Posted in: Disney+, Sports, TV | Tagged: disney, espn, sports, streaming

ESPN Layoffs Hit Van Gundy, Kellerman & More; Hill, Le Batard Respond

Reports are ESPN layoffs have impacted approximately 20 on-air personalities, including Jeff Van Gundy, Jalen Rose, Max Kellerman, and more.

Earlier this year, The Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger made it clear that the company was going to have to make some major cuts across the board to get things back on the right financial track. Iger confirmed that approximately 7000 jobs would be cut as part of the restructuring, representing slightly more than 3% of the company's worldwide workforce. And with those layoffs, Disney CFO Christine McCarthy confirmed that the company was looking for $5.5B in cost savings ($3B in future content savings – non-sports related – and another $2.5B from costs such as marketing, staffing, technology, and other areas (with $1 billion reportedly already underway). Since that time, waves of layoffs were announced – and earlier today, that wave impacted approximately 20 on-air personalities (at the time of this writing) at ESPN, with reports updating throughout the day (and more layoffs expected in the near future).

Among those cut are NBA head coach & game analyst Jeff Van Gundy, ex-NBA player & studio analyst Jalen Rose, reporter & anchor Suzy Kolber, former NFL quarterback & analyst Steve Young, sports journalist & host Max Kellerman, and others. The layoffs come a little more than a month after it was announced that multimedia host Pat McAfee had signed a new multi-year agreement with Disney that will see his multiplatform presence at ESPN expand in new ways. Along with The Pat McAfee Show moving to ESPN in the fall, McAfee will also contribute to ESPN's digital and social platforms. In addition, McAfee will continue his college football analyst role on ESPN's College GameDay Built by The Home Depot, and will also serve as host for a number of "alternate presentations" of ESPN college football telecasts (with some rumblings having McAfee inking an $85M/5-year deal).

"Given the current environment, ESPN has determined it necessary to identify some additional cost savings in the area of public-facing commentator salaries, and that process has begun," ESPN said in a statement earlier today. "This exercise will include a small group of job cuts in the short-term and an ongoing focus on managing costs when we negotiate individual contract renewals in the months ahead." The statement continues, "This is an extremely challenging process, involving individuals who have had tremendous impact on our company. These difficult decisions, based more on overall efficiency than merit, will help us meet our financial targets and ensure future growth." If there are two people who understand all too well what it's like dealing with life behind the scenes at the sports network, it's Jemele Hill and Dan Le Batard – who offered their thoughts & best wishes to their colleagues on Twitter this afternoon:

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