Jeff Van Gundy fired From ESPN

[mstateglfr]

Didn't see this mentioned, so FYI in case anyone wasn't aware.

Jalen Rose a well known on court reporter, and a bunch more were also canned.

Van Gundy made espn and ABC broadcasts something worth having the volume up for.
The guy was absolute entertainment and improved the broadcast. His willingness to call out BS and inconsistencies was always fun to hear.

Jeff Van Gundy, Keyshawn Johnson and Suzy Kolber among those reportedly out at ESPN due to on-air layoffs

Not even beloved on-air personalities are safe from ESPN's latest round of layoffs.

sports.yahoo.com

Jeff Van Gundy layoff a brutal decision by ESPN and a game-changer for NBA media

ESPN's NBA broadcasts feel big, and Jeff Van Gundy was a big part of that. Now, the sport's best TV analyst is a free agent.

theathletic.com

Meanwhile, espn will pay Pat McAfee $85 million for the next 5 years.

Report: Former Colts punter Pat McAfee will make $85 million over four years at ESPN

According to the New York Post, Pat McAfee's $85 million contract with ESPN will begin this fall.

www.usatoday.com

 

[patdog]

I’m certain I would never know about any of these layoffs if I didn’t see it on message boards.

 

[Curby]

David Pollack got the axe as well.

 

[onewoof]

Some will have hell toupee

 

[BonzoGoesToCollege]

I just don’t understand how good people as you mentioned get axed but azzwipes like Stephen a Smith continue to be employed.

 

[GloryDawg]

 

[The Cooterpoot]

If they get rid of Beth Mowins and Steven A., I'm done.**

 

[Duke Humphrey]

David Pollack got the axe as well.

Gene Wojehowski too

 

[dawgman42]

And with all those layoffs, this bozo still has a gig:

 

[mstateglfr]

I just don’t understand how good people as you mentioned get axed but azzwipes like Stephen a Smith continue to be employed.

I am convinced Smith has dirt on the head of HR, and it's something as bad as diddling. That's the only way he keeps getting paid so 17ing much.

 

[Baddog11]

Please get Marty smith . Please get Marty smith. Please get Marty smith . His voice is like nails on a chalkboard.

 

[Xenomorph]

Disney gotta do something to offset that $200 million write down they’re about to take from Helena Shaw and the Dial of Destiny.

 

[Leeshouldveflanked]

Maybe ESPN will realize people just want sports with good looking sideline reporters and no politics.

 

[hatfieldms]

I am convinced Smith has dirt on the head of HR, and it's something as bad as diddling. That's the only way he keeps getting paid so 17ing much.

Or maybe he makes them a lot of money and they do not want to lose that? Like him or not his show gets a lot of listeners/viewers

 

[Mobile Bay]

There is no way Corso stays on unless he works for free.

 

[The Cooterpoot]

Please get Marty smith . Please get Marty smith. Please get Marty smith . His voice is like nails on a chalkboard.

That redneck show of his is the worst show on tv. Cut both those idiots..

 

[Dawg1976]

Who in their right mind would pay Pat Mcafee 85 mil? Oh....espn would. No wonder they're struggling.

 

[Captain Ron]

Maybe ESPN will realize people just want sports with good looking sideline reporters and no politics.

Yep. Staying neutral can be the best course of action. You start picking sides and you are immediately starting to turn off the other side. ESPN was to some extent, the canary in the coal mine before Bud Light.

Even though much of ESPN’s decline has nothing to do with their politics, some of it does. At one point, I would have it on in the background at various times whether a game was on or not. Once the shows became more like a cable news opinion segment, I turned it off as have many other apparently.

Certain products or services are easy to avoid as there are many choices (is Bud Light) others not so much like a game only broadcast by ESPN, so yes, I still watch games where there is no other choice.

What I don’t get is, why they even go there? I would venture to guess a tiny, tiny segment would have ever demanded more politics (with a slant might add) on ESPN, so you would not lose viewers because of their absence. But, by interjecting political opinions, even losing 10% of millions of viewers is a huge number.

