LAYOFFS STRIKE NFL FILMS
Posted by Mike Florio on March 10, 2008, 9:23 p.m.
The autumn wind, as it turns out, is a pink slip.
Layoffs have struck NFL Films, with
21 of 283 employees recently let go. Steve Sabol, who founded the company with his father, Ed, in the 1960s, personally delivered the news to the affected employees.
“It was very difficult,” Sabol said. “One of the most difficult things I’ve ever had to do. These people were like family.”
Sabol says that the recent cancellation of Inside the NFL was a big reason for the move. An unnamed NFL General Manager told the Philadelphia Daily News that the “ongoing struggles” of NFL Network played a role as well.
“The network is making money, but not nearly as much as the owners want,” the G.M. told the Daily News. “And that’s primarily because of this standoff with Comcast and Time Warner. The subscription number [for NFLN] is nowhere near what they expected at this point.”
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy denied that issues with NFL Network influenced the move.
“Films is facing economic challenges just like any other media company, including the newspaper industry,” McCarthy said. “Ongoing technological changes also forced us to re-evaluate the way we operate to remain competitive.”
