Layoffs imminent at ESPN ‘primarily in off-camera departments,’ per report

ESPN is preparing to layoff around 30 staffers “primarily in off-camera departments,” according to a report by Puck sports correspondent John Ourand on Monday night.

This is unfortunately familiar territory for the Worldwide Leader, which just underwent high-profile layoffs in the summer of 2023. That round of cuts saw numerous longtime on-air personalities, including lead NBA analysts Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson, NFL anchor Suzy Kolber, and NBA studio analyst Jalen Rose, receive the pink slip. A few years prior, in the fall of 2020, ESPN cut 300 jobs in addition to eliminating 200 openings. And from 2015 to 2017, ESPN endured three rounds of layoffs, which slashed its workforce by more than 400 employees.

ESPN is far from the only media company being forced into downsizing, especially among its legacy TV peers. As fewer people subscribe to traditional pay TV bundles, and as the price of live sports rights continue to increase, especially with an expected NFL price hike coming this summer, which could see ESPN an additional billion-or-more dollars per year, layoffs have become an unfortunate reality.

Interestingly, Ourand reports that this round of cuts is at least in part due to the money ESPN lost during the fraught YouTube TV carriage battle last fall. ESPN hemorrhaged approximately $100 million during the 15-day blackout, and that lost revenue is now coming home to roost in the form of job cuts.

The layoffs are not a response to ESPN’s recent acquisition of NFL Network, Ourand reports. The company does not intend to cut anyone from its new channel, seeing as NFL Network “now operates with a lean staff” after its own set of substantial layoffs two years ago.

Furthermore, the ESPN cuts could portend additional layoffs in other divisions of Disney, Ourand writes.

Other than knowing that these cuts will “primarily” impact behind-the-scenes employees, it is unclear exactly where the layoffs will be targeted.