ESPN Layoffs

[nate]

ESPN is laying off a bunch of on air/web print talent today.

So far Scott Burnside, Pierre LeBrun and Ed Werder are out.  Lebrun and Burnside are excellent with their NHL coverage, too bad.

[red321]

I cannot recall the last time I watched something on ESPN that wasn't a live event...and even then I'm having trouble thinking of a live event I recently watched

[nate]

15 minutes ago, red321 said:

I cannot recall the last time I watched something on ESPN that wasn't a live event...and even then I'm having trouble thinking of a live event I recently watched

Yeah, that definitely seems to be the root of the issue.  I still visit the website but even that is crap, they definitely just tailor to a few top teams and ignore everyone else.

http://deadspin.com/a-running-list-of-espn-layoffs-1794664091

[red321]

Shows like SportsCenter have become unwatchable. Show the highlights, move on. I saw an article the other day that mentioned they were cancelling their wrestling update on sport center?...they were highlighting wrestling on sports center...did I misread that? holy shiznit.

[Thomas]

37 minutes ago, nate said:

ESPN is laying off a bunch of on air/web print talent today.

So far Scott Burnside, Pierre LeBrun and Ed Werder are out.  Lebrun and Burnside are excellent with their NHL coverage, too bad.

At this point ESPN just needs to outsource what little hockey they cover to TSN.

[HaloCory22]

Fox Sports 1 destroys ESPN in coverage and content now. They can go to hell.

[nate]

30 minutes ago, HaloCory22 said:

Fox Sports 1 destroys ESPN in coverage and content now. They can go to hell.

I think most sports coverage is shit now, including FS1.

@Thomas TSN absolutely has the best coverage.

[nate]

38 minutes ago, red321 said:

Shows like SportsCenter have become unwatchable. Show the highlights, move on. I saw an article the other day that mentioned they were cancelling their wrestling update on sport center?...they were highlighting wrestling on sports center...did I misread that? holy shiznit.

WWF Wrestling, Poker, Bowling, and anything else they could whore out and call a sport.  Probably give an insight into their audience.

[Thomas]

The WWE coverage was a hail mary by ESPN to attract new viewers. Yeah...

[Amazing Larry]

They've just dumbed everything down to their target audience: unemployed urban folk.

There's a tv in my office that shows ESPN throughout the day and it's garbage.

[Amazing Larry]

Update: That tv is no longer showing ESPN.

[mtangelsfan]

Between FS1, the MLB network and the NFL network ESPN is becoming irrelevant.  

[red321]

exactly...I watch Angels baseball and baseball in general, much better coverage on channels dedicated to those items. The only challenge being MLB network tries to mimic the analyst schtick of ESPN at times. Anything that involves Kevin Millar or Eric Byrnes is pretty much unwatchable.

 

Noticed Jim Bowden got the axe...hopefully he doesn't pollute the airwaves of anything I watch...holy shit he's bad.

Mark Saxon, former Angels beat writer for the Register, got the axe as well

[red321]

Holy batman balls...they had a reporter dedicated to SEC recruiting? No wonder they are hemorrhaging money.

[Homebrewer]

The only thing I've watched on ESPN the past couple of years is their online coverage of the 4 tennis "majors"...and they do those really well. Every match is available both live and in replay.

Can't think of anything else

[yk9001]

Will somebody think of Jim Bowden's toupee?

[Brandon]

wait what?

i watch sportscenter just about daily and have never seen wwf wrestling.

i can't stand fs1. those dudes are like a bunch of stephen a. smith's doing sports highlights.

[red321]

wow...Jayson Stark...he was someone I liked

[Catwhoshatinthehat]

I ditched cable some months back and have FS through sling which I use to catch Angel and Ducks games.  Beyond that I don't watch any sports channels or shows and don't feel like I'm missing anything.  I still thing it's annoying when I go to ESPN, Yahoo sports or CBS sports just to see the main updates of the day and there's some TMZ type story on there.  For example on ESPN one of the Top Headlines is 'Serena talks social media slip of pregnancy' and I can't understand why that's a top sports headline but then I realize it's a space filler much like most of the shows on those channels.

[m0nkey]

Jayson Stark put out quality stuff.  Just waiting for stephen a smith to get the ax too

[yk9001]

1 hour ago, red321 said:

Holy batman balls...they had a reporter dedicated to SEC recruiting? No wonder they are hemorrhaging money.

My guess is that sec recruiting gets more clicks than NHL hockey

[red321]

1 minute ago, yk9001 said:

My guess is that sec recruiting gets more clicks than NHL hockey

good point

 

Seeing some of the names coming out, pretty apparent they are moving away from beat reporting (woohoo...double down on the Stephen Smith's of the world!). There are going to be some quality guys out there, but you have to wonder, are papers still interested in investing in lots of beat reporting?

 

[yk9001]

I haven't seen one screamer, or NBA personality, on the list.

[Angel Dog and Beer]

I watch ESPN regularly, and what annoys me the most is how much they prop up their sportscasters. Everyone has their own segment with annoying titles (Bucci's star of the night, Coach's Corner, Bend it like Breto, Stanford Steve, and on and on).  Standard sports information and highlights are really secondary to the TMZ news stories and argumentative opinion pieces. Just show me the important highlights, stats, game recaps whetever. I really don't care about the flair or opinions of those reading the news. 

[Schildog]

layoff berman and ray lewis while at it.