John Skipper Resigns as ESPN President, Citing Substance Addiction Problem
December 18 2017 - 12:16PM
Dow Jones News
By Joe Flint
John Skipper, president of Walt Disney Co.'s ESPN and
co-chairman of its Disney Media Networks unit, has resigned, citing
substance-abuse issues, the network said Monday.
ESPN said George Bodenheimer, Mr. Skipper's predecessor as head
of ESPN, would return to the company as acting chairman for three
months while a search for a permanent successor is competed.
"I have struggled for many years with a substance addiction. I
have decided that the most important thing I can do right now is to
take care of my problem," Mr. Skipper said in a statement. "I have
disclosed that decision to the company, and we mutually agreed that
it was appropriate that I resign."
Robert Iger, chief executive of ESPN-majority owner Disney, said
in a statement that he wished Mr. Skipper well "during this
challenging time" and expressed thanks to Mr. Bodenheimer for
returning to stabilize ESPN while a new leader is found.
The leadership transition is happening at a pivotal moment for
ESPN, which is trying to calibrate its long-profitable TV business
for a media environment when more consumers are cutting back on
cable TV subscriptions.
It also comes as Disney has a pending $52.4 billion acquisition
of assets from 21st Century Fox -- a deal announced just last week.
One key feature of that deal would be Disney's taking on of Fox's
regional sports networks, which would likely have to be integrated
with ESPN.
Write to Joe Flint at joe.flint@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 18, 2017 12:01 ET (17:01 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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