By Joe Reedy The Associated Press
July 21, 2026 - 3:54 pm
ESPN is undergoing a important circular of layoffs for the archetypal clip successful 3 years aft taking implicit NFL Network successful April.
Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said successful a memo to employees Tuesday morning, obtained by The Associated Press, that astir moves are the effect of ESPN’s acquisition of NFL Network and different league integer assets past year.
The woody was announced past August and besides included NFL Fantasy and the rights to administer the RedZone transmission to cablegram and outer operators. In return, the NFL got a 10 percent equity involvement successful ESPN.
It was approved by authorities regulators successful January. NFL Network employees became portion of ESPN connected April 1.
“Over the past respective months, we’ve made important advancement integrating the NFL assets that we acquired into ESPN,” Pitaro wrote successful the memo. “Throughout this process, we person taken the clip to cautiously measure our corporate teams, resources and organizational operation to champion presumption america for the future. As a result, we had to marque immoderate hard decisions astir occupation impacts that we volition beryllium communicating today.
“While astir of the occupation impacts are tied to the acquisition, we volition besides notify colleagues successful different parts of the institution contiguous that their positions person been impacted. We are committed to treating employees with compassion and respect and to providing enactment arsenic they navigate this transition.”
While astir of the layoffs impact accumulation and behind-the-scenes personnel, immoderate on-air endowment were affected. Ryan Clark, who joined ESPN successful 2015 arsenic an NFL analyst, learned of his layoff portion connected “NFL Live” connected Monday. A idiosyncratic acquainted with the concern said Clark was primitively going to beryllium told Tuesday greeting earlier reports leaked astir the decision.
Clark was told by institution executives alternatively than perceive astir it elsewhere. He did not decorativeness his quality connected the show.
The idiosyncratic spoke to the AP connected information of anonymity due to the fact that they are not astatine liberty to sermon unit decisions.
Clark took to societal media connected Tuesday to code the layoffs. He besides shared a video of himself moving out.
“Sending prayers and emotion to each those laid disconnected contiguous by ESPN. So galore of you person poured your beingness into that company, & I cognize however you’re feeling close now,” Clark wrote connected X. “My anticipation is arsenic this doorway closes different opens for you all. God bless!”
Other notable names see Karl Ravech, who had been with ESPN since 1993 and had been an integral portion of its shot coverage. Ravech was the dependable of “Sunday Night Baseball” from 2022-25 earlier the bundle moved to NBC this season. He did telephone Monday night’s crippled betwixt the Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies.
Tom Pelissero, who had been with NFL Network since 2017, is besides portion of the cuts. ESPN had precocious signed NFL insiders Ian Rapoport and Adam Schefter to extensions.
The ESPN cutbacks are besides portion of different reductions that are taking spot passim the Walt Disney Company this week.
English (US)·