Bill Simmons Leaving ESPN

[gift]

wow, i really like simmons, grantland and the bs report (also bill don't lie podcast which is basically the bs report that only focuses on basketball).

I think simmons will have success wherever he goes. i hope grantland doesn't suffer. I think they have more than 1-2 really good writers.

Does Yahoo jump in?

[bdm860]

I don't think sports writing or sports blogging or podcasting would be any different today in 2015 (or in 2005, 2010, etc. for that matter) if Bill Simmons didn't exist.  I don't think he changed anything or helped usher in any new eras.

I think you guys are giving way too much credit to a popular guy, who just happened to be popular when the industry was changing, but had nothing to do with those changes. 

We'll probably have to agree to disagree here though.

[D.o.s.]

He was definitely in the right place at the right time as far as digital sports talk is concerned.

[footey]

I am not surprised. Simmons career reminds me a lot of Howard Stern's. Both Stern and Simmons changed the industries that they worked in. They are both ground breakers, although Simmon is still mid-career vs Stern, who has been around much longer.

For many many different reasons, Stern constantly clashed with the companies who he worked for, the FCC, celebrities etc... Although Simmons is not nearly as controversial as Stern, he has clashed with ESPN, other ESPN writers, Zeke, Goodell etc...

This is a HUGE short-sited loss for ESPN. People like Stern & Simmons don't come along that often. Like him or not, he is a huge creative force behind many of ESPN's recent popular and award winning successes. Sure, ESPN gets to keep Grantland, 30 for 30, and most of the writers & contributors that Simmons began/brought-in, but they lose out on all of what may have been in the pipeline.

Simmons will land on his feet somewhere with the creative freedom that he is looking for. I expect that whatever he ends up doing will be unique and interesting.

Can't wait.

Mk

TP great analogy.

[timobusa]

Jalen Rose : Don't get fired, Bill.

Bill Simmons : Too late

Jacoby : *presses obnoxious horn button*

[D.o.s.]

http://deadspin.com/espners-bill-simmons-found-out-he-was-fired-on-twitter-1703112625

“Cold-hearted/hilarious,” one person says. “Guy is a massive Edited.  Profanity and masked profanity are against forum rules and may result in discipline.. But he’ll just land at Fox Sports with Horowitz now for the same money. Yay.”

—“Ding Dong the witch is dead.” (That’s how one ESPN staffer describes the vibe in Bristol.)

—“Sounds like Skipper’s the one who said ‘Man, Edited.  Profanity and masked profanity are against forum rules and may result in discipline. this.’”

—“It was pretty clear they haven’t gotten along in a long time.”

—“Can’t say anything right now.”

—“Everything is high school.”

—“Not unexpected.”

—“From everything I heard, [Grantland] was only viable due to Simmons traffic and sponsorship $.”

[Donoghus]

If true, this is gonna get real good.  Expect Simmons firebombs. 

Think Digital City Era Simmons where he would lambast anything & anyone. (I don't think that guy is dead but 15 years is a long time).  He is pretty thin-skinned so I'd expect a pretty strong reaction.

[fairweatherfan]

I don't think sports writing or sports blogging or podcasting would be any different today in 2015 (or in 2005, 2010, etc. for that matter) if Bill Simmons didn't exist.  I don't think he changed anything or helped usher in any new eras.

I think you guys are giving way too much credit to a popular guy, who just happened to be popular when the industry was changing, but had nothing to do with those changes. 

We'll probably have to agree to disagree here though.

I think the specific tone of a lot of pop sports writing and blogging has been influenced by Simmons, but yeah, he has nothing to do with whether or not it would be there in the first place.

I do think he "ushered in an era" in the sense of being one of the first to ride the Internet's growth to a major career, but he didn't really make that shift happen, outside of being able to demonstrate an online presence could draw a major audience.

[celticsclay]

I don't think sports writing or sports blogging or podcasting would be any different today in 2015 (or in 2005, 2010, etc. for that matter) if Bill Simmons didn't exist.  I don't think he changed anything or helped usher in any new eras.

I think you guys are giving way too much credit to a popular guy, who just happened to be popular when the industry was changing, but had nothing to do with those changes. 

We'll probably have to agree to disagree here though.

I think the specific tone of a lot of pop sports writing and blogging has been influenced by Simmons, but yeah, he has nothing to do with whether or not it would be there in the first place.

I do think he "ushered in an era" in the sense of being one of the first to ride the Internet's growth to a major career, but he didn't really make that shift happen, outside of being able to demonstrate an online presence could draw a major audience.

A few years after Al Gore invented the internet a young boston sports fan with a love of pop-culture set about creating the next great thing: Blogging

Without Simmons, I imagine we would all still be using hotmail and excite and exchanging our sports related thoughts over icq.

[Chief]

I am going to miss his voice during the Celtics draft.

[GreenFaith1819]

lol, good for him.

I wish him the best wherever he lands.

