Layoffs put spotlight on what ESPN prioritizes, which often comes at the expense of a quality product

It would not be totally fair to declare that I cannot stand what ESPN has become.

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The network’s reach across virtually all major sports is so broad that there is plenty of excellence still to be found. The “Monday Night Football” broadcast team of Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, and Lisa Salters, for instance. Mike Breen’s polish, professionalism, and good humor as the lead NBA voice. The remaining “NFL Live” crew. Plenty more. Plenty of other talented, dedicated people.

So let’s put it this way. I cannot stand what ESPN prioritizes.

The network’s layoffs Tuesday were yet another reminder of how the network — which has hemorrhaged cable subscribers over the last decade-plus — favors its personalities with the largest social-media footprints, often at the expense of quality.

Stephen A. Smith, whose greatest talent is looking incredulous, has a five-year, $105 million contract. Pat McAfee, 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.

Apparently there is no second apron at ESPN.

Smith and McAfee are ESPN’s 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’t care if you love them or hate them, just that you notice them.

Meanwhile, Needham’s Karl Ravech — a “SportsCenter” anchor during that program’s pre-smartphone heyday, and trusted good company on virtually all of the network’s prominent baseball programming over the last couple of decades — was dismissed after 33 years.

So too was Ryan Clark, an opinionated but engaging part of its NFL programming. He’s someone who was downright extraordinary in what looked like a tragic circumstance when he joined Scott Van Pelt on “SportsCenter” during the Damar Hamlin game in January 2023.

Clark found he was being laid off while he was on the air during “NFL Live” on Monday. Ravech hadn’t 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’t end up in the headlines, were treated with more dignity.

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Or maybe such callousness is just one more way ESPN has changed for the worse.

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’t help but notice and be impressed.

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 en route to their 12th straight win. When Abreu crushed the ball into the right field bleachers (“You’ve gotta be kidding me!,” said Dave O’Brien), the NESN broadcast immediately bounced from one incredible reaction to another: Anthony Seigler “flexing” 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’t believe what he just saw, an assortment of enjoyable crowd shots, and then Abreu getting mauled by his teammates.

If the Red Sox end up making the postseason, the Abreu homer is going to be remembered as perhaps the greatest moment in their turnaround. NESN’s crew — camera people Jim Martens, Bill Titus, Matt Johnson, and Paul Coleman, director Ben Johnson, and producer Brian Zechello — came through on the spot, just as Abreu did.

Three final media thoughts on the World Cup, which was such a delight, especially here in Boston, even for soccer casuals like me:

▪ Massive viewership for Spain’s 1-0 win over Argentina in the final was anticipated, and yet the final numbers exceeded expectation. The match averaged 62.8 million viewers combined on Fox, Telemundo, and Peacock, making it the most-watched soccer broadcast in United States history by approximately 17 million viewers.

▪ Mike Tirico’s ease navigating multiple sports probably makes him the current studio host. But there’s 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 Ibrahimović, and Alexi Lalas.

▪ Ibrahimović announced on the broadcast after Spain’s win over Argentina in the final that it would be his “first and last time” as part of a studio show and that those would be “my last words.” Not buying it. Broadcast rights for the 2030 men’s 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’t refuse.

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