Sports cable network ESPN has got the long knives out and is doing away with plenty of its on-air talent.

Experienced and talented broadcasters like Jalen Rose and Max Kellerman have been unceremoniously dropped.

The word is even Stephen A. Smith, perhaps ESPN’s number one star, could be next though, many view this as unthinkable.

ESPN’s ultimate ‘parent’ is the Walt Disney Co., which has announced that it will be making large layoffs across its various divisions (some 7,000) as it looks to reduce costs.

But to let go so many familiar faces all at once may very well backfire with viewers not tuning in to watch and hear their favourite broadcasters.

It is believed that as many as 20 ESPN personalities have been cut.

But why has ESPN resorted to this drastic move?

It could be a result of competition taking away market share. For so long ESPN ruled sports journalism but networks like Fox Sports, TNT have come onto the scene and gained ground.

Then there is Youtube where many without an athletic background can pontificate on the sporting world in their own inimitable style.

You have ex-athletes doing their own thing and going into media, presenting entertaining shows which are commanding attention and engaging audiences.

Tom Brady may be joining Fox in a $100 million contract, with Pat McAfee reported to be heading to ESPN in a $85 million deal.

Sports broadcasting is big business and set to get bigger with the Arabs buying up franchises for billions. The have bought and are looking to buy some of the biggest football clubs in Europe, they have made a move into golf and are now eyeing tennis.

ESPN has seen its subscriber base drop from 100 million to 70 million and continues to fall. It is not making money from streaming and in fact Disney’s streaming business has lost $11 billion.

Tightening its belt is to be expected.

But to lose Steve Young, Matt Hasselbeck, Ashley Young, Suzy Kolber, ToddMc Shay, Jeff Van Gundy among others has caught everybody’s attention.

Over the years, ESPN has come up with some fantastic shows: ‘First Things First‘, ‘Mike & Mike in the Morning‘, and ‘First Take, Pardon The Interruption’, to name a few.

The executives over at ESPN may be thinking a wholesale shake-up is needed to rejuvenate the platform and boost ratings. But those they let go were stalwarts, some of the best in the game.

Sometimes one has to be careful with changes. The Star Wars franchise was never the same after George Lucas gave it up to Disney. Manchester United has not been that striding colossus since Sir Alex Ferguson walked away in 2013.

ESPN is a force in sports broadcasting. Let’s hope it can remain so.