OT - ESPN Layoffs

[Rocktheworld]

Thank Christ they kept Molly.

 

[Jay-Bone]

Oof, no Andy Katz means no ESPN for me.

 

[superjohn]

I turned on the TV and that nasty slag Britt McHenry was reporting for ESPN. Thankfully it looks like it was her last report but the question is, who did she have dirt on to keep her job all that time?

 

[Chin Diesel]

Katz to CBS seems like an easy choice.

 

[intlzncster]

I like Cowherd, he brings an interesting perspective, but I can understand if some people don't. Bayless and Stephen A. are truly just trolls, you can't take them seriously. I disagree with half the words that come out of Skip's mouth, but you have to admit they are entertaining. They draw ratings. That's all television producers care about.
Broussard is just an NBA insider, who left for Fox, which was my original point-- that ESPN is losing talent to Fox. But yes, I like Broussard too.
There was no joke. Just don't take television personalities so seriously. If you don't enjoy watching them, then fine. But they must be doing something right if they've been on the air for so long.

 

[NielsisGood]

I will preface this by mentioning that I know nothing about sports media. But this seems like a nice opportunity for The Ringer to snag some talent. Simmons' fresh faces aren't jack compared to his Grantland "finds." Their NBA coverage sucks and they could gain some immediate credibility. Mays is good, but same goes for NFL for the most part. HBO backing provides opportunity for an NFL or NBA show as well, we already see them moving into daily content with Vice. Just a thought.

Aren't most of Simmons Ringer guys just people that he brought over from Grantland anyways? A lot of which were already espn employees.


Kind of wish Bill was still employed by ESPN just to see how yesterday would have played out given how much he was making his last 5-6 years therem

 

[Walker11]

Aren't most of Simmons Ringer guys just people that he brought over from Grantland anyways? A lot of which were already espn employees.


Kind of wish Bill was still employed by ESPN just to see how yesterday would have played out given how much he was making his last 5-6 years therem

Most of the guys I actually read on Grantland are not at The Ringer. I am mostly an NBA guy and they used to have Lowe who is the best, and at ESPN and Jonathon Abrams, who is one of the best profile piece writers. He is now at Bleacher Report / spending his time writing books. Kirk Goldsberry was always interesting as well. Jonah Keri is one of the best baseball writers in the game - not at The Ringer (I think at ESPN/538 now). I really liked Barnwell's football writing - he is back at ESPN. Wesley Morris was great for the minimal dose of pop culture writing I can stomach (now at New York Times) and Rembert Browne was very popular (I don't know why). Basically, all the good people were either taken back by ESPN or left for arguably better jobs.

The Ringer is basically staffed with the s_____y writer from Grantland who couldn't land good jobs after it folded, IMO.

 

[NielsisGood]

Most of the guys I actually read on Grantland are not at The Ringer. I am mostly an NBA guy and they used to have Lowe who is the best, and at ESPN and Jonathon Abrams, who is one of the best profile piece writers. He is now at Bleacher Report / spending his time writing books. Kirk Goldsberry was always interesting as well. Jonah Keri is one of the best baseball writers in the game - not at The Ringer (I think at ESPN/538 now). I really liked Barnwell's football writing - he is back at ESPN. Wesley Morris was great for the minimal dose of pop culture writing I can stomach (now at New York Times) and Rembert Browne was very popular (I don't know why). Basically, all the good people were either taken back by ESPN or left for arguably better jobs.

The Ringer is basically staffed with the s_____y writer from Grantland who couldn't land good jobs after it folded, IMO.

You're explaining things I already know regarding Lowe/Keri/Barnwell, but like I said, most of the Ringer staff (at least the first couple rounds of hires, haven't paid much attention since) are people that came from Grantland. Can't say that I've been keeping up with Ringer content, but the baseball writing has seemed solid from what I've checked. The "Sports & Pop Culture" thing has always seemed like a weird mix to me though.

 

[UConnNick]

The weird thing is no one shot well in that dome.

It was a weird setting and one thought was the depth perception was off.

On the other hand, look at the shooting numbers for everyone else against UConn during that run, it wasn't pretty.

Nobody but Oklahoma's Buddy Hield seemed to have any problem shooting at NRG Stadium in last year's Final Four. We just played great D for the entire game. Butler ran out of gas in the 2H. It happens sometimes.

 

[Walker11]

You're explaining things I already know regarding Lowe/Keri/Barnwell, but like I said, most of the Ringer staff (at least the first couple rounds of hires, haven't paid much attention since) are people that came from Grantland. Can't say that I've been keeping up with Ringer content, but the baseball writing has seemed solid from what I've checked. The "Sports & Pop Culture" thing has always seemed like a weird mix to me though.

Yea I think that is right but I am not really up on The Ringer either. I know their first few "big" hires were people like Chris Ryan and Juliet Litman (Lipman?) that I never check for. Shea Serrano, Andrew Sharp and Danny Chau are from Grantland but do nothing for me either. I just checked the website and I don't recognize most of the writers but there sure are a s____ ton of them.

