ESPN is letting go of about 20 on-air personalities, together with two acquainted names to NBA viewers: recreation analyst Jeff Van Gundy and studio co-host Jalen Rose.

Keyshawn Johnson, a former NFL participant who had co-hosted ESPN Radio’s nationwide morning present in one in all many chapters in a 16-year run on ESPN, can also be amongst these leaving.

An individual acquainted with the cutbacks advised Deadline they’re unrelated to the multi-round Disney layoffs carried out in latest months. These reductions noticed a variety of senior-level execs depart ESPN however spared on-air expertise. The supply indicated that lots of these affected by the brand new cuts have contracts past June 30 and can paid out accordingly, however parting methods will allow ESPN to keep away from wider layoffs. The sports activities operation is now its personal division of Disney, making its financials extra seen.

Additionally a part of the brand new wave of exits are NHL analyst Chris Chelios, NFL analyst Rob Ninkovich and 23-year SportsCenter anchor Neil Everett. These particular person exits had been reported in latest weeks.

“Given the present atmosphere, ESPN has decided it essential to establish some extra price financial savings within the space of public-facing commentator salaries, and that course of has begun,” ESPN mentioned in an announcement. “This train will embrace a small group of job cuts within the short-term and an ongoing give attention to managing prices after we negotiate particular person contract renewals within the months forward. That is a particularly difficult course of, involving people who’ve had super influence on our firm. These tough choices, based mostly extra on total effectivity than advantage, will assist us meet our monetary targets and guarantee future progress.”

ESPN has been navigating a dramatic shift in its financial basis attributable to ongoing cord-cutting. After peaking at about 100 million households a decade in the past, the community reported reaching 74 million properties in 2022, depriving it of great distribution income. Aside from occasions like faculty soccer, the NFL and the NBA, which have seen sturdy scores, linear tune-in has been declining for all conventional networks as extra viewers flip to streaming.

Disney has confirmed it’s actively planning to supply a extra full model of ESPN as a stand-alone streaming choice, however migrating it’s a fraught course of given the community’s agreements with pay-TV operators, leagues and different stakeholders. ESPN+, which launched in 2018, reached 25.3 million subscribers earlier this yr however doesn’t carry a full complement of reports or reside occasion programming.

Van Gundy, the previous head coach of the New York Knicks, has been a part of a longtime trio calling NBA video games for ESPN, alongside Mike Breen and Mark Jackson. Rose, along with his NBA studio duties, beforehand hosted daytime speak present Jalen & Jacoby.