[GratefulCs]

And espn somehow got worse


Smh

[GetLucky]

RIP ESPN articles like this one:

http://espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/090122

Simmons was never a consistently great writer, but he sure had some fun ideas. Good for an occasional gem like the above, he always got brownie points in my mind because: 1) He is a Celtics fan 2) You always know he's telling you what he truthfully thinks

[LarBrd33]

Some scattered thoughts:

The Vanity Fair article is a good read:  http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/05/inside-shocking-abrupt-divorce-bill-simmons-and-espn

I'm a fan of Simmons.  He's still one of the best writers out there and Grantland is an awesome website.  Zach Lowe is the best NBA writer around.   I really enjoy everything Andy Greenwald does for that site... his TV recaps and pop culture podcasts are great.  I read that ESPN hadn't added to Grantland's headcount since May of 2014... interesting.  They might just let that site die a slow death.  That's a bummer, because the site is great. 

So it'll be really interesting to see what happens here.  I think with the impact of social media, it would not be difficult for Simmons to launch his own thing.   He doesn't need ESPN.   I access a lot of Grantland content, but I'm rarely coming across this content via ESPN.  Usually, I'm seeing it on my Facebook feed, via a Reddit post or twitter.   So it's not like Simmons needs to have a big huge launch scheduled around sweeps where he does a media tour and a ton hinges on major advertising.  He doesn't need that at all.  Literally the day his contract ends, he can post a link to his new website, a new article and a new podcast, and I'll access it the same way I always have.   And he can certainly jump on Adam Carola's podcast and show up on Jimmy Kimmell to advertise his new thing... but it's not necessary.  He can launch BillSimmonsland.com tomorrow, and it's not going make a lick of difference to me.  Takes me a second to bookmark that website instead of Grantland. 

Having listened to podcasts and read articles on the topic, I don't get a sense that ESPN's execs really understand how this new media world works.  Simmons gets it.  I'm excited to see what he builds now.

He has 3.7 MILLION followers on twitter.   I genuinely feel like he doesn't need the backing of ESPN to be successful.   The dude has been (reportedly) making at least 5 million a year since 2010... if he hasn't already, he should have a team of web developers working on his next venture.  No doubt it'll be ready by September.   I'll be interested to see if he partners with someone like Adam Carolla or Klosterman (is he under contract with ESPN?).  I'll be interested to see how much ESPN owns... is there anything preventing Simmons from launching a new podcast?  I hear ESPN is trying to find a replacement to host the B.S. Report... that gives you good insight into how clueless they are about this newfangled internet world.   As if people are tuning in to the "BS REPORT" brand and not Bill SImmons himself.  Crazy.  I am curious what the contract situations are of some of Grantland's other writers... can Bill take some of them with him?  It sounds like others are already leaving:  http://recode.net/2015/05/08/grantland-publisher-david-cho-is-leaving-too/

Sure, he could get a fat contract to work with an existing brand with resources, but the dude has enough power, sway, fans and clout to build his own thing.   It's not hard to launch a streaming show or a podcast network.   I will be curious to see if maybe Simmons is hired by HBO or Netflix to launch a sports show, though.  He could do a sports version of John Oliver's "Last Week Tonight" or something.  Perhaps he could get snatched up by an unlikely suitor... like Amazon Prime (getting into original content) or Yahoo! Studios.   Maybe he can do both... his own website and a TV Show.    Good luck to him.  I look forward to seeing his next move.  I want to see uncensored Simmons.   My buddy's prediction is that Simmons immediately gets started on writing a book and half-asses it over the next few months.  That leads to another question... what is Simmons contractually obligated to do until his contract officially ends?  He hasn't made a public comment on it yet, right?  Is he still appearing on the NBA broadcasts?

One last note.  I have heard Simmons is ****.  It definitely sounds like many within ESPN were very jealous of the power he had at the company.  It sounds like many of them are relieved.  I think with how we digest content these days, having a personality like Simmons is a great way to keep the audience consistently engaged.   LIke I said, I'm reading most of the stuff Zach Lowe and Andy Greenwald write as well.  That's not necessarily an easy thing to replicate.   I think losing Simmons will be a bit of a hit for ESPN.

[Eja117]

Easily my favorite sports writer, with maybe Bob Ryan in second.
I definitely see the Stern analogy. If you love Stern you want to hear what he'll say next. If you hate him you want to hear what he'll say next. Dan Shaughnessy? I know he's out there and has been for a long time and says stuff from time to time. But if someone walks up to me and says "Hey. Here's a great article by Shaughnessy about the NBA draft and here's a pretty awful article about the draft by Simmons. Seems like he just mailed it in"....I'd probably say..."Give me the Simmons. I'll give it a try".

He had more integrity as an individual than ESPN had as an organization. Yes he's a diva, but I think he'd admit it, whereas there are a lot of other divas out there that won't admit it. Plus he has more talent.