 

[the Q]

Nobody but Oklahoma's Buddy Hield seemed to have any problem shooting at NRG Stadium in last year's Final Four. We just played great D for the entire game. Butler ran out of gas in the 2H. It happens sometimes.

The Butler/VCU game wasn't pretty either.

I remember there was a lot of commentary about that stadium during the FF.

 

[UConnSwag11]

How did Stephen A Smith not get fired? Was disappointed to see him still on

 

[huskymedic]

Philly.com: ESPN layoffs: Stephen A. Smith goes after ‘lowlife’ critic who said he should have been cut

 

[CL82]

Leave those kinds of remarks in the Akok thread.

Okay, but you don't have to be Akok about it.

 

[tcf15]

 

[navery12]

The face of ESPN layoffs: When I knew I was in trouble

Apparently Merill Hoge and Ron Jaworski are 2 others. They haven't said it themselves but Ed Werder mentioned it on his podcast/in this article

 

[intlzncster]

The face of ESPN layoffs: When I knew I was in trouble

Apparently Merill Hoge and Ron Jaworski are 2 others. They haven't said it themselves but Ed Werder mentioned it on his podcast/in this article

Jaws? Really? I loved his enthusiasm. He was like Dickie V with a lick of common sense and analytical ability.

 

[JSM1970]

Hoge and Jaworski were awful, good to hear among others, both very angry and made too many references to when "they played"

Liked Werder a lot

The face of ESPN layoffs: When I knew I was in trouble

Apparently Merill Hoge and Ron Jaworski are 2 others. They haven't said it themselves but Ed Werder mentioned it on his podcast/in this article

 

[intlzncster]

Hoge and Jaworski were awful, good to hear among others, both very angry and made too many references to when "they played"

Liked Werder a lot

Jaws angry? He's the exact opposite. More happy go lucky and takes great joy in still being around the game.

Jaws is like Gruden.

 

[Walker11]

Hoge and Jaworski were awful, good to hear among others, both very angry and made too many references to when "they played"

Liked Werder a lot

I am just a little surprised you hold "being angry" against people.

 

[JSM1970]

Fair.

I thought Jaws was somewhat angry after they canned him from Monday Night broadcast. I thought he was dumb overall.

Hoge was angry and dumb.

Elmore & Katz were great. Those 2 weren't.

Jaws angry? He's the exact opposite. More happy go lucky and takes great joy in still being around the game.

Jaws is like Gruden.

 

[JSM1970]

Haha

#OppositesAttract

I am just a little surprised you hold "being angry" against people.

 

[whaler11]

For sure. A lot of First Take's rating has to come from the fact every gym, bar, restaurant, and office in America has ESPN on during the day on mute (which is the only way to watch First Take).

None of those are actually captured in Neilsen ratings that we see published on the websites.

Not that there aren't more people watching Spongebob - but the gyms and bars aren't in anyone's numbers that we are working off of.

Who is really watching in any way that an advertiser would care about. Nobody in the world is watching cable commercials at the gym or at lunch.

 

[whaler11]

Bingo!

That's about when I stopped watching Sportcenter as well. I would maybe take in the occasional "Around the Horn" or "PTI", but rarely because it is the same schtick. They quickly went to a bunch of ridiculous shows that I can't imagine anyone watched ("Cold Pizza"? Really???). I'm only 41 and I'm saying, "I miss the old days..."

I was just thinking the other day that Cold Pizza was the beginning of the end. And as a concept it wouldn't even be the 10th worst sports talk show.

 

[Northbound]

It started with the push to be more entertainment driven and the idea of embrace debate under Shapiro - it gave us Playmakers which was great for what it was, but having a fictional dramatic series was a bit off brand, just like the wacky Hustle and Season on the Brink produced reenactments of Rose and Knight with actors, it was goofy. It also drove the opposing point of view programming shift - it was like Point/Counterpoint ripped from early 60 Minutes and forced into the Sport realm.

Long form programming like 30 for 30 is much more true to what ESPN was originally and it makes sense to have that stuff, you've got to fill the shoulder periods between games to keep folks engaged. Skipper was, maybe he still is, all about getting rights almost at all cost, he's always said it's about games (he's given you UEFA and the like) - the issue is that what the heck do you do with all the shoulder programming between the games - analysis can only go so far because at some point even the most ardent sports fan doesn't care about so much deep analysis and you can't drive tune-in in any meaningful numbers and at some point running the Sportscenter wheel is not an option (hence the live SC in the AM). Sure people are NFL fans, but if I'm a Giants fan do I really care that Phillip Rivers has an ingrown hair on his nut sack? No, unless you're a fantasy dufus and if you are it's likely you're not getting that info from ESPN because the local guy will have that info and likely drop it out there on Twitter.

The inability to understand to how platforms (new at the time) were going to fundamentally change how folks got their sports information and how quickly they received it is pretty surprising simply because the company wants to be thought of as a technology company, not just a news and information company.

Company has always know about cord cutting and feared it because they know how many or really how few would pay that for ESPN if given the option, especially in the new media landscape.

Once someone has the $ to complete with ESPN on the next major rights negotiation it will be interesting because without the robust dual revenue stream like the one they've enjoyed they'll have to make some hard decisions.

Oy sorry.