ESPN has begun a significant round of layoffs for the first time in three years after taking over NFL Network in April. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.
Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a memo to employees Tuesday morning that most moves are the result of ESPN's acquisition of NFL Network and other league digital assets last year. The deal was announced last August and also included NFL Fantasy and the rights to distribute the RedZone channel to cable and satellite operators. In return, the NFL got a 10% equity stake in ESPN.
It was approved by government regulators in January. NFL Network employees became part of ESPN on April 1.
"Over the past several months, we've made significant progress integrating the NFL assets that we acquired into ESPN," Pitaro wrote in the memo. "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."
While most of the layoffs affect production and behind-the-scenes personnel, some on-air talent were affected. Ryan Clark, who joined ESPN in 2015 as an NFL analyst, learned of his layoff while on "NFL Live" on Monday. A person familiar with the situation said Clark was originally going to be told Tuesday morning before reports leaked about the decision. Clark was told by company executives rather than hear about it elsewhere. He did not finish his appearance on the show. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not at liberty to discuss the matter.