ESPN HAS JUST LAID OFF SOMEWHERE AROUND 100 OTHER
WORKERS, INCLUDING ON-AIR PERSONALITIES.
SOME PEOPLE WHO
HAD BEEN WORKING THERE HAD BEEN ON THE AIR AT THE SPN FOR
MULTIPLE YEARS AT THIS POINT, AND THEIR PRESIDENT BRIEFLY
DISCUSSED THE FIRINGS ON THEIR WEBSITE, SAYING IN PART --
>>SO, GOODBYE 100 PEOPLE, SOME OF WHOM ARE FIRED EFFECTIVE
IMMEDIATELY.
YOU ARE GONE TODAY.
AT LEAST BASED ON THEIR SOCIAL MEDIA ACTIVITY.
>>THIS 100 PEOPLE FIRED TODAY, THIS IS ON TOP OF 300 PEOPLE
FIRED TWO YEARS AGO.
YOU WILL BE SHOCKED TO FIND OUT I WILL TAKE
THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SAY, TOLD YOU.
LET ME EXPLAIN, AS IT
RELATES TO ESPN AND THE TV INDUSTRY -- I LIKE THAT, IT'S
ALREADY UP THERE.
IT IS RELEVANT TO THE ENTIRE MEDIA INDUSTRY.
FIRST OF ALL WHEN THEY LET GO OF BILL SIMMONS AND KEITH
OLDBERMANN -- AND BILL SIMMONS I LIKE A LOT, KEITH OLDBERMANN WAS
GOOD FOR AMERICA, PERSONALLY I DON'T GET ALONG WITH, I'M
TELLING YOU THAT SO YOU KNOW I'M NOT BIASED -- BILL SIMMONS SAID
SOMETHING ABOUT THE NFL, OLBERMANN IS A MASSIVE
TROUBLEMAKER, BUT HE WASN'T AT
ESPN.
SIMMONS I THINK WAS MAKING
5 MILLION BUCKS A YEAR, OLBERMANN IT'S PAID A LOT OF
MONEY, NO, WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE IS NOT THAT, THEY ARE
THROWING THINGS OVERBOARD.
THAT'S A BIG SALARY, WE CAN'T KEEP THE AIRPLANE IN THE
AIR, THROW IT OVERBOARD.
>>YOU ARE MIXING YOUR METAPHORS BUT I GOT IT.
JUST THROW MORE
COAL IN THE ENGINE, LUBE UP YOUR SKATEBOARD WHEELS, AND KEEP
GOING INTO THE FUTURE.
>>WHY IS IT HAPPENING?
IN OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER OF LAST
YEAR, ESPN LOST ONE MILLION SUBSCRIBERS.
IT PARTLY HAS TO DO
WITH ESPN, AND PARTLY WITH THE INDUSTRY OF CABLE TV.
IT'S
FALLING APART.
PEOPLE ARE LEAVING CABLE AT RECORD NUMBERS.
THAT IS A BIG TOLD YA THAT I'VE BEEN SAYING FOR A LONG TIME,
THAT'S A BIG PREMISE OF THE YOUNG TURKS.
WHEN I SAID CABLE
WILL FALL APART AND YOU WILL LOSE ALL THESE SUBSCRIBERS,
CENK, I DO DECLARE, TELEVISION WILL ALWAYS BE KING.
LOSING
SUBSCRIBERS AT A POINT WHERE IT WOULD AFFECT OUR BUSINESS MODEL?
RIDICULOUS.
THEY LOST A MILLION SUBSCRIBERS IN TWO MONTHS.
WHAT
DOES THAT MEAN?
ESPN, ACCORDING TO REPORTS, GETS ABOUT SEVEN
DOLLARS PER SUBSCRIBER PER MONTH.
THAT MEANS THEY LOST $7
MILLION A MONTH IN A TWO-MONTH PERIOD.
OVER THE COURSE OF ONE
YEAR THAT IS $84 MILLION, GONE.
SO THEY HAVE TO TAKE $84 MILLION
IN SALARY AND THROW IT OVERBOARD.
AND GET A LOAD OF
THIS, IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS ESPN HAS LOST 12 MILLIONS OF
SUBSCRIBERS.
THAT'S OVER A BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR.
IF YOUR
COST STRUCTURE WAS BASED ON, WE WILL HAVE X NUMBER OF BILLIONS
OF DOLLARS, AND YOU LOSE A BILLION -- YOU START THROWING
EVERYTHING OVERBOARD.
