ESPN – – The Worldwide Leader In Sports?

The Walt Disney Company – – frequently referred to as Disney Corp – – reported a gross profit of $28B last year.  For the first quarter of 2023, the reported gross profit was $7.1B.  I am no financial wizard nor am I any sort of “stock market guru”, but I feel as if I am on solid ground suggesting that Disney Corp is not on the brink of bankruptcy.  My conclusion there makes me sad about two decisions Disney Corp made last week:

1. In case you did not know this, Disney Corp owns National Geographic magazine.  Last week, National Geographic laid off “all of its remaining staff writers”.  There were only 19 left on the payroll; previous layoffs took care of previous employees; in the future, assignments will be handed out piecemeal to freelancers.
2. I am sure you know that Disney Corp. owns the ESPN family of networks.  Last week, ESPN laid off more than a dozen of its “high-profile on-air talent”.

Disney Corp is looking to cut more than 7,000 jobs as part of a $5B cost cutting endeavor.  I am sure the inhabitants of “Mahogany Row” at Disney HQs have good corporate/financial reasons for doing what they are doing.  One consequence of what they are doing is that two quality products that Disney offered to the public will be diminished.

Obviously, I am going to focus on the effect(s) on ESPN here; but let me say for the record that National Geographic has been a top-quality publication for more than my lifetime.  That said, let me deal with ESPN today.

The network has rightfully called itself “The Worldwide Leader in Sports” for about 30 years.  They probably still hold the rights to that moniker this morning, but if the cost cutting trend continues to remove the quality contributors for the network, it may be difficult in the future for leaders at ESPN and/or Disney to say those words with a straight face.

One of the “high-profile cuts” last week was NBA basketball color analyst, Jeff Van Gundy.  He has been with ESPN since 2007 and he was part of an NBA announcing troika that included Mike Breen and Mark Jackson.  Jeff Van Gundy has been the best basketball color analyst at any level of competition for about the last 10 years.  His commentaries are insightful, and they are on point; when a player or an official’s call deserves criticism, Van Gundy delivers the criticism candidly and clearly – – and then he moves on.  He adds to the telecast significantly, but he is not a “look-at-me-over-here” kind of critic.

So, what might “The Worldwide Leader” do here?  Well, obviously, that three-man booth can be shrunk to a two-man booth and cost reductions will necessarily follow.  Similarly obviously, the quality will shrink too.  There was one reported rumor that Doris Burke would replace Jeff Van Gundy on that “three-man team”.  That probably also provides cost reductions and quality reductions for ESPN.  Doris Burke is OK as a basketball color analyst – – but to paraphrase Senator Lloyd Bentson:

• Ms. Burke, I have listened to Jeff Van Gundy; I have seen his work: Ms. Burke, you’re no Jeff Van Gundy.

The incumbent Worldwide Leader also axed its morning radio program, firing all three of the hosts there and no replacements have been identified.  This should be a case study in cost/quality tradeoffs.  For years, ESPN Radio dominated morning shows with Mike and Mike in the Morning.  They broke that duo up and tried to maintain the quality pairing Trey Wingo with Mike Golic but that didn’t work so they threw together the current trio of Keyshawn Johnson, Max Kellerman and Jay Williams.  I doubt that anyone would say that quality improved from “Mike and Mike” to whatever is on the ESPN Radio airwaves this morning.

Other people let go from ESPN last week included:

• Suzy Kolber.  She had been with ESPN for 27 years and will probably be replaced on Monday Night Countdown by Mina Kimes.
• Todd McShay.  That leaves Mel Kiper, Jr. as the only NFL Draft maven meaning he will appear even more frequently?  Yikes!
• Jalen Rose.  He appeared randomly but frequently on lots of ESPN programming.
• Steve Young.  Like Jeff Van Gundy, he was an analyst who offered candid and focused criticism when it was warranted; not many others do that.

ESPN seems to be heading in a direction where the network hopes to draw viewers and attention by means of a few “mega-stars” and not a solid roster of broadcasters.  If reports are accurate, ESPN payroll includes:

• Troy Aikman at $15M per year
• Joe Buck at $15M per year
• Pat McAfee at $17M per year – – soon to be added.
• Adam Schefter at $7M per year
• Stephen A. Smith at $10M per year
• Adrian Wojnarowski at $5M per year

I am not reading minds or tea leaves when I make the statement that ESPN seems not to think a solid roster with depth is the direction it needs to take.  Here is the statement issued to employees by ESPN execs:

“Given the current environment, ESPN has determined it necessary to identify some additional cost savings in the area of public-facing commentator salaries, and that process has begun.  This exercise will include a small group of job cuts in the short term and an ongoing focus on managing costs when we negotiate individual contract renewals in the months ahead.  This is an extremely challenging process involving individuals who have had a tremendous impact on our company.  These difficult decisions, based more on overall efficiency than merit, will help us meet our financial targets and ensure future growth.”  [Emphasis added]

Finally, ESPN’s decisions were made by executives in the company and in the parent Disney Corp.  So, let me close today with this definition of “Executive” from The Official Dictionary of Sarcasm:

“Executive:  A distinction given to certain bathrooms, denoting that those allowed to use them are, unlike the rest of us, able to produce defecations that smell like a fragrant field of flowers.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………