More players are leaving the field at ESPN.
Max Kellerman, the TV host, Keyshawn Johnson, the morning-show personality, Jeff Van Gundy, the veteran basketball analyst, and Jalen Rose, the NBA-player-turned-commentator, are all exiting the Disney sports-media giant, according to two people familiar with the matter, as executives look for ways to prune costs at the operation as its parent corporation grapples with seismic changes in its business.
“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,” the company said in a statement. “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 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.”
ESPN declined to make executives available for comment.
Approximately 20 people are being notified Friday that they will no longer appear on ESPN properties, according to one of the people familiar with the matter, even if their contracts will be extant for months. ESPN intends to pay these staffers out the full value of their current agreements though if they find jobs elsewhere, those terms could be renegotiated, this person says. Others may leave ESPN in months to come as the company identifies personnel whose contracts it may not want to renew.
A few announced their own departures. Suzy Kolber, who has led the pre-game show for “Monday Night Football” at ESPN since 2015 and worked there over two different stints starting in 1993, told Twitter followers Friday she was among those being laid off.
Disney has been working to cut its ranks over the last several months as it contends with the migration of linear TV viewers to streaming. Disney is among the biggest spenders on sports rights — one of the reasons for the success of ESPN over the decades — but will face increasing trouble if it does not keep an eye on costs, particularly as customers to might have once automatically subscribed to ESPN via cable or satellite seek other method of getting their sports fix.
ESPN had already laid some people off as part of Disney’s recalibration, but executives felt trimming talent ranks would free up more capital that would keep its behind-the-camera personnel operating at the fullest strength possible, according to the person familiar with the sitution.
Others had already left. Neil Everett, the veteran “Sports Center” anchor who had been with ESPN for more than two decades, was informed earlier this month that his contract would not be renewed, as was Doug Kezerian, the sports-gambling analyst who has figured into some of the company’s early content plans to attract viewers interested in betting.
Disney isn’t cutting back on acquiring sports program and content, however. The company is paying out millions to its new “Monday Night Football” hosts Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, and recently agreed to acquire the rights to broadcast Pat McAfee’s sports show — an investment executives believe will eventually generate profit.
