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ESPN
3.6 of 5 140 reviews
espn.go.com Bristol, CT 1000 to 5000 Employees

ESPN Reviews

Updated May 21, 2013
All Employees Current Employees Only

3.6 140 reviews

                             

97% Approve of the CEO

ESPN President John Skipper

John Skipper

(31 ratings)

78% of employees recommend this company to a friend
140 Employee Reviews
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  • Work/Life Balance
         
  • Culture & Values
         
  • Career Opportunities
         
  • Senior Management
         
  • Comp & Benefits
         
  • Approves of CEO

1 person found this helpful  

Great, quality people and one of the most powerful brands in the world.

Anonymous Employee (Former Employee)
New York, NY (US)

I worked at ESPN as an intern for less than a year

ProsYou work at the Worldwide Leader in Sports and get many perks.

ConsAs an intern, you are given very few responsibilities nd thus many long days ensue.

Advice to Senior ManagementKeep doing what you are doing

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

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Great company

Marketing Director (Former Employee)
East Los Angeles, CA (US)

I worked at ESPN full-time for more than 7 years

ProsThe company lives up to the title as the Worldwide Leader in Sports. Also, the company is innovative, Industry leader, supports career growth.

ConsThe company and management can be elitist, arrogant and under pay employees.

Advice to Senior ManagementTrain and promote more employees from within organization.

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  • No Opinion of CEO

1 person found this helpful  

Work hard. Big rewards.

Anonymous Employee (Current Employee)
Bristol, CT (US)

I have been working at ESPN

ProsConstant growth. Opportunities for achievers. Environment pays for performance.

ConsCompetitive. Can be cut-throat. Bristol, CT is not a fun town.

Advice to Senior ManagementSenior leadership needs more young blood.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

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Educational and interesting.

Anonymous Employee (Former Employee)
Bristol, CT (US)

I worked at ESPN

ProsIf sports is your passion, ESPN is the place to work.

ConsThe promotions are often based more upon seniority than job performance.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

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It is a demanding but rewarding job.

Anonymous Employee (Current Employee)

I have been working at ESPN

ProsName recognition
Around Sports
Making Great TV

ConsLong Hours
Hectic Pace
Demanding production schedule

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

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1 person found this helpful  

Worldwide Leader in Dysfunction

Anonymous Employee (Former Employee)

I worked at ESPN

ProsGreat BRAND.
Direct Access to On-air Talent.
Sports All Day/All the Time.
Dominance in the Sports Media Industry.
Great Diversity, Campus, and Team Building Events.

ConsSiloed and competing groups all doing the same thing.
Lack of consistent, cohesive Technology Processes and/or Standards across all divisions of the organization.
Promotions based on length of tenure versus quality of work output.

Advice to Senior ManagementLike any large organization, your experience will be dependent on the group you end up in. My hope is that the "Worldwide Leader in Sports" consolidates their technology departments and moves towards a singular cohesive strategy for content delivery. They should also evaluate employees based on equitable, quantifiable, measurable standards versus subjective perceptions.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

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2 people found this helpful  

It's great for experience, but always watch your back.

Production Assistant (Former Employee)

I worked at ESPN

ProsGood entry-level pay.
Health insurance package.
Looks great on your resume.

ConsBe extra careful - Management has a history of forcing people to resign before the end of their probation period.
Management will give you a bad performance review, and then refuse to let you see your own work records or any "official evidence".
Whenever your manager has verbal communication with you, via face-to-face or over-the-phone, make sure it is followed up with an email, because email is the only thing the company will officially recognize.
Also make personal copies of all emails concerning your work performance and contact with management.
If you are forced to resign, and have to file for unemployment, make sure you tell the dept of labor exactly what happened, especially when there has been no "official written record" of you being forced to resign.
Watch your back at all times.

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Fun dream job everyone wishes for as a kid

Anonymous Employee (Current Employee)

I have been working at ESPN

ProsColleagues, Work Place, Sports, Work on something you love, Work with others who share the same love and interest as you

ConsNot personally but some have tough hours such as 3 - 12 am but only con may be salary at beginning

Advice to Senior ManagementNone they did a perfect job keeping control of jobs and making sure there were opportunities for interns by interacting with them.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

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Interesting. There have been great advances, yet there are many areas that have to innovate.

Anonymous Employee (Current Employee)
Singapore (Singapore)

I have been working at ESPN

ProsPeople, leading broadcaster regionally, ability to lead great teams.

ConsNeed to invest in staying an industry leader in broadcast technology.

Advice to Senior ManagementLead, do not follow when it comes to business and industry innovation.

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2 people found this helpful  

A "Sweat Shop" environment and rampant nepotism

Anonymous Employee (Former Employee)
Bristol, CT (US)

I worked at ESPN

ProsThe technology, some of the worker-level employees are great people. If you're a sports fan there's monitors showing sports in a lot of places about the workplace. The technical people are great.

ConsThey demand a 12 hour workday of everyone who is salaried: from the lowest paid admins to the managers. Very high turnover as people are misled when hired and told the long hours are "just temporary". Some of the managers are verbally abusive, others are hiring their friends and relatives regardless of competency: relatives with no skills for a particular job will get promoted over highly skilled employees. Very bad place to work.

Advice to Senior ManagementStart treating your employees with simple human respect, allow for a reasonable work/life balance, fire the half of management that promotes bad practices.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

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