OT: More Significant Layoffs Are Coming to ESPN

[YellwJcket999]

Sunday Night Football is another example: Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Michelle Tafoya, Mike Tirico, Dan Patrick, Tony Dungy, Rodney Harrison, and Mike Florio. Plus, I think Bob Costas chimes in at times. That's 8 or 9. I think 3-4 is sufficient.

This is probably a very unpopular opinion but--Tirico gets a thumbs down from me.

 

[MilfordHusky]

This is probably a very unpopular opinion but--Tirico gets a thumbs down from me.

I don't dislike any of them much, though Cris tends to laugh when he talks and Rodney seems to have a little Patriot arrogance. I think Tirico is generally fine, but his role on SNF seems ill defined and superfluous. To me, SNF may be an extreme case, but it's a high-profile example of seemingly having too many people involved. The whole production seems unnecessarily expensive.

 

[Puppy Love]

The current model of broadcast journalism as it relates to sports seems largely unsustainable. It may have worked in the days when you were forced to buy entire cable bundles just to get the few channels you wanted. Consumers today have more choices in how they purchase entertainment. It seems as though those choices are going to grow. As that happens, providers will have to make hard choices as to what they will subsidize and what will simply get dropped. And that environment, those that are able to be most nimble and adaptive will thrive. Bumbling giants who think they can rule the field simply by asserting their will (i.e. ESPN) will have a much tougher time.

 

[j66kicker]

I don't dislike any of them much, though Cris tends to laugh when he talks and Rodney seems to have a little Patriot arrogance. I think Tirico is generally fine, but his role on SNF seems ill defined and superfluous. To me, SNF may be an extreme case, but it's a high-profile example of seemingly having too many people involved. The whole production seems unnecessarily expensive.

I suspect the layoffs will be more concentrated on the talk programming rather than live event programming. For the NFL, ESPN pretty much puts on whoever the NFL tells them to. Last year there was a big bruhaha where one of the big name game broadcasters wanted a day off on a playoff weekend and the NFL told them no - just fly him from the Saturday game to wherever the Sunday game was (don't remember the logistical details, but it was something like that situation) (Tirico was ESPN's proposed sub, and he got vetoed by the NFL).

BTW tomorrow is the last day for Mike & Mike.

 

[Paesano]

ESPN has orangeitis. Too many cuse grads. They all think they are better/smarter/wittier than they really are. Living in upstate NY for as long as I have, I can tell you they are arrogant as hell and can't back it up.