Longtime ESPN announcer axed after 33 YEARS in brutal round of cuts following Ryan Clark’s exit
A LONGTIME ESPN announcer has been axed after 33 years with the network.
The announcer joins Ryan Clark, 46, in a brutal round of exits at ESPN.
It has been revealed that Karl Ravech, 61, has been laid off by ESPN.
Reports from The Athletic and Front Office Sports claim that Ravech will leave the network after more than three decades.
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Ravech joined ESPN in May 1993 after previous roles as a sports anchor on local television networks.
He has risen to become the face of ESPN’s MLB coverage.
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Announcer Ravech’s voice even appeared in the video game Major League Baseball 2K5.
The announcer served as ESPN’s primary play-by-play voice on Sunday Night Baseball between 2022 and 2025.
Ravech also hosted Baseball Tonight.
His work also included working as a SportsCenter anchor and calling college basketball games.
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MLB has new national TV deals for 2026-28 with ESPN, NBCUniversal, and Netflix. Several elements of MLB's national broadcast rights will not change, including Fox, Warner Bros., and Apple Inc. deals for national coverage.
NBC will return to regular broadcast MLB coverage for the first time in 25 years. And Netflix made yet another significant move into live event coverage.
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Announcer Ravech’s son Sam, 31, has followed in his father’s footsteps as a sportscaster at ESPN.
Sam primarily covers college sports and the WNBA for the network.
ESPN’s decision comes just one day after Ravech Sr. called Monday’s game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Phillies claimed a 10-7 win at Citizens Bank Park to open their three-game series.
It follows ESPN’s decision to cut former NFL star Clark on Monday.
Super Bowl XLIII champion Clark was shockingly axed while filming NFL Live.
He reportedly left the set during filming and did not return following the decision.
Further layoffs are expected to be announced over the coming days.