ALL THESE GUYS THAT YOU'VE LIKED, THAT
YOU'VE KNOWN FOR A LONG TIME --
>>THERE ARE SO MANY I COULD NAME, BUT I WON'T.
>>JOHN, THEY KEPT THEIR VOLLEYBALL STAFF, DON'T WORRY.
>>YES!
>>I DON'T KNOW THAT THEY HAVE ONE.
THIS WILL NOT STOP AT ESPN,
AND IT WILL NOT STOP AT ANY OF THE STATIONS.
AGAIN, CABLE NEWS,
OBVIOUSLY SOMETHING CLOSER TO OUR INDUSTRY -- MSNBC, THEY WILL
BE AROUND FOREVER.
IT'S PART OF COMCAST, THE LARGEST MEDIA
COMPANY IN THE WORLD?
? NA NA NA NA -- I'LL SEE YOU IN A COUPLE
YEARS.
WHEN YOU TAKE THE WHOLE COMPANY AND THROW IT OVERBOARD.
AND WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT HOW THINGS WILL BE STRUCTURED IN THE
PAST?
I SAID PASSIONATE WILL ALWAYS BE DISPASSIONATE.
THE
WOLF BLITZERS OF THE WORLD, THAT WON'T WORK ONLINE.
WHAT DID ESPN
SAY?
WE WILL BE STRUCTURE TOWARD PERSONALITY DRIVEN TV EDITIONS.
>>IN HINDSIGHT IT'S AMAZING THAT ANYONE FOUND A WAY TO TALK
FOR HOURS WITHOUT PERSONALITY.
>>THAT IS SUCH A GREAT POINT.
THE GUYS ON TV, I HAVE DEBATES
WITH THEM, THEY SAY WHAT PEOPLE REALLY LIKE HIS LACK OF
PERSONALITY.
>>I'M A HUMAN, THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE, PERSONALITIES.
>>I HAVE NO BEEF WITH ESPN, I WATCH THEM FROM TIME TO TIME,
I'M NOT TRYING TO PICK ON THEM, BUT IT'S AN INDUSTRY-WIDE TREND,
THINGS WILL START FALLING INTO THE OCEAN IN THE CABLE
WORLD SO QUICK IT WILL MAKE THEIR HEADS SPIN.
>>I USED TO WATCH CONSTANT ESPN, YOU GET THE SAME SHOW WITH
DIFFERENT HOSTS AND YOU COULD TELL IT WAS THE SAME SCRIPT, SO
WHEN IT WENT -- THE SCOTT VAN PELT SPORTSCENTER, IT HAS GONE
THAT DIRECTION BECAUSE THERE ARE OPTIONS, YOU TALK ABOUT NET
NEUTRALITY, ONCE YOU HAVE AN OPTION TO SEE THINGS A DIFFERENT
WAY, I WATCHED THE SAME SPORT CENTER FIVE TIMES BECAUSE
THAT'S ALL THERE WAS.
>>NOW I'M GOING TO SIT THROUGH 12 MINUTES OF HOCKEY HIGHLIGHTS
TO GET TO THE HIGHLIGHTS I LIKE?
>>THE ONLY THING THEY HAVE IS THE EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS TO LIVE
GAMES.
THEY SPENT TONS ON THE NBA RIGHTS, WHO SAYS I CAN'T
WAIT TO WATCH NBA ON ESPN?
>>DURING THE REGULAR SEASON WHEN THEY AREN'T TRYING.
>>I'VE NEVER SAID THAT.
>>FINALLY, THAT'S EXACTLY RIGHT, WHEN YOU TAKE THE CABLE NEWS
WORLD, YOU HAVE THESE NOT NEWS ANCHORS BUT NEWS ACTORS, THEY
DON'T HAVE PERSONALITY, IF THEY ARE IT IS BEAT OUT OF THEM BY
THE SYSTEM -- READ THE PROPER.
WOLF BLITZER, I'M SORRY I PICK
ON HIM, IT'S NOTHING PERSONAL, I DON'T KNOW THE DUDE -- BUT HE'S
BEEN READING THAT PROMPTER FOR 20 YEARS, COULDN'T HAVE ANY
MOTION IF HIS LIFE DEPENDED ON IT.
WE DON'T DO PERSONALITY, WE
HIRE THESE ACTORS TO READ THE PROMPTER THAT
WAS WRITTEN FOR
THEM.
? NA NA NA NAA [SPORTSCENTER THEME].