NBC Sports Philadelphia lays off longtime reporter
The Flyers community rallied around one fan-favorite reporter after it was announced NBC Sports Philadelphia had laid him off after several years on the job.
Chris Therien, the pregame and postgame analyst for Flyers games, has been laid off by NBC Sports Philadelphia according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Known as his nickname “Bundy” by Flyers fans and players, he had been with the team serving as the rinkside reporter in addition to his duties as a pre and post-game analyst for the past fourteen years.
Back in August, the regional sports network cut two longtime on-air reporters – Gregg Murphy, who covered the Phillies, and Derrick Gunn, who covered the Eagles. Both were incredibly popular within the region and were fan-favorites, and it seems as if NBC Sports Philadelphia cut yet another fan favorite.
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Broadcasts will most certainly be different from now on, and not in a good way. Bundy was widely applauded for his analysts and his on-air presentation. He was always one to find a way to engage with the audience every time he was on-air.
His absence from the team will definitely be noticeable during pre-game and post-game shows where he appeared as a co-host with Katie Emmer. It was obvious that both Emmer and Therien had chemistry like never before and made each show better.
The layoff comes just one week after Therien’s 49th birthday. Emmer took to Instagram to wish her on-air partner a happy birthday.
It’ll be interesting and sad at the same time to see who will replace Therien, if anybody. Considering this is a layoff and not a resignation, meaning the company needs to save money, it’s doubtful the network will look to fill his shoes anytime soon – potentially heading into the season one-man short on its Flyers broadcast team.
Bundy seems to be moving on fast from this sad moment, as it is reported that he plans to begin a hockey podcast sometime in the near future.
The unfortunate layoff comes after NBC Sports Philadelphia’s parent company NBCUniversal initiated a slew of layoffs earlier this year amid the ongoing coronavirus which has put the company in financial trouble.