Longtime baseball broadcaster Karl Ravech and NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero are among the ESPN employees being laid off in a wave of cuts, according to multiple media reports on Tuesday.
These layoffs are linked to ESPN’s acquisition of NFL Network, according to an internal memo from ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro that multiple media outlets obtained.
After the deal was announced last August and gained government approval in January, NFL Network’s employees were brought under the ESPN umbrella starting on April 1.
Other ESPN employees reportedly laid off or who announced the news on social media include longtime “SportsCenter” anchor David Lloyd, NFL Network analyst Charles Davis, injury/fantasy football writer Stephania Bell, First Take contributor Cam Newton, radio host/NFL analyst Bart Scott, staff writer Dan Hajducky, and combat sports reporter Andreas Hale.
It was also reported on Monday that NFL analyst Ryan Clark was being let go, with news breaking while he was on “NFL Live.”
“Over the past several months, we’ve made significant progress integrating the NFL assets that we acquired into ESPN,” Pitaro wrote in the memo. “Throughout this process, we have taken the time to carefully evaluate our collective teams, resources and organizational structure to best position us for the future. As a result, we had to make some difficult decisions about job impacts that we will be communicating today.
“While most of the job impacts are tied to the acquisition, we will also notify colleagues in other parts of the company today that their positions have been impacted. We are committed to treating employees with compassion and respect and to providing support as they navigate this transition.”
Ravech has been with ESPN since 1993, working as a “SportsCenter” anchor, college basketball and baseball broadcaster and studio host for “Baseball Tonight.” He was ESPN’s primary MLB broadcaster, including for Monday night’s Phillies-Dodgers game.
Pelissero has been with NFL Network since 2017, establishing himself as an insider. However, he’s reportedly not being retained over ESPN’s Adam Schefter and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Besides the more visible on-air personalities, several production and behind-the-scenes employees are expected to lose their jobs during this round of layoffs.
–Field Level Media
