Hurting from Millions of Lost Subscribers, ESPN Lays Off 100 Employees

On Wednesday, ESPN announced another round of layoffs, reports Yahoo Sports. This time about 100 employees will lose their jobs, including on-air talent. Yahoo

Subscription News: Hurting from Millions of Lost Subscribers

Source: ESPN

On Wednesday, ESPN announced another round of layoffs, said Yahoo Sports. This time about 100 employees will lose their jobs, including recognizable on-air talent, starting this week. The New York Times reported that Trent Dilfer, Danny Kannell, Jim Bowden, Jayson Stark, Andy Katz, Len Elmore and Ed Werder are among those being let go. The news was first announced by author James Andrew Miller via Twitter and then confirmed by John Skipper in a message to ESPN employees.

“ESPN has been actively engaged throughout its history in navigating changes in technology and fan behavior in order to continue to deliver quality, breakthrough content. Today, we are again focused on a strategic vision that will propel our vast array of networks and services forward,” Skipper said.

“Our content strategy – primarily illustrated in recent months by melding distinct, personality-driven SportsCenter TV editions and digital-only efforts with our biggest sub-brand – still needs to go further, faster…and as always, must be efficient and nimble.  Dynamic change demands an increased focus on versatility and value, and as a result, we have been engaged in the challenging process of determining the talent-anchors, analysts, reporters, writers and those who handle play-by-play-necessary to meet those demands,” added Skipper.

Shortly after the announcements begin, a Twitter storm started under the hashtag #ESPNlayoffs. Here is just a sampling:

 ESPN Lays Off 100 Employees

Source: Twitter

Common themes among these tweets are that ESPN has become too political, and viewers and ESPN do not necessarily agree which personalities should stay and who should go.

In a post on ESPN Front Row, ESPN added details of the new content strategy:

  • A new approach as shown by SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt, the launch of SC6 with Michael Smith and Jemele Hill, and more digital-only content on social media and via the ESPN app
  • The launch of home screen video with additional personalization with more live news video and enhanced video and audio streaming to come
  • A multi-screen approach for big events and tournaments
  • More online coverage to complement NFL Draft TV coverage

“Our goal continues to be to maximize our unparalleled scale in every medium with storytelling that stands out and makes a difference. We are well-equipped to thrive going forward by embracing these themes,” said ESPN.

Yahoo Sports says the problem is not ratings, however. ESPN still has strong ratings which brings in ad revenue. The problem is subscriber loss. In the last six years, ESPN has lost 12 million subscribers, representing a 12 percent decrease. The lost subscribers are not necessarily ESPN viewers, however, but are more likely cord cutters who are canceling cable subscriptions altogether, which affects cable networks like ESPN.

ESPN is not the only one impacted by cord cutting. It is an issue for many networks. In 2015, 20 percent of those age 32 and older were cord-cutters or cord-nevers. In 2025, that percentage is expected to grow to 50 percent.

Subscription News: Hurting from Millions of Lost Subscribers

Source: Forrester Research

While all of this is happening, the New York Times reports that Disney is working on an ESPN-branded streaming subscription service expected to launch later this year.

Insider Take:

In an ever-changing media landscape, legacy companies like ESPN can no longer just ride things out, hoping that viewership will return. They must proactively seek ways to evolve to meet their viewers’ changing needs. ESPN has been losing subscribers for years, and while the company has made some adjustments like its multi-screen approach, those changes have not been sufficient to stem the losses, requiring a major upheaval to cut costs and revamp their strategy.

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