ESPN Cleaning House

[mgoblue]

http://deadspin.com/a-running-list-of-espn-layoffs-1794664091

Not sure if there's a post elsewhere (kind of a topic that doesn't fit in one spot).

50-100 of ESPN talent getting let go in a big downsizing....

Jayson Stark, Trent Dilfer, Danny Kanell, Ed Werder, lots of talent going away...crazy!

[Majingir]

Re: ESPN Cleaning House

Among those cuts, they also ended their already non existent NHL coverage.

Don't get ESPN here so I don't know many names there, but ones I do know are Lebrun,Stark,Bowden

[aukevin]

Re: ESPN Cleaning House

I was pretty shocked to see Stark on that list. I bet there are a lot of guys sitting at their desk today hoping their phones don't ring. Hopefully Tim Kurkjian makes it through.

[TheMatrix31]

Re: ESPN Cleaning House

Tim Kurkjian is the name I wanted to see on here the most. He needs to go to MLB Network and not languish on a network that doesn't give a **** about the sport he covers.

Today goes a long way in my ultimate goal of seeing ESPN wiped off the map. More please.

[aukevin]

Re: ESPN Cleaning House

Yeah I 100% think MLB Network is the better place for baseball news and if either of those guys end up there it would be great. But if they don't go there, I will miss them. ESPN isn't my place for MLB, but it definitely is for college football, so it was good to see Stark and Kurkjian when those sports overlap.

[dickey1331]

Re: ESPN Cleaning House

Well ESPN is learning what years of ****ty programming does. They will blame it on cord cutters while they ignore the actual problem.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[SPTO]

Re: ESPN Cleaning House

This was a bloodletting long in the making however, as severe as it looks it's still not enough. ESPN needs to do an on-air version of what major corporations do with their employees. The ESPN family of networks needs a restructuring in a major way that would involved closing up some of their networks and consolidating to create a smaller but more robust network with a sharper eye towards basic reporting, less TMZ style crap and more of what made the network popular in the first place.

I'm actually surprised that idiots like Stephen A. Smith haven't been given their walking papers. The "debate shows" should be the first casualty of the restructuring of programming. (I'd keep PTI though)

[mgoblue]

Re: ESPN Cleaning House

This was a bloodletting long in the making however, as severe as it looks it's still not enough. ESPN needs to do an on-air version of what major corporations do with their employees. The ESPN family of networks needs a restructuring in a major way that would involved closing up some of their networks and consolidating to create a smaller but more robust network with a sharper eye towards basic reporting, less TMZ style crap and more of what made the network popular in the first place.

I'm actually surprised that idiots like Stephen A. Smith haven't been given their walking papers. The "debate shows" should be the first casualty of the restructuring of programming. (I'd keep PTI though)

Stephen A Smith gets ratings though...he's annoying (I agree), but not surprised to see him stay....

[Blzer]

Re: ESPN Cleaning House

Well ESPN is learning what years of ****ty programming does. They will blame it on cord cutters while they ignore the actual problem.

Exactly! I saw this quote in an article...

To explain the layoffs, ESPN also published a short memo titled “ESPN’s content evolution strategy,” written by six of Skipper’s top deputies. Using more buzzwords and saying even less, it explains that fewer people are watching ESPN’s TV shows, and so ESPN needs to change their TV shows to attract those fans, along with making sure there is plenty of interesting video online for them.

No ****! Keep the useful personalities, and drop the useless ones.

I haven't heard anything on Barry Melrose yet, but seriously... you have one guy commanding NHL business. If you let him go, you might as well never mention NHL again on that channel.

I swear there was a time when SportsNation aired the same "Top 50 blunders" episode or whatever over and over. I mean the show isn't great, but it's also just repetitive.

Then there is Jalen & Jacoby (who??), that Definitely Maybe show with Le Batard & son, and just a lot of crap! As we all know, SportsCenter took the biggest hit of all.

What I really don't like is how they choose to ignore the MLB in every facet except when they air a SNB game, then just toss it off to the wayside again afterward. The MLB Network gets it. The NFL Network definitely gets it. The NBA Network probably gets it (I don't watch it). The NHL Network has to get it more than ESPN does so there is an automatic shift. The Golf Channel brings the analysis the ESPN also won't dare to do. The only people they can grab are NCAA folks, riding LeBron's jock a lot, programs that won't be touched elsewhere like OTL, and actual games themselves.

Hopefully this will be a step in the right direction, but it's sad to see people lose jobs. The good news is hopefully they just find better outlets anyway.

Like SPTO said, I definitely hope they keep PTI. I don't think First Take was a terrible show, but if I already have PTI then I don't need a copycat of it. I liked it better actually when Bayless was on it, actually... got the two to literally butt heads at each other and it was a nice brouhaha. Let's just get things back on track is all so it's no longer "cool to hate ESPN" like it has been the past decade-plus.

[SPTO]

Re: ESPN Cleaning House

Stephen A Smith gets ratings though...he's annoying (I agree), but not surprised to see him stay....

Realistically i'm not surprised either but you have to make sacrifices for long term success. If you keep the obnoxious but popular personalities to the detriment of what their mission statement should be than you're only prolonging the very problems you're facing as a network.

They NEED to make painful decisions in order to fully reorganize.

[TheMatrix31]

Re: ESPN Cleaning House

Much like society, there's no coming back from what ESPN has become. It will just keep going until it's gone.

The two go hand in hand, really.

Watch league-specific networks. How long have I been saying this?

[HealyMonster]

Re: ESPN Cleaning House

This is what they get for going full SJW.

[TheMatrix31]

Re: ESPN Cleaning House

The decline of ESPN started well before that, unfortunately.

[mgoblue]

Re: ESPN Cleaning House

Much like society, there's no coming back from what ESPN has become. It will just keep going until it's gone.

The two go hand in hand, really.

Watch league-specific networks. How long have I been saying this?

Yeah, if you want specific analysis you watch the league networks...ESPN gets you talking heads.

[SPTO]

Re: ESPN Cleaning House

Yeah, if you want specific analysis you watch the league networks...ESPN gets you talking heads.

The only drawback when it comes to the league networks is that they're owned in large part by those leagues and thus you sometimes get "the party line" rather than the hardcore truth when something major happens that they don't like.