April 27, 2017 by Justin Terranova, The New York Post
ESPN talent Ed Werner, Trent Dilfer and Danny Kanell. All laid off. NY Post
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The feared day is here for many in Bristol.
ESPN president John Skipper sent out a memo to employees Wednesday morning alerting them that 100 employees will be laid off. Around half of those receiving pink slips are well known, according to James Miller, author of the ESPN behind-the-scenes book “These Guys Have All the Fun.”
The lay-offs were expected for months, but according to Miller, some are still in shock as they are notified they are among the ones being let go.
Ed Werder, a prominent on-camera NFL reporter, shared on Twitter that he was fired.
ESPN Radio host Danny Kanell soon joined the grim tally. Fellow former NFL quarterback Trent Dilfer wasn’t far behind.
Longtime respected baseball journalist Jayson Stark also announced he was done at the network.
Other journalists who revealed they have been let go include: columnists Johnette Howard and Jane McManus; baseball reporters Jim Bowden, Doug Padilla and Mark Saxon; basketball reporters Ethan Strauss and Calvin Watkins; hockey reporters Pierre LeBrun, Scott Burnside and Joe McDonald; college reporters Dana O’Neil, Brett McMurphy, Eamonn Brennan, Jeremy Crabtree, Max Olson, C.L. Brown, Austin Ward and Jesse Temple; and soccer reporter Mike L. Goodman.
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Blamed on cord cutting.
Well lets look at things. The level of cord cutting is hard to verify but as such the consumer has and is cutting the cord to some extent, the question to ask it WHY?
Simply this the t.v. industry has priced itself out of value to many consumers. The costs of cable/satellite use and consumption by the paying public is being weighed by the decline of enough quality content. More and more consumers are seeing what they pay for their cable/satellite bill each month and see what the sorry state of much of the t.v. situation is and ask, why am I paying this much for such drek?
Add the fact that networks, most now owned by telcoms pay too much for broadcasting rights of the major pro grade sports today and have been paying too much for many years now.
So with fewer and fewer in the can t.v. shows of real value to watch, too much of the constant drek of faux reality t.v. and with way too much money spent on pro sports broadcasting, the realities of the market system is clear. If your product or service does not fit the needs and wants of the consumer, if they fail to see the value of the product or service to price paid, well the market says they will stop buying your stuff.
The market system works; its ambivalent to emotions pro or con and has no true morals in of itself. It exists as a design to facilitate the exchange of money for goods and services tendered. THAT’S ALL FOLKS!
It amazes me that a slew of college educated men and women in industry and in this case cable/satellite industry are incapable of seeing market system at work. GET USE TO MORE LAYOFFS, MORE CLOSED T.V./RADIO STATIONS AND TO HAVING A SMALLER PIE TO LIVE AND WORK IN!
The days of mega buck t.v. rights broadcasting contracts for any and all pro sports are quickly coming to an end. The consuming public will refuse to pay what is asked to buy it and in this case too many pro sports which are providing less and less excitement and quality of sports to keep as many eyes and ears watching and listening to it all.
The problem with all too many pro sports today are they are over regulated, no personality or fun is allowed during the game/sporting activity. These sports are intentionally cut off at the knees to provide real commitment of excitement for viewers as a result too often the sports are bland and boring to want to pay for on cable/satellite or even to go to in person to watch today.
The side show of froo froo fluff fluff, add often using bimbo like women on air, many are pretty clueless, add marble mouthed jock talk, toss in too many nose high in the air paid presenters who think they know best and IMO 24 hour sports t.v. and radio may be in trouble.
Greed builds blinders in any industry. Cable/satellite t.v. and in this case all sports t.v. and radio has been full of it for years and the chips are now falling where they may.
T.V. / radio, including cable/satellite will have to reinvent itself and in reality each entity to get smaller with more eventual competition . They will have to be wiser with how much money they all spend to get broadcasting rights as well. The gravy train days are over.
The inevitable spill over will be that all pro sports will see revenues from broadcasting to fall and then they will have to adjust their costs. Same with t.v. and radio in general, revenues will continue to slide and they will have to realize a newer and lower cost structure. This will bring on new competitors who will often excitedly come to carve out their market and stimulate real competition which will bring us smarter and harder production staff staff, actors and personalities who will want to keep a lifestyle but will no longer get it so easily spoon fed to them.
THE MARKET SYSTEM HAS NO MORAL JUDGEMENT ON WHAT AND HOW PEOPLE FEEL! It again only exists as a vehicle to get money to change hands for products and services, thus brings out the best in those who want to succeed and sweeps aside the sloths and the self-privileged who feel entitled to it all.
Actually I blame it on Sports broadcasters who think the public wants to hear their political and social comments. Truth of the matter is that people of all stripes go to sports to escape world problems and do not want to hear politics and sports mix together.