ESPN is substantially altering a tradition that dates back to the network’s early days.
An internal memo obtained by Awful Announcing revealed that ESPN will alter a company tradition known as the “Credit Roll.” Each year, ESPN airs an exhaustive list of credits naming the thousands of employees who have contributed to the company throughout the calendar year. In 2023, that list was aired following the midnight edition of SportsCenter on December 25th and took nearly 30 minutes to complete.
This year, the credit list will be considerably pared down. According to the ESPN internal memo, the Credit Roll will now only feature ESPN employees who have reached 20 years of service time and are in a “milestone year” (i.e., 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, or 45-year anniversaries). Read below:
In the interest of overall efficiency, ESPN is revamping the holiday Credit Roll for 2024. While it’s annually been a comprehensive way to publicly acknowledge every single employee name, producing a list with thousands of names has become an extremely labor-intensive task, at a particularly busy time on the sports calendar.
Beginning this year, the Credit Roll will consist of employees who have been with ESPN for 20 years or more and who have reached a milestone year. In honoring this group of employees, the on-air compilation will recognize those celebrating 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, or 45-year anniversaries incrementally so each year’s Credit Roll will have different names while honoring longevity milestones.
Various employees who were able to comment directly on ESPN’s internal memo shared their frustration with colleagues, saying the change is “truly defeating,” “embarrassing,” and “one of the most disappointing announcements [they’ve] seen.”
When reached out for comment, ESPN provided the following statement:
A multi-department committee carefully considered potential solutions to address the significant resources and manpower required to produce the growing list of names. When you factor in ESPN employees plus other divisions who work closely on ESPN business and content, such as Sales, Distribution and Technology, the number of colleagues significantly grew to 13,000 names. We found a way this year to salute a percentage of longstanding employees celebrating milestones. ESPN is filled with the most dedicated and passionate team, and they demonstrate great pride in working here. After we complete this year’s Credit Roll, we will reflect on this new process as well as the feedback we’ve received.
Undoubtedly, the logistics of producing a year-end Credit Roll have become significantly more complex as ESPN’s operation has grown. However, the optics of the change are not friendly to the network, which has recently undergone widespread layoffs despite throwing large sums of money at its biggest talents.
Disney has long prided itself on nurturing a culture of inclusiveness, which the Credit Roll seemed to accomplish successfully for decades. With most employees set to be excluded from the yearly tradition, it’s difficult to say whether the company is still living up to that reputation.
