ESPN On-Air Jobs Among Cuts as Struggling Disney Unit Retrenches
- Network reducing correspodents reporting from the field
- Sports TV leader grappling with soaring costs, fleeing viewers
Production staff view screens in an ESPN operation room on day 9 of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 8, 2015 in London.
Photographer: Carl Court/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN network will cut about 100 staffers this week, according to a person familiar with the matter, as the leader in sports TV copes with rising programming costs and an eroding subscriber base.
ESPN President John Skipper, in a memo to staff Wednesday, said the network has been determining whom to cut from a pool of higher-paid, on-air talent, which includes anchors, analysts, reporters, writers and those who handle play-by-play. The company has 8,000 global employees. He didn’t indicate who will be let go.