

 

[MWes11]

Danny Kannell out.

 

[mebeblue2]

Read her piece on Gonzaga during the Final Four about the bond between Dan Monson and Mark Few and about the origin of creating Gonzaga. It's a very good piece and well written.

Obviously her being against Kentucky skews judgment sometimes.

even a blind squirrel finds a nut
i say good riddance to her
if ESPN ever wants to be sports channel again and not a soap opera then a lot more people would watch it

 

[mj2k10]

That's exactly why ESPN keeps pushing the NBA as a 'can't miss' sports event. It's an investment for them. But in all actuality, it's a horrible product. And it's been horrible for for close to 20 years. But ESPN will push the five months of NBA playoffs like it's the greatest thing in sports. I hate seeing anyone loose their job for non performance issue (even if the have a negative opinion of UK/Cal), but ESPN has brought this upon themselves with poor programming and dabbling in politics.

Yes and no. Totally disagree about the NBA. But yes, obviously ESPN is going to push something that it's sunk a huge amount of money into.

Most people who think the NBA has a terrible product don't actually watch games, and/or have always hated the NBA. It's almost a political/religious thing for them. The NBA is in a very good place right now in terms of how the game is played and who is playing it.

 

[SemperFiCat]

Danny Kannell out.

Really?

 

[MdWIldcat55]

Sorry to hear of anyone losing a job. But the move from unofficial member of the UNC-CHeats public relations staff to official member won't be that difficult. She might even get Tami Hansborough's old job -- if not all her duties. I think that guy got fired.

It was her journalistic responsibility to bury the cheaters, or resign and let everyone know she was being muzzled by John Skipper and company. Instead she mostly went along with the ESPN-wide conspiracy to ignore the worst cheating scandal in the sports history.

 

[SemperFiCat]

Yes and no. Totally disagree about the NBA. But yes, obviously ESPN is going to push something that it's sunk a huge amount of money into.

Most people who think the NBA has a terrible product don't actually watch games, and/or have always hated the NBA. It's almost a political/religious thing for them. The NBA is in a very good place right now in terms of how the game is played and who is playing it.

Hey, if you like it, I'm happy for you. I do watch a game or two (or parts of) a week. Right now, it's GS and Lebron. That's it. GS doesn't impress me at all. It's just a miniature Dream Team. Also, games don't even matter til the last five min.

 

[morgousky]

I don't care if you don't like her for all the criticism about Cal and UK. It's pretty poor form rooting for someone to lose their job. Par for the course for most of you.

Again, nothing is stopping you from escorting her to the unemployment line.

She's done. And while we're at it, you can be done too.

 

[MWes11]

Really?

According to The Big Lead, yes. And his twitter.

 

[WildMoon]

I'm not a huge Clay Travis fan but this is a pretty excellent summary of why ESPN is in major trouble

http://www.outkickthecoverage.com/espn-firing-over-a-hundred-employees-today-042617

I agree with some and disagree with some of his comment.

But it sucks for people losing job. Good luck to them.

 

[wcc31]

Read her piece on Gonzaga during the Final Four about the bond between Dan Monson and Mark Few and about the origin of creating Gonzaga. It's a very good piece and well written.

Obviously her being against Kentucky skews judgment sometimes.

She has a job that a thousands upon thousands of sports fans could do. There is no easier job on the planet. All you have to do is NOT show bias, which she was incapable of. The hell with her.

 

[ace on the river]

I just think the entire sports on TV programming is saturated. I know i dont care much about sports anymore. If it were'nt for UK i would probably never watch sports. The NFL game was ruined by rule changes and Poor officiating, and for me, College Basketball is going the same direction

 

[EMMCAT]

I've noticed the same thing in a number of other shows. My wife is obsessed with all of those Chicago shows (Fire, Police, Doctors, Janitors). In one of them, an attorney talks matter-of-factly about global warming, saying that "people who don't believe in global warming are flat earthers."

Now, I couldn't believe the writers would drop a bomb like that into a show which plenty of republicans watch. From a business perspective, I don't see how the benefits of broaching such a hot issue outweigh the risks of alienating a substantial amount of the viewership. Just doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but I suppose I'm old fashioned.

Old fashioned= rational

 

[JerseyCat84]

Good riddance. Maybe Forde can support her while she's unemployed.

 

[VillaCat]

Please oh please let Doris Burke escape unscathed...

 

[JerseyCat84]

Does Jeff Goodman stay?

 

[JerseyCat84]

So most of the football people are safe.

 

[track42]

I don't get joy out of people losing their jobs.Even if I don't like them.

 

[EMMCAT]

ESPN will cut more than 100 employees today, Yahoo Finance has learned.

It has been widely reported for weeks that big cuts are coming to ESPN—so widely reported, and dissected, and gossiped about, in fact, that ESPN moved up its schedule and is notifying people earlier than it originally planned.

The 100 people getting cut are all “on-air talent,” a label ESPN uses for TV personalities, radio hosts, and writers who regularly appear on TV and radio. (ESPN says it has 1,000 such people, prior to these cuts.)

More here


https://finance.yahoo.com/news/espn-will-cut-100-air-personalities-today-123057142.html

Google sports personality's salaries and you will find that top people like Jim Nantz make $5 million per year. Others such as Al Michaels and Joe buck are similarly well paid. According to this article Barkley makes 1.5 million. Berman made $3 million. Some personalities with sports radio shows in which they have an ownership interest (Jim Rome, Dan Patrick) can make substantially more. Rome supposedly has a personal net worth of over $60 Million. . Bayless and Steven A. are also very well compensated.

