ESPN sports channel to cut 300 jobs

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-34598297

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Sports channel ESPN announced it is cutting 300 jobs or 4% of the company's workforce.

ESPN has been struggling as younger audiences choose outlets like Netflix and Amazon Prime over cable television.

In a statement president of ESPN, John Skipper, said though sports viewership was not diminishing cuts were necessary to keep a "competitive advantage".

Disney, which owns ESPN revised its profit expectations in August after the channel saw a decreases in subscribers.

ESPN gets money from cable companies when subscribers buy bundles that include the sport channel. As more people choose cheaper cable packages or opt for online subscription TV such as Netflix, ESPN is having to rethink its strategy.

Disney said in August it was considering selling access to ESPN directly to viewers in the way outlets like HBO and Showtime already do.