ESPN officially began layoffs Tuesday tied to its NFL Network acquisition. In turn, Chairman Jimmy Pitaro confirmed the cuts in a memo to staff.
What We Know: Among the reported names departing include NFL analyst Ryan Clark, and play by play voice Karl Ravech. In addition to SportsCenter anchor David Lloyd, fantasy expert Stephania Bell among others. Pitaro stated that most of the cuts stem from ESPN’s integration of NFL assets it acquired in January. Meanwhile, some employees outside that unit will also receive notices.
What They Said: ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro memo to staff: “Over the past several months, we’ve made significant progress integrating the NFL assets that we acquired into ESPN. Throughout this process, we have taken the time to carefully evaluate our collective teams, resources and organizational structure to best position us for the future. As a result, we had to make some difficult decisions about job impacts that we will be communicating today. While most of the job impacts are tied to the acquisition, we will also notify colleagues in other parts of the company today that their positions have been impacted. We are committed to treating employees with compassion and respect and to providing support as they navigate this transition. Even in moments like these, the strength of ESPN comes from our people, our teamwork and our shared mission to serve sports fans.”
What Remains Unclear ESPN has not disclosed how many jobs the layoffs affect companywide. Furthermore, the network hasn’t specified how many cuts hit NFL Network’s Los Angeles operation versus Bristol staff.
What It Means The cuts show ESPN absorbing real costs from its NFL Network deal. Moreover, overlap between the two organizations made some roles redundant once integration began. For fans, familiar voices like Clark and Ravech and others won’t return. And for ESPN, the memo signals more consolidation could follow as NFL coverage centralizes under one roof.
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.