00:00Another well-known ESPN analyst has been let go.
00:04On Monday night, it was Ryan Clark, live on NFL Live.
00:08Yes, in the middle of a broadcast.
00:10That's when he found out that he was done.
00:1211 years at that network.
00:15A seat on Monday Night Countdown next to Jason Kelsey.
00:19Regular spots on first take, get up, all gone mid-segment.
00:23Just like that.
00:25But it wasn't over then.
00:26Less than 24 hours later, Carl Ravish, who spent 33 years at the network,
00:32and that goes back to 1993, found out that he was out too.
00:37The night before, he was calling Phillies, Dodgers, Sunday Night Baseball,
00:41Baseball Tonight, SportsCenter.
00:44Three decades of us hearing that voice.
00:46And the call comes the morning after his last broadcast.
00:50That just lets you know how fast this business can turn on you.
00:54But here's the why.
00:56And it's bigger than just a bad week.
00:59This is a merger playing out in real time.
01:03ESPN closed on NFL Network back in February.
01:07Two and a half, three billion dollar deal.
01:10And in return, the NFL took a 10% equity stake in ESPN as a part of it.
01:16Sounds like a business story that you want to skip past, right?
01:19But it actually means it's two entire workforces that just got smashed into one building up in Bristol, Connecticut.
01:27Every role that existed twice, it now only needs to exist once.
01:32And when that happens, somebody's job becomes redundant by design.
01:36Doesn't matter how good of a talent that you are.
01:39This is actually round two of cuts this year, too.
01:42Back in the spring, it was about 30 people, but mostly the behind-the-scenes type people.
01:48Quieter, corporate, easy-to-miss type people.
01:51Now, this round is different.
01:53It's hitting recognizable on-air names.
01:55And according to reporting, an even bigger number is coming after NFL Network's side, both on-camera and camera staff.
02:04Now, to be clear, NFL Network itself, it isn't disappearing.
02:08Good morning football, red zone, those type of programming, those are going to stay.
02:12This isn't a shutdown either.
02:14This is all about who's still standing once the merger dust settles for good.
02:20And here's the part that hits different for me because I've been on both sides of the locker room door,
02:26and I know exactly what it feels like to get a call that you didn't see coming.
02:30Trust me.
02:31But this is a different building, different circumstances, but it's still the same gut punch.
02:36Guys like Clark, guys who played the game and then built a second career, being an honest, pretty much credible
02:42voice in that room,
02:44that's exactly the kind of role that gets squeezed first when the accounts merger.
02:50Some folks are circling back to that back-and-forth he had with Peter Schrager months ago as the reason
02:56of him being let go.
02:58But this is business, y'all.
02:59It's more of a reason than the reason he was let go.
03:03But here's what sucks the most.
03:06This isn't over.
03:07More names are expected to come throughout the day.
03:10So this story is still developing.
03:13So keep that tab open and keep hitting refresh because by tonight this list looks different than what it does
03:25right now.
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