ESPN is planning to cut 500 jobs due to the Coronavirus pandemic, but what will happen in the UFC?
ESPN, one of the biggest media companies in the world, is planning to cut 500 jobs due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
The LA Times reports that ESPN will lay-off 300 employees from across the globe while another 200 open positions will be made redundant.
Jimmy Pitaro, the president of the company, revealed the plans in a memo and claimed that the pandemic had led to such decisions being taken.
“Prior to the pandemic, we had been deeply engaged in strategizing how best to position ESPN for future success amidst tremendous disruption in how fans consume sports.
“The pandemic’s significant impact on our business clearly accelerated those forward-looking discussions.”
The memo didn’t confirm who would be cut and employees would be told the plan of action in due course.
ESPN, like every media outlet in the world, was affected by the pandemic. Many of the leagues they broadcast didn’t run for a couple of months, and when it did return, like the NBA or the UFC, fans were not allowed in the arenas.
The report adds that ESPN’s business model leans towards cable and satellite operators that carry their channels, though they do have a streaming service with 8.5million subscribers.
Will the UFC be hit by this decision?
While the UFC and ESPN have a huge deal with the media outlet not only showing all of the fights but having specials too, they are not directly linked.
The UFC is still owned Endeavor Group Holdings and that has been the case for a while. The pandemic is a cause of concern for many but Dana White had earlier commented that no one was getting cut from the promotion.
This came during the first wave of the pandemic as the UFC had to postpone several events. However, they have since held several shows and no one has been cut till date.
That is not the case for some of the smaller promotions with some fighters being released or being paid a minimal amount to keep them under contract.
Endeavor had laid off some people earlier in the year but White confirmed that no one from the UFC was going to get sacked.
It is to be seen how this latest move from ESPN affects the UFC given that they also haven’t been able to bring crowds into their fight arenas.
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