ESPN laying off hundreds/but still hiring... Post #37

[Muhast]

Which is a shame because the product is great, much better than the NBA and MLB right now. I have no care in the world for the NBA playoffs right now, but the NHL playoffs have been intense and exciting, with hits that rival anything in the NFL. Add to that the fact that the game rarely stops except for faceoffs and penalties, and you have 60 minutes of pure adrenaline.

Hockey just isn't nearly as accessible for most americans as the other sports. The equipment is expensive, the skating ice isn't all over. Baseball? Just need minimum equipment to play a game, everyone needs gloves, you can share one ball and one bat. Basketball you just need a hard surface, one ball and a hoop. Football is even easier, one ball and thats it. Hockey is much harder to have "pick up games" in. Especially in the south. Unless your playing roller hockey or something, and even that requires every player to have a stick and skates. Especially in the south where lakes/ponds don't freeze over often. Another big factor with the lack of NHL appeal is that the large majority of the league is foreign born. There are very few "hometown heroes" that you watched play in college, and then became a star player.

 

[Hook'em#11]

Myth.

Actually, attendance and TV ratings are at all time highs.

As it should be.

About the only sport left where the players can actually play the game, for the most part, as it was intended too.

 

[Yeagermeister]

Unless Berman is included who cares

 

[Boston Cowboy]

Hockey just isn't nearly as accessible for most americans as the other sports. The equipment is expensive, the skating ice isn't all over. Baseball? Just need minimum equipment to play a game, everyone needs gloves, you can share one ball and one bat. Basketball you just need a hard surface, one ball and a hoop. Football is even easier, one ball and thats it. Hockey is much harder to have "pick up games" in. Especially in the south. Unless your playing roller hockey or something, and even that requires every player to have a stick and skates. Especially in the south where lakes/ponds don't freeze over often. Another big factor with the lack of NHL appeal is that the large majority of the league is foreign born. There are very few "hometown heroes" that you watched play in college, and then became a star player.

Completely agree. I grew up in VA for the majority of my life and very rarely, if ever, watched hockey. And you're right, ponds/lakes rarely froze and hockey pick up games didn't happen.

However, living now in New England, it's a complete 180. Yes, it's difficult to follow the college level (same with baseball), but hockey is still huge up here and is played year round. Unfortunately, as you mention, it is expensive (equipment, ice time), but that hasn't kept the local rinks from being packed all week.

Again, though, as a professional sport, it's a much better product than what the NBA and MLB are putting out there.

 

[erod]

Don't be surprised if this isn't related to the upcoming costs of government healthcare.

We laid off 12 percent of our staff, and we have others that we are going to be offered part-time work only very soon. It's that, or they're gone, too, and we'll rehire only part-time people going forward.

I know of MANY companies doing, or about to do, the same thing.

It's insane what it will cost companies per employee with the new healthcare expenses. For us, it will be almost 4X what we were paying.

 

[TellerMorrow34]

Bad day for a lot of people. That sucks for them.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Hockey just isn't nearly as accessible for most americans as the other sports. The equipment is expensive, the skating ice isn't all over. Baseball? Just need minimum equipment to play a game, everyone needs gloves, you can share one ball and one bat. Basketball you just need a hard surface, one ball and a hoop. Football is even easier, one ball and thats it. Hockey is much harder to have "pick up games" in. Especially in the south. Unless your playing roller hockey or something, and even that requires every player to have a stick and skates. Especially in the south where lakes/ponds don't freeze over often. Another big factor with the lack of NHL appeal is that the large majority of the league is foreign born. There are very few "hometown heroes" that you watched play in college, and then became a star player.

It's also way too regional. If you grow up in Buffalo New York or somewhere in Canada, then it's probably much more available to you. If you grow up in Phoenix Arizona or New Orleans La. then not so much. It's expensive to even try and play because ice time is not cheap. I suspect it will always be this way until the Global Warming finally gets here.

:laugh2:

 

[RastaRocket]

As it should be.

About the only sport left where the players can actually play the game, for the most part, as it was intended too.

Yep, if you don't watch your missing out. Hockey is awesome!!

 

[ghst187]

Hockey is now a minor sport and not many care

now if we could add golf (which isn't even a sport), the x-games, WNBA, and regular season MLB to the list of things ESPN doesn't cover.....

as far as the layoffs go...the most sickening part of it is that you can almost guarantee none of their highest, most overpaid paid folks will take a pay cut or lose their jobs...it'll be the people making the least. That's how it always ends up going.

