ESPN lays off 30 staff after 15-day YouTube TV blackout
Business
ESPN is letting go of about 30 behind-the-scenes staff after an unexpected revenue drop.
The main reason? A recent standoff with YouTube TV led to a 15-day blackout last November, leaving around 10 million subscribers without big games like SEC football and Monday Night Football.
Blackout cost Disney about $100 million
That blackout ended up costing Disney (ESPN's parent company) roughly $100 million, its longest service interruption since 1979.
Just so you know, these layoffs aren't related to ESPN's recent $3 billion deal with NFL Network and RedZone, which also gave the NFL a small ownership stake.
This move is part of ESPN's ongoing push to adapt as digital media keeps changing.