ESPN: Layoffs Mostly Tied to NFL Network Acquisition

Corporate mergers and acquisitions almost inevitably result in layoffs as the two companies discover dreaded “redundancies.” That is what is happening Tuesday with ESPN and NFL Network.

Nearly six months after ESPN parent company Disney finalized its acquisition of NFLN and NFL RedZone distribution rights from the league in exchange for a 10% ownership stake in ESPN, the network has launched its first major round of layoffs in three years. 

Most of the cuts are being driven by the NFL Network acquisition, according to an internal memo from ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro obtained by Front Office Sports. 

Pitaro’s memo reads: 

“Over the past several months, we’ve made significant progress integrating the NFL assets that we acquired into ESPN. Throughout this process, we have taken the time to carefully evaluate our collective teams, resources and organizational structure to best position us for the future. As a result, we had to make some difficult decisions about job impacts that we will be communicating today.

“While most of the job impacts are tied to the acquisition, we will also notify colleagues in other parts of the company today that their positions have been impacted. We are committed to treating employees with compassion and respect and to providing support as they navigate this transition.

“Even in moments like these, the strength of ESPN comes from our people, our teamwork and our shared mission to serve sports fans.”

Separately, about 10 on-air talents are losing their jobs across multiple sports. What follows is a list of talents who have been impacted by the layoffs so far:

• NFL analyst Ryan Clark
• MLB play-by-play announcer/host Karl Ravech
• NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero
• SportsCenter anchor David Lloyd
• Injury/fantasy football analyst Stephania Bell
• NFL Network analyst Charles Davis
• First Take contributor Cam Newton
• Radio host/NFL analyst Bart Scott
• Combat sports reporter Andreas Hale
• ESPN.com staff writer Dan Hajducky

ESPN’s layoffs come amid wider cuts at Disney, which affected hundreds of company employees Tuesday.