ESPN layoffs: More prominent cuts are still trickling out
NFL business analyst Andrew Brandt, who had been in Philadelphia covering the draft, is the latest victim of cutbacks to come forward.
Last week, nearly 100 ESPN employees lost their jobs in a new round of cutbacks forced on the network by the combined pressure of expensive league contracts and the growing trend of cord-cutting.
The cuts, which appear to have focused heavily on ESPN.com reporters and on-air talent, claimed some big names at the network, including longtime NFL reporter Ed Werder, baseball analyst Jayson Stark, and NFL analyst Trent Dilfer.
But nearly a week later, names of those affected are still trickling out from the network, which has declined to comment on the cuts beyond a memo from CEO John Skipper last week informing staffers that "dynamic change demands an increased focus on versatility and value."
The latest casualty is NFL business analyst Andrew Brandt, who had been in Philadelphia all weekend covering the draft. Brandt, who joined ESPN back in 2011, announced Monday morning that he was among the cuts.
NFL Insider Adam Caplan announced Monday afternoon that he was also a victim of the company-wide cuts. "I loved every minute of it," Caplan wrote. "On to the next move(s)--stay tuned..."
Caplan, who often appears on-air talking football on 97.5 The Fanatic, had been with ESPN since 2013.
Late Friday, we also learned that ESPN's cuts of its NBA coverage, which already included Ethan Strauss, Calvin Watkins, David Thorp, and Justin Verrier, went even deeper.
Among the cuts was Henry Abbott, who founded TrueHoop (which ESPN purchased) and is recognized as one of the founding fathers of NBA blogging, launching the career of many current NBA writers. ESPN's popular TrueHoop network of podcasts was also a victim of the cutbacks.
In addition to Abbott, the network also laid off longtime NBA reporter Marc Stein, who began writing for ESPN.com back in 2000.
Chad Ford, whom Stein dubbed "the Godfather of NBA Draft coverage," was also among the cuts. He'll cover this year's NBA draft, which will take place on June 22, before exiting the network.
With the loss of so much of ESPN's core basketball coverage, many question how the network will cover the NBA adequately moving forward. But some pundits, including ESPN expert Jim Miller, think the basketball cuts were less about cost, and more about creating a hole to add universally respected NBA reporter Adrian Wojnarowski.
The move would seem to make sense. It has long been rumored that ESPN was interested in bringing in Wojnarowski and his team from The Vertical, whose future at Yahoo! Sports is uncertain because of the company's pending sale to Verizon, which plans to rebrand Yahoo! as a website called Oath. Plus, The Vertical also has a popular podcast network that could fill the void created by the loss of TrueHoop.
USA Today reported on Monday afternoon that Wojnarowski has finalized a deal with ESPN and will begin working for the company by the time the NBA free agency season begins on July 1. So far, ESPN is not commenting on the report.
Neither is Wojnarowski, who is keeping busy doing what he does best — breaking major NBA news. Last week, Wojnarowski was the first to report that Larry Bird was stepping down as Pacers president, scooping everyone, including ESPN.