Less than two years after the television personality returned to the network, Olbermann has been given the boot, as the network struggles to trim its budget.
The cost-cutting measures reportedly come from the top, as ESPN's parent company, Disney is looking to cut about $100 million from next year's budget and $250 million from 2017's budget, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
To that end, network executives had asked Olbermann to ditch his leased Times Square studio to work at the network's headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut or in Los Angeles, THR reports.
The move could have saved the network tens of millions of dollars.
Finances aside, the network had also floated a challenging stipulation in contract talks with Olberman. As a caveat to an extension of his 2-year deal, the network wanted him to stop offering commentary on his program, citing his handling of a handful of major NFL controversies last year.
Olbermann's departure ultimately comes down to "creative differences," according to one source cited by THR.