Cost-cutting measures that have rippled across multiple sports media entities for years will wash into ESPN's home in Bristol, Conn., in the coming months, SI.com reported Sunday.

According to the report, which cited multiple unidentified sources, ESPN will cut "tens of millions" in staff salary over the next four months on its talent side, meaning that faces, voices and digital bylines recognizable to sports fans likely will be trimmed.

Sports Illustrated media columnist Richard Deitsch, acknowledging an industry-wide trend, prefaced his report with the words: "I’ve seen many layoffs at our company. There are few things more gutting and demoralizing to see great people leave your organization. I report the following joylessly."

The cost-cutting this time around will be reached mostly by not renewing some expiring contracts and buying out the remainder of other existing ones, the latter move a rarity at ESPN.

The move is a reflection of the challenges ESPN faces on multiple fronts. It continues to be hit by the losses of cord-cutting subscribers, resulting in lower advertising rates, and that 1-2 punch hit parent company Disney, which reported lower-than-expected quarterly earnings last month.

In recent years, ESPN also has faced skyrocketing costs in its live-rights deals as well as cuts in what distributors are paying. Those two factors led to layoffs of hundreds in October 2015.

An ESPN spokesperson provided the following statement Sunday when contacted by SI.com:

"We have long been about serving fans and innovating to create the best content for them. Today's fans consume content in many different ways and we are in a continuous process of adapting to change and improving what we do. Inevitably that has consequences for how we utilize our talent. We are confident that ESPN will continue to have a roster of talent that is unequaled in sports."