ESPN is cutting a number of on-air personalities Friday as it seeks further cost savings.
The new round includes “a small group of job cuts,” as well as “an ongoing focus on managing costs when we negotiate individual contract renewals in the months ahead,” per an ESPN statement.
A source familiar with the cuts tells The Hollywood Reporter that about 20 people are being notified today, including some big names that regular ESPN viewers will know.
Among the cuts, a source confirms, is Jeff Van Gundy, the channel’s top NBA game analyst, and a 16-year veteran of ESPN. Also departing are ESPN veterans Max Kellerman, Keyshawn Johnson and Jalen Rose.
“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 ESPN statement says. “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.”
The source added that the round of talent cuts was not a Disney directive, and is not tied to the larger cuts at the company. Rather, ESPN had additional financial targets that it needed to hit, and opted to dip into its talent pool rather than have more layoffs among other employees.
While the talent being notified will be off the air effective today, the network is expected to honor their contracts, meaning they will likely be paid out, and could potentially seek work elsewhere, provided they negotiate an exit with Disney.
And as the statement said, there will be additional departures as other contracts come up for renewal.
ESPN’s parent company The Walt Disney Co. has been undergoing a financial retrenchment as it seeks a more profitable footing in streaming and tries to navigate a difficult advertising environment and a declining linear TV business.
As part of that, the company cut 7,000 jobs over the last couple of months.
ESPN was impacted in the April cuts, with ESPN chief Jimmy Pitaro telling staff that “we must further identify ways to be efficient and nimble.” THR reported at the time that those cuts were not expected to include on-air talent, and that ESPN would look at its talent deals after the staff layoffs were complete.
The New York Post’s Andrew Marchand first reported on the talent cuts.