 

[Supercowboy1986]

In my dreams SAS, Simmons, Matt Berry and Wilbon get the bullet.

what's wrong with Wilbon? I like him and Kornheiser a lot. My favorite two people on ESPN actually.

 

[visionary]

Quite possibly. As good as these NHL playoffs have been, the fact that ESPN has virtually no coverage is probably costing them.

ESPN should start by getting rid of half the knuckleheads they put on the air.

hockey has playoffs?

 

[Yakuza Rich]

Don't be surprised if this isn't related to the upcoming costs of government healthcare.

We laid off 12 percent of our staff, and we have others that we are going to be offered part-time work only very soon. It's that, or they're gone, too, and we'll rehire only part-time people going forward.

I know of MANY companies doing, or about to do, the same thing.

It's insane what it will cost companies per employee with the new healthcare expenses. For us, it will be almost 4X what we were paying.

It's not related to it.

It's related to the SEC Network and the new SportsCenter set and trying to expand into different markets and areas.

They are simply laying these people off and in about a year they will bring in new people at a cheaper price.






YR

 

[CrownCowboy]

It's not related to it.

It's related to the SEC Network and the new SportsCenter set and trying to expand into different markets and areas.

They are simply laying these people off and in about a year they will bring in new people at a cheaper price.






YR

Maybe not predominately, but I bet the savings that ESPN will incur from avoiding insuring these laid off workers absolutely had a factor even if it was small. At the very least it will be an added bonus to the company given the nightmare that our healthcare system is becoming.

 

[Tusan_Homichi]

Myth.

Actually, attendance and TV ratings are at all time highs.

All time high TV ratings for hockey are what? A 0.5 rating?

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/20...h-tow-the-real-world-mythbusters-more/183877/

It matches reruns of Friends.

 

[tunahelper]

Hopefully they will go bankrupt.

 

[windward]

Don't be surprised if this isn't related to the upcoming costs of government healthcare.

We laid off 12 percent of our staff, and we have others that we are going to be offered part-time work only very soon. It's that, or they're gone, too, and we'll rehire only part-time people going forward.

I know of MANY companies doing, or about to do, the same thing.

It's insane what it will cost companies per employee with the new healthcare expenses. For us, it will be almost 4X what we were paying.

Not sure about it's impact on ESPN, but you are right in that full time positions are going the way of the dodo in many companies (I've seen it firsthand as well)

2 years ago, I had a "part-time" job that allowed me to work up to 36 hours a week. It worked well for me at the time in terms of flexibility and my pursuing of grad studies. I saw the writing on the wall that there were going to be hour reductions in the future. I grabbed the first full time position I could find and haven't looked back since.

 

[WoodysGirl]

ESPN Is Now Hiring. Young And Cheap May Apply. [UPDATE]

One ESPN source put it this way: ESPN "hacked" hundreds of jobs and will replace those laid off "with younger, cheaper, less experienced people."

As another source put it in an email: "Most people let go were older, have been with the company a long time and collecting a decent salary for what they do. They will be replaced by younger, less experienced and most importantly a much less compensated employee."

Take a stroll over to jobs.espncareers.com, where you can get a sense of the carnage:

The jobs added to the website yesterday include:

• 45 jobs in Bristol
• 11 jobs in New York
• 3 jobs in Seattle
• 2 jobs in LA
• 2 jobs in Chicago
• 2 jobs in Coral Gables
• 1 job in Detroit

That's 66 jobs in all, all open as of May 22 [UPDATED, see below]. There will be more in the coming weeks, especially as ESPN gets around to layoffs in other departments. ESPN is also getting the word out on its website.


Read the rest: http://********.com/espn-is-now-hiring-young-and-cheap-may-apply-509485801

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Maybe not predominately, but I bet the savings that ESPN will incur from avoiding insuring these laid off workers absolutely had a factor even if it was small. At the very least it will be an added bonus to the company given the nightmare that our healthcare system is becoming.

It is absolutely, at least in part, about cutting cost and hours in your workforce. It's happening all over the country. IBM announced in early May that it would be cutting jobs and hours of currently employed workers back as a result. IBM intends to spend 1 Billion Dollars cutting jobs in it's own workforce. There is a reason for this.