NBC Sports Philadelphia Lays Off Phillies Reporter Gregg Murphy

A fixture in Philadelphia Phillies broadcasts on NBC Sports Philadelphia will be departing at season's end.   Phillies in-game reporter and fill-in play-by-play broadcaster Gregg Murphy has been let go by NBC Sports Philadelphia, reports Rob Tornoe of the Philadelphia Inquirer.  The layoff is effective at season's end.

Murphy has been a versatile presence in the organization over a span of 20 seasons.  Murphy began as a sports anchor on CN8 and hosted the sports show "Out of Bounds".   Murphy moved to Comcast SportsNet in 2008 ahead of the dissolution of CN8 in early 2009.  After assuming many roles at Comcast SportsNet, in 2012 he joined the Phillies broadcast team.

The move comes as NBC Universal laid off many across the nation.  The layoffs included those at regional sports networks and the national level.  Other big names have been let go by the parent company.

In 2014, the Phillies and then-Comcast announced a 25-year television contract worth $2.5 billion.

Under the terms of that deal, control of the Phillies broadcast became the responsibility of Comcast.  At that time, broadcast mainstay Chris Wheeler was let go, as was Gary Matthews, who had a commentator on the broadcasts,  These decisions were made by Comcast, not the Phillies.

Tornoe reports that 15 staffers at the station were let go.  The only other name revealed was Maureen Quilter, senior director of communications.