ESPN plans to lay off 200-300 employees over the course of the next few months, according to The Big Lead.
If and when those organizational changes come about, they would not be a result of subscriber loss due to cord-cutting, rather it would be more about general efficiency, one network insider told TheWrap. These would be the first layoffs at the so-called Worldwide Leader in Sports since 2013.
“ESPN has historically embraced evolving technology to smartly navigate our business,” the network told TheWrap in a statement. “Any organizational changes will be announced directly to our employees if and when appropriate.”
The company would not comment further on the reported coming job cuts.
ESPN had lost more than 3 million subscribers from Summer 2014 to Summer 2015. However, Nielsen ratings have generally been unaffected.
There have been reports of pressure for ESPN to cut spending by parent company Disney — not an unusual request among media companies these days.
One way to save money is to lose the contracts of some very high profile talent, which ESPN did this summer in the form of Bill Simmons, Keith Olbermann and Colin Cowherd. All three had recently been suspended for on-air comments that their shared employer deemed inappropriate.