ESPN Reviews in New York City, NY Area

Pros

Great atmosphere, great company to work in

Cons

try not to fall through the cracks

Pros

Great co-workers.
Amazing perks.
Ability to work independently.

Cons

Long hours at the close of each quarter.

Pros

Pay on time and typically well.

Cons

After being an independent contractor for years and due to Dept of Labor's new regulations, forced me to be paid by a production company who asked me to do other (non-ESPN) work without compensation.

Advice to Senior Management

Quit hiding behind production companies. If they were too controversial at corporate ESPN, imagine how they are to work for when they are the boss?

Pros

If you are passionate in sports and want to make a difference in the way Fans see it, it only takes a knock on a door to make he pitch.

Cons

salaries are low and the opportunity for career advancement has slowed down. there is an unfair advantage between managers and company perspective.

Advice to Senior Management

you should make sure your direct reports can advance or the product and team camaraderie may suffer which will effect the overall product / efforts.

Pros

great brand
cutting edge technology in digital media
entrepreneurial culture

Cons

money is below market since people are willing to take a pay cut to work there

Advice to Senior Management

don't let money be the reason why your top performers leave.

Pros

If you're a big sports fan it's definitely worth working here. You get to work on highly visible things that you can show off to other people, and work in a culture where everyone loves sports.

Cons

For the Bristol office, the downside is being in Bristol. There's really nothing in the area, so unless you have a family and don't want to go out much, the are stinks. Also, because of the demand to work there, the pay isn't that great. For marketing and sale in NY, I didn't think there was much interest in pushing the bounds of technology. Plus, ESPN works in Disney's propriety language, which isn't really useful anywhere outside of Disney.

Advice to Senior Management

For marketing and sales, try to have a tech person judge your tech employees.

Pros

Aside from working with great people, the benefit of working at ESPN is the name itself. The brand recognition of having ESPN on your resume is bar none. Depending on the department you're in, there is great opportunity to obtain exposure to all aspects of the business.

ESPN is big on investing in digital media and technology and they are typically ahead of the curve in terms of 'what's next ' in media. That coupled with the fact that it is still the #1 cable network for ad sales makes it an exciting business to be in.

Bottom line: If you love sports, you will love working here.

Cons

The place is very large and if you do not establish great relationships, you may get lost in the shuffle.

Promotions are supposed to be awarded on a merit basis but this has not been my experience - the old-boys network is very much alive and well here so you either play the game or get left behind.

Advice to Senior Management

Pay attention to what employees who are the front lines are saying about this place. We want to feel that our contributions are valued and unfortunately that does not always take place.

Pros

Great people, fun atmosphere. If you like sports, it's a very cool place to work. Also, very competent people in my department. Employees seemed helpful and supportive of one another. Professional environment. People communicated well. TVs at most desks so employees can "stay up to date" on sports was very cool.

Cons

Huge company, so maybe a bit difficult to move up. Easy to lose a sense of where your dept. fits in larger scheme of things. Pay isn't great b/c of the high demand to work there. Living in NYC is expensive so that compounds the pay problem. And living in Bristol is, well, a bit dull.

Advice to Senior Management

Stay focused on the sports and continue to provide the avid fan what he wants.

Pros

ESPN is a stable, well-run, major American media organization whose senior management values the well-being of every employee.
ESPN is a huge source of revenue for the Walt Disney Company because it receives two streams of revenue: one coming from regional cable and satellite network partners, and another from selling advertising space across several networks, magazines, and web sites.
ESPN also has a large edge over any competition and is universally recognized as the premier sports-only twenty-four hour cable network.
ESPN has solid senior management that clearly communicates company priorities.

Cons

Because it is such a large company there are too many layers of bureaucratic middle management that stifles creativity.

Advice to Senior Management

To spend more time on the 'front lines' with lower-level production employees who create the content the company sells.

Pros

If you love sports, it doesn't get much better than this. Great people, good leadership, and a really fun place to work. Now adays, those are not easy things to find. It also provides pretty good job security, and despite compensatino shortcomings, it is the only division of the Walt Disney COmpany that pays an annual bonus every year.

Cons

First, Bristol is not a fun place to live, especially if you are young and single. It is two hours from anywhere. It is better for young families, however. Second, ESPN is notoriously bad at compensating people. They clearly believe that people will take less money to work here. They may by right, but after a while the fun wears off when you look at your bank account. Third, there is not enough turnover (i.e. no one ever leaves). This can make it challenging to advance.

Advice to Senior Management

Thy need to do a better job of recognizing the smartest people in the organization and moving them up the ladder quickly. There is too much dead wood in the place -- they shold be more aggressive about making management changes when someone isn't getting the job done.