Arda Öcal is out at ESPN.
The broadcaster announced Wednesday morning on social media that he had been let go from the network after a decade on staff. “I got let go from ESPN this morning,” Öcal wrote. “It’s all good, I’ll be fine. 10 years is a decent run.”
Öcal had been one of ESPN’s more versatile on-air presences across the network’s platforms. He was best known for his NHL work, hosting The Drop — a live digital pregame show that launched in 2021 on ESPN’s app and social platforms ahead of marquee broadcasts — and serving as studio host for In the Crease, the network’s postgame NHL show on ESPN+. He was a regular on ESPN’s Stanley Cup Playoff studio coverage, working alongside Steve Levy, Mark Messier, and P.K. Subban.
Beyond hockey, Öcal contributed across SportsCenter, SportsNation, and The Ocho — ESPN’s annual alternate programming event — and was one of the network’s faces in its Fortnite “Football Island” collaboration in October 2024. He also narrated the NHL’s Backstory podcast series, including the debut episode on the origins of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.
His departure comes as ESPN continues to shed talent across its platforms. Clinton Yates was let go in late March after his radio show and Andscape writing role were both ended as part of programming changes, and Xavier Scruggs departed around the same time after five years as an MLB analyst. Öcal’s exit comes as the sport he covered most closely at ESPN is having its best viewership run in years. Regular season viewership is up 23% to a 14-year high, and first-round playoff viewership jumped nearly 70% year-over-year.
He plans to take some time before deciding what comes next.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.