- April 26th, 2017, 9:55 am
#530046
The four-letter network is laying off a ton of talent today. At least 100 on-air staffers are supposedly receiving their pink slips this morning. I've been through this situation back when news was going through a similar market correction. It sucks and I feel for those impacted today.
This is all a result of overspending on programming contracts the past decade or so as well as the cord-cutting the net execs didn't expect to be so dramatic. Cable subscription fees forced on all folks with cable or satellite service built the revenue that drove all of those ridiculous deals with pro leagues and college sports. Now that the house of cards is tumbling the repercussions are likely to continue for the next year or so until revenue models can be restored.
Live sports was always considered to be the last mecca of guaranteed TV revenue while traditional network programming became less significant with the splintering of affinity-based content. But it appears even the most valuable commodities are nowhere near as valuable in 2017 as they were in 2014.
This is all a result of overspending on programming contracts the past decade or so as well as the cord-cutting the net execs didn't expect to be so dramatic. Cable subscription fees forced on all folks with cable or satellite service built the revenue that drove all of those ridiculous deals with pro leagues and college sports. Now that the house of cards is tumbling the repercussions are likely to continue for the next year or so until revenue models can be restored.
Live sports was always considered to be the last mecca of guaranteed TV revenue while traditional network programming became less significant with the splintering of affinity-based content. But it appears even the most valuable commodities are nowhere near as valuable in 2017 as they were in 2014.