Layoffs didn’t come up at Warner Bros. Discovery’s upfront presentation earlier this week. Why would they? That isn’t information you are usually eager to share with advertisers and media members. Unfortunately, just because they were not mentioned does not mean they weren’t going to happen.
John Ourand of Sports Business Journal reports that cuts were made to the company’s sports staff on Thursday. In total, fifty people lost their jobs. Senior executives and on-air talent were not affected.
The digital side of WBD Sports was hit hard. A source told Ourand that up to 10% of the digital group was let go.
No company is immune from major layoffs. Disney is in the midst of an effort to cut 7000 jobs. Talent were part of job cuts by NFL Media earlier this year. Even smaller digital sports outlets like Jomboy, SB Nation and Religion of Sports all made serious reductions to their staffs.
Warner Bros. Discovery made cuts to its sports staff just six months ago. At the time, Luis Silberwasser, WBD Sports Chair & CEO, told managers that they were not done. He expected them to continue finding ways to streamline their departments.
Negotiations are likely to begin this summer as the NBA looks to secure new TV deals. David Zaslav, Warner Bros. Discovery’s CEO, has said that a new deal would have to make financial sense for TNT to stay in business with the league. Reports sense have suggested that WBD Sports will make an “aggressive bid” to stay in the basketball business.
