I work in the business of television and spent over a decade with Disney, here are some thoughts:
- Disney's most profitable business segment is their Cable networks group. 3+ years ago it was making 47% of their revenues. Parks & Resorts makes about 18%, Consumer Products about 14% and movies (including Marvel) make about 8%. TV is by far their most profitable business
- Money in TV is made off of commercials. With DVR and Streaming, people mostly skip commercials, which have driven down the prices companies can charge for them. This has placed a premium on sports, as viewers seldom DVR a game and all commercials are watched. Every network has upped the prices on their commercial spots to make more $$ and compensate for loss of revenues elsewhere.
- The cable universe (those who want it) is declining by more than 1 million viewers each year. This is cable cutters, reduced packages and the "never haves", most millennials. Less people watching means less money to be made
- The majority of the cuts made were to contributors whose value you can't quantify. Marc Stein is an insider, but he does not have a show, is used in small segments with no regular viewing and offers a service many others have. He supports their NBA coverage but adds zero when it comes to helping monetize it
- The move to digital consumption is nowhere near as profitable. Ads sell for 1/10th the cost, which makes a multi-billion dollar investment in a sport that you thought would drive big returns a very questionable investment.
- Every network needs personalities and invests in them to keep that buzz going. Whether you like Stephen A or not, he is a marketable talent who drives interest, whether positive or negative. PTI and ATH do the same.
- SportsCenter used to be the big money maker, but clip based shows no longer have the same relevance. Most people seek out scores, stats, clips and insight online, where that need can be filled instantly. ESPN.com offers the same service as SportsCenter and it's free. For an additional $40 you get their Insider info with more details. That's incredibly cheap when each cable subscriber pays about $8 per month to receive the channel as part of their cable package.
- To revive Sportscenter, the move is to change the formula, hence SC6 and Van Pelt's midnight show. People will watch because they like or hate the talent. The new way allows you to carve up the demographics by offering "frat boy humor and coolness" late night and "diversity with African American male and female" at an earlier hour.
- With that said, the large number of experts being released hurts their product, no question. But since they could never quantify the contributions, they're willing to let other resources (PFT, MMQB, et al) worry about the high expense of insider info.
Personally, I think it sucks and degrades the overall experience. But all of these moves are business. Disney (or Fox, CBS, NBC...) only cares about returning revenues to their shareholders.