In what has become an unfortunately regular occurrence and a sign of the times in modern media, ESPN has entered a new round of layoffs this summer.
It started on Monday when one of ESPN’s biggest names, NFL analyst Ryan Clark, was reported to be amongst those laid off this summer. Clark was informed of his departure while on the air with NFL Live. It followed on Tuesday morning with the reports of Karl Ravech being laid off after 33 years of service in Bristol. Ravech had just called Dodgers-Phillies on ESPN the night before.
And now on Tuesday, more names are being revealed to be part of the ESPN layoffs. Awful Announcing has learned of three more longtime on-air personalities who are among the cuts this summer at both ESPN and NFL Network.
David Lloyd was one of ESPN’s longest tenured on-air personalities, joining ESPN as an anchor in 1997 at ESPNEWS. Over the last three decades, he had become one of ESPN’s most trusted voices as a SportsCenter mainstay and one of the last remaining individuals left from what many consider to be the golden era of the program.
Stephania Bell was an ESPN injury expert who joined the Worldwide Leader in Sports in 2008. She had contributed to a number of programs in her nearly two decades with the network, most notably as a contributor to the network’s NFL and fantasy football coverage. She was one of the first to make medical coverage a regular part of sports broadcasting throughout the rise of fantasy sports and now into the age of sports betting.
Tom Pelissero joined NFL Media in 2017 and had become one of NFL Network’s top reporters and insiders. However, with ESPN and NFL Network employing the likes of Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport, the newly acquired NFL Network was always unfortunately going to be one of the places where the new-look ESPN saw duplication. The Athletic was first to report his departure.
Layoffs are expected to focus on NFL Network after ESPN’s acquisition of the network as part of their equity deal with the NFL. However, they are also extending throughout ESPN and the wider Disney corporation. The full updating list of layoffs can be found here.
