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ESPN EVP of Manufacturing Norby Williamson, who helped construct SportsCenter right into a signature franchise however lately had a public conflict with Pat McAfee, is departing after almost 40 years on the community.
Burke Magnus, President of Content material, relayed the information to workers in a memo Friday morning. (Learn it in full beneath.) Magnus mentioned the Disney sports activities division would quickly be conducting “a full seek for a brand new senior content material government.” He additionally saluted Williamson’s “steadfast dedication and a spotlight to element, Norby has had a long-lasting affect on the sports activities followers’ expertise.”
An announcement from Williamson was additionally included within the inside memo. “Because of the distinctive onerous work, creativity and dedication of the individuals of ESPN, and to a a lot lesser extent my contributions, I’d prefer to assume we’ve left our nice firm in a much better place than we discovered it,” the assertion mentioned.
By quite a lot of turbulent durations for ESPN, particularly in recent times as quite a lot of prime execs and expertise exited and Disney’s company-wide efforts to trim prices took impact, Williamson remained a gentle determine. In latest months, nonetheless, friction with McAfee additionally spilled into public view. The high-paid host, whose YouTube-based present was picked up by ESPN final yr for a reported $85 million over 5 years, named Williamson on a January 2024 episode, blaming the exec for leaking unfavorable data and “actively making an attempt to sabotage us.”
McAfee, whose freewheeling present nonetheless streams on YouTube because it additionally airs on ESPN, has seemingly redrawn the boundaries of what makes for appropriate ESPN programming. The previous NFL punter’s relationship with quarterback Aaron Rodgers has netted the present a weekly section with the New York Jets star, although a latest episode noticed Rodgers spout vaccine misinformation for a number of minutes. The detour appeared notably jarring given the “follow sports activities” critique raised towards quite a lot of on-air personalities in recent times.
Right here is the complete memo from Magnus:
Colleagues:
I’m reaching out with some vital information. Norby Williamson might be leaving the corporate right now after almost 40 years of devoted service.
Throughout Norby’s profession, he made important contributions throughout many vital roles inside Content material. By his steadfast dedication and a spotlight to element, Norby has had a long-lasting affect on the sports activities followers’ expertise. His wide-ranging affect consists of SportsCenter, breaking information protection, immense creativity inside occasion and studio productions and various storytelling throughout numerous ESPN platforms.
Norby needed to share the next message:
“Virtually 40 years in the past in 1985, I used to be so very lucky to be provided a possibility at ESPN. Because of the distinctive onerous work, creativity and dedication of the individuals of ESPN, and to a a lot lesser extent my contributions, I’d prefer to assume we’ve left our nice firm in a much better place than we discovered it.”
As quickly as doable, we might be conducting a full seek for a brand new senior content material government to assist lead our group. Moreover, we are going to quickly present particulars about our interim reporting construction. We perceive you might have questions on this transition. I, together with my direct studies, might be out there to handle any questions within the coming days.
We thank Norby for his many contributions to ESPN and need him all the most effective in his future endeavors.
Burke
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