John Skipper, the head of ESPN, revealed to employees that 150 people will lose their jobs at the “worldwide leader in sports.” These layoffs have long been rumored and come as ESPN has lost subscribers while sports rights fees have continued to rise. ESPN will be launching a direct-to-consumer service, ESPN Plus, in early 2018, to try and counteract recent trends.
Here is the memo Skipper sent to employees:
Today we are informing approximately 150 people at ESPN that their jobs are being eliminated.
We appreciate their contributions, and will assist them as much as possible in this difficult moment with severance, a 2017 bonus, the continuation of health benefits and outplacement services. They will also appreciate your support.
The majority of the jobs eliminated are in studio production, digital content, and technology and they generally reflect decisions to do less in certain instances and re-direct resources.
We will continue to invest in ways which will best position us to serve the modern sports fan and support the success of our business.
John