The network\u2019s layoffs Tuesday were yet another reminder of how the network \u2014 which has hemorrhaged cable subscribers over the last decade-plus \u2014 favors its personalities with the largest social-media footprints, often at the expense of quality. <\/p>\n
Stephen A. Smith<\/a>, whose greatest talent is looking incredulous, has a five-year, $105 million contract. Pat McAfee<\/a>, who is more grating than a 7 a.m. leaf blower and might lose a battle of wits to one, is reportedly nearing a contract that would pay him $60 million per year. <\/p>\n Apparently there is no second apron at ESPN.<\/p>\n Smith and McAfee are ESPN\u2019s darlings, in large part because the network can spread their hot takes and overbearing personalities across its various channels and platforms, on television and social media, and get engagement. ESPN doesn\u2019t care if you love them or hate them, just that you notice them.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Needham\u2019s Karl Ravech<\/a> \u2014 a \u201cSportsCenter\u201d anchor during that program\u2019s pre-smartphone heyday, and trusted good company on virtually all of the network\u2019s prominent baseball programming over the last couple of decades \u2014 was dismissed after 33 years.<\/p>\n So too was Ryan Clark, an opinionated but engaging part of its NFL programming. He\u2019s someone who was downright extraordinary in what looked like a tragic circumstance when he joined Scott Van Pelt on \u201cSportsCenter\u201d during the Damar Hamlin game<\/a> in January 2023.<\/p>\n Clark found he was being laid off while he was on the air during \u201cNFL Live\u201d on Monday. Ravech hadn\u2019t heard from his bosses yet Tuesday morning when reporters called to tell him they had heard he was being let go. Hopefully the other staffers, including many behind-the-scenes folks whose names don\u2019t end up in the headlines, were treated with more dignity.<\/p>\n Or maybe such callousness is just one more way ESPN has changed for the worse.<\/p>\n Kudos to NESN\u2019s camera crew<\/p>\n Excellent camera work on a sports broadcast is easy to take for granted. Glitches get far more notice than great work. But sometimes something is so well-done, a scene captured so perfectly in the moment that it happened, that you can\u2019t help but notice and be impressed. <\/p>\n That was the case last Saturday on NESN, when Wilyer Abreu walloped his second home run of the game in the seventh inning, capping a four-run rally and giving the Red Sox a 7-6 lead<\/a> en route to their 12th straight win. When Abreu crushed the ball into the right field bleachers (\u201cYou\u2019ve gotta be kidding me!,\u201d said Dave O\u2019Brien), the NESN broadcast immediately bounced from one incredible reaction to another: Anthony Seigler \u201cflexing\u201d outside of the dugout, a Red Sox reliever (I believe it was Justin Slaten) jumping up and down in the bullpen with his arms over his head, then back to the dugout for a closeup of Caleb Durbin looking like he can\u2019t believe what he just saw, an assortment of enjoyable crowd shots, and then Abreu getting mauled by his teammates. <\/p>\n If the Red Sox end up making the postseason<\/a>, the Abreu homer is going to be remembered as perhaps the greatest moment in their turnaround. NESN\u2019s crew \u2014 camera people Jim Martens, Bill Titus, Matt Johnson, and Paul Coleman, director Ben Johnson, and producer Brian Zechello \u2014 came through on the spot, just as Abreu did.<\/p>\n Three final media thoughts on the World Cup<\/a>, which was such a delight, especially here in Boston, even for soccer casuals like me:<\/p>\n \u25aa Massive viewership for Spain\u2019s 1-0 win over Argentina in the final was anticipated, and yet the final numbers exceeded expectation. The match averaged 62.8 million viewers<\/a> combined on Fox, Telemundo, and Peacock, making it the most-watched soccer broadcast in United States history by approximately 17 million viewers.<\/p>\n \u25aa Mike Tirico\u2019s ease navigating multiple sports probably makes him the current studio host. But there\u2019s a case to made for Rebecca Lowe, who did exceptional work for Fox during the World Cup while navigating some, uh, interesting dynamics among analysts Thierry Henry, Zlatan Ibrahimovi\u0107, and Alexi Lalas<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u25aa Ibrahimovi\u0107 announced on the broadcast after Spain\u2019s win over Argentina in the final that it would be his \u201cfirst and last time\u201d as part of a studio show and that those would be \u201cmy last words.\u201d Not buying it. Broadcast rights for the 2030 men\u2019s World Cup have not been awarded yet. Whether Fox or another network has it in four years, the blunt and amusing Zlatan is going to be coveted for a studio role. Bet he gets an offer he and his accountant can\u2019t refuse.<\/p>\n