ESPN reportedly plans to make $30 million in cuts to a large number of staff before the end of next month.
ESPN is by far the biggest media entity when it comes to sports coverage in the largest media market on the planet. However, the giant network still answers to a higher power in entertainment conglomerate Disney.
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Last month, the mouse house announced its intention to cut over $5 billion in costs by shedding as many as 7,000 jobs across the various company it operates.
This month brought the first round of what is expected to be multiple cuts to the company, and it was met with frustration due to the fact that while they are laying off a notable number of employees, the network still chose to give former NFL player turned YouTube star Pat McAfee a massive multi-year contract that will reportedly pay him $10 million annually.
ESPN plans to debut “Pat McAfee Show” in afternoon slot
Well, some more details on the job cuts and ESPN’s newest plans for their popular addition were revealed on Thursday by Front Office Sports. Sources told the outlet that the network is looking to trim as much as $30 million worth of salaries by the end of June, and the NFL and NBA divisions of ESPN are expected to be the “hardest hit” by the layoffs.
While no on-air talent has been cut, that could soon change and one name to watch out for is veteran boxing analyst and host of “This Just In,” Max Kellerman. Front Office Sports claims “The Pat McAfee Show,” a massive get for the network, is likely to replace Kellerman’s series in the afternoon. It is unclear if it will be in the same 2 PM to 3 PM ET time slot or if the schedule will be shuffled.
Kellerman has other roles with the company, including as a voice for shows on their radio stations.