 

[JasonS.]

Really? I thought she was terrible. To each their own.

"Long Shots" is definitely worth a read. Best college basketball book since .... I don't know. Since "Season on the Brink" maybe?

Amazon product ASIN 1629374598

 

[BlueBomb]

Lol. No.

I hate seeing regular everyday hard working people lose their job.

ESPN personalities? I hope they lose more than that.

That's a sad take.

 

[*Bleedingblue*]

Google sports personality's salaries and you will find that top people like Jim Nantz make $5 million per year. Others such as Al Michaels and Joe buck are similarly well paid. According to this article Barkley makes 1.5 million. Berman made $3 million. Some personalities with sports radio shows in which they have an ownership interest (Jim Rome, Dan Patrick) can make substantially more. Rome supposedly has a personal net worth of over $60 Million. . Bayless and Steven A. are also very well compensated.

To me it is shocking they are paid so well when they are just up their talking about a game. I'd work for well less than that and you guys would get much better entertainment than half the guys commentating. Barkley is entertaining but most are not.

 

[OldEvilleCat]

Travis is gonna be an insufferable gloat now that all his predictions of ESPN's collapse over the years are actually coming true. He's on record as having seen this coming before everyone else, and he's gonna make damn sure we know it.

Only if we tune in to listen to his drivel....he's nothin' but a stirrer. If I have to listen to either him or Mike & Mike, I choose ....or just turn it off.

 

[JasonS.]

Danny Kannell out.

This one I can get on board with.

 

[MWes11]

Jayson Stark out.

 

[TankedCat]

nothing against some of these names but when ESPN says they are cutting the high paid on air talent, I don't think of Dana O' Neil

-------------

Among those fired:

• Ed Werder - NFL
• Jeremy Crabtree - College Football Recruiting
• Brett McMurphy - College Football
• Austin Ward - Big Ten Football
• Jesse Temple - Big Ten Football
• Paul Kuharsky - Titans Writer (will be leaving in July)
• Dana O'Neil - College Basketball
• Eamonn Brennan - College Basketball
• Mark Saxon - Baseball
• Jim Bowden - MLB analyst
• Scott Burnside - Hockey
• Pierre LeBrun - Hockey
• Joe McDonald- Hockey
• Mike Goodman - Soccer
• Brendan Fitzgerald - ESPNU Anchor

"The Hollywood Reporter" is reporting Ryen Russillo, Karl Ravech and Hannah Storm will have roles "significantly reduced."

I guess I was expecting names of guys on the SEC /Big 10/ Pac 12 channels that host gameday and such. Maybe they don't make much money

 

[childe]

Sounds like Kanell found out shortly before his radio show was to air. If so, brutal.

 

[Untouchables96]

I know right. It's mostly internet and beat reporters getting the pink slip. I was hoping for some analysts and anchors.

 

[JasonS.]

College football and basketball reporting coverage just getting decimated.

Wonder if today gets us any closer to day ESPN (and everyone else after) stops sending play-by-play/color teams to game sites and starts calling everything by remote from Bristol. That day is coming ... I'd just hope not too soon.

 

[GonzoCat90]

Again, for those celebrating as if it's the Stephen A Smith's with 10-figure net worth being let go, you'll see very few of those.

These are people we've barely heard of that I can't imagine are making a fortune writing about specific teams or conferences, even for ESPN.

They aren't poor, but they aren't sitting pretty for life.

But hey, hooray for destroying that librul ESPN and their dUKe/Carolina bias!

 

[MWes11]

Trent Dilfer out.

 

[VikingCat21]

I don't like him but I can understand if Goodman keeps his job. If they fire him it will drop the number of people that give a shit about Big10 basketball down to zero.

 

[TankedCat]

I was just watching PTI yesterday and they were talking about how great Dale Jr. would be as an on air personality, along with Tony Romo from earlier episodes.

ESPN wouldn't fire Tim Tebow!

 

[YourPublicEnemy]

She has a job that a thousands upon thousands of sports fans could do. There is no easier job on the planet. All you have to do is NOT show bias, which she was incapable of. The hell with her.

This is absolutely and completely ridicuous and wrong. Not everyone can write, believe me. Not everyone knows how to format an article, use quotes, write readable leads, etc.

Thinking because you can write on a message board or social media and have an opinion that it's somehow "easy" to report and write like a professional, is silly.

It is very easy to tell who is some random guy writing and who is a good reporter/writer. Just because you know how to put food in an oven doesn't make you a five-star chef.

 

[Mojocat]

I'm with you guys in calling out those who seem gleeful about people losing jobs. Bad look. And also agree that BBN is right up there with Bama fans in thinking that virtually every media person hates us. They don't. ESPN at times is not much more than a UK Infomercial. Having said that.....just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get ya! This program and this coach probably have more haters than anyone in college sports outside of, maybe Durham, NC. Our perceived history of racism - which is accepted gospel now whatever the facts are - and of a "lack of perspective" in making UK hoops more important than life and death, added to Calipari's unique way of making people furious and drawing hate.....realistically means there are more than a few in the media actively rooting for us to fail. So, again, agree with some of the pushback. But some of these names, hard for me to feel a ton of sympathy if they get an axe......

 

[d2atTech]

Hopefully the first of many we don't like. Ed Werder also has been laid off.

really sucks for them and their families. i hope they land on their feet :/