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

ESPN was built on live sports and entertaining highlights (Sportscenter). They need to get back to that model. I have no idea what they are thinking with Mafee. Another thing ESPN does is pay out the contracts (rather than let the employee work untill the contacts ends and not renew), I'm assuming this makes their books look better.

 

[Curby]

I watch sports as an escape from politics and how divisive things have become.

 

[UpTheMiddlex3Punt]

Nobody wants to watch a bunch of 50 year old white men to commentate on sports. They aren't inspirational.

 

[The Peeper]

I'm m certain I would never know about any of these layoffs if I didn’t see it on message boards.

2nd that, don't know most of those names because I seldom pray at the alter of ESPN. Now, if they would just get rid one more, just one more, Eduardo Perez I would be a happy dog

 

[mstateglfr]

Or maybe he makes them a lot of money and they do not want to lose that? Like him or not his show gets a lot of listeners/viewers

Yeah he obviously makes them a lot of money. I am just shocked that so many people like to watch/listen to him and therefore made a joke that the real reason he stays is he has dirt on C-suite folk.

 

[IBleedMaroonDawg]

Yeah he obviously makes them a lot of money. I am just shocked that so many people like to watch/listen to him and therefore made a joke that the real reason he stays is he has dirt on C-suite folk.

He's the most obnoxious, arrogant person in sports television. I agree. He must have compromising pictures of the producers and ESPN officials together

 

[mstateglfr]

Maybe ESPN will realize people just want sports with good looking sideline reporters and no politics.

ESPN has been doing these massive layoff announcements for like 7 or 8 years, I think.
It's hardly new. And it's hardly due to political talk.
You are just living in 2017 still and think Jamele Hill is talking about race on ESPN.

ESPN cutting staff is part of a larger corporate cut. And ESPN cutting talent to free up cash these last few years is more due to a change in how entertainment and content is consumed. They are adjusting.
It just sucks that JVG was struck by the layoffs.

As with a lot of news, people will choose to interpret it in a way that confirms their person vendetta or biases.

 

[mstateglfr]

ESPN was built on live sports and entertaining highlights (Sportscenter). They need to get back to that model. I have no idea what they are thinking with Mafee. Another thing ESPN does is pay out the contracts (rather than let the employee work untill the contacts ends and not renew), I'm assuming this makes their books look better.

They don't need to get back to sportscaster highlights. Good lord- you can get those highlights on a number of platforms- Twitter, YouTube, watchESPN app, and more.
This isn't 2002 when Sportscenter was much watch TV because highlights weren't accessible elsewhere, and it was easy to catch since it replayed hour after hour after hour.

 

[UpTheMiddlex3Punt]

At some point they've run the numbers and figured out they won't affect viewership numbers enough to negatively offset the gains from replacing better expensive talent with cheaper talent.

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

They don't need to get back to sportscaster highlights. Good lord- you can get those highlights on a number of platforms- Twitter, YouTube, watchESPN app, and more.
This isn't 2002 when Sportscenter was much watch TV because highlights weren't accessible elsewhere, and it was easy to catch since it replayed hour after hour after hour.

I think there are still plenty of folks who would watch an "entertaining" sports center over Screaming A Smith and getting talked down to by people like Jermele Hill (I know she is gone).

 

[IBleedMaroonDawg]

I think there are still plenty of folks who would watch an "entertaining" sports center over Screaming A Smith and getting talked down to by people like Jermele Hill (I know she is gone).

Between the two of you, I believe somewhere there's a common ground that would probably fix the issues at ESPN. What made SportsCenter so much fun was the personalities hosted to show. We need to find new talent and replace Stephen A.

Big problem is Disney owns ESPN, and they haven't shown anything over the last 45 years that remotely resembles good management decisions when it comes to entertainment. It's like they've completely forgotten what entertainment is to most people on their platforms.

 

[mstateglfr]

Big problem is Disney owns ESPN, and they haven't shown anything over the last 45 years that remotely resembles good management decisions when it comes to entertainment. It's like they've completely forgotten what entertainment is to most people on their platforms.

You think Disney’s movies for the last 45 years haven’t been entertaining?
hot take there.