Layoffs are coming for ESPN, again
A week after ESPN absorbed most of NFL Network's employees, the four-letter network will be tightening the corporate belt. John Ourand of Puck reports that layoffs are coming for Bristol, again . Ourand explains that the reductions are unrelated to the recent media merger with the NFL.
Instead, it's a result of ongoing cord-cutting, the possibility that ESPN will be spun off from Disney, and the financial impact of last year's 15-day dispute with YouTube TV, which ultimately came with a price tag of $100 million. Meanwhile, ESPN will soon be asked to pay its new 10-percent limited partner (the NFL) more than the $2. 7 billion per year that's currently being shelled out for Monday Night Football .
The good news, if there is any when it comes to layoffs, is that as few as 30 jobs will be impacted in the upcoming round, mainly in off-camera jobs. Six years ago, ESPN cut 300 jobs. Still, the only constant in the current media climate is change.
And more changes are coming for ESPN.