How ESPN went from powerhouse to bloodbath

The sad downfall of the Worldwide Leader in Sports

Four men work behind the backdrop inside the Sportscenter TV Studio of ESPN in Bristol Connecticut.
(Image credit: Aurora Photos / Alamy Stock Photo)

There was a bloodbath at ESPN on Wednesday.

A dramatic round of layoffs had long been expected at the Worldwide Leader in Sports, but the numbers turned out much bigger than predicted: Roughly 100 on-air reporters and personalities were let go, plus some additional behind-the-camera crew members. By Wednesday afternoon, people like Ed Werder and Scott Burnside — who'd worked at ESPN for 17 and 13 years, respectively — had announced on Twitter that they were toast.

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Jeff Spross

Jeff Spross was the economics and business correspondent at TheWeek.com. He was previously a reporter at ThinkProgress.