Bill Simmons Out at ESPN

[jamo]

http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/05/inside-shocking-abrupt-divorce-bill-simmons-and-espn [QUOTE]The union of Bill Simmons—columnist, commentator, on-air personality, and human hot button—and ESPN, the sports media colossus he’s called home for almost 15 years was no ordinary marriage. It was instead a bizarre, fabled partnership, with triumphs and setbacks and a seemingly endless stream of gossip and drama, both inside ESPN’s corporate campus at Bristol, Connecticut, and on the Internet. It was arguably one of the most important affiliations ESPN had ever entered into with a single individual; Simmons parlayed an online column and rabid fan base into a fiefdom that included the Web site Grantland, the 30 for 30 documentary series, and a starring role as an on-air NBA commentator. And now, it’s over.[/QUOTE] Paging @Golfingdad FWIW, I think he'll end up in a Grantland-style outfit at NBATV/NBA.com. He’s always celebrated the NBA (and their online media presence) more than the other sports (not exclusively, but certainly more than he’s celebrated the NFL, MLB, or NHL), he likes Adam Silver, and the NBA will let him do his own thing like they do with The Starters. He’d be able to keep his podcast (with a new Simmons podcast plus The Starters, they’d have two of the most popular sports podcasts in the country), and I think they’d let him develop a Grantland-ish site. He’ll do TNT halftime shows on occasion, and maybe they’ll even let him start up a west coast outfit where he can host his own show (similar to the Grantland Basketball Hour).

[JazzFatCat]

Arg, I like Bill Simmons but the best basketball mind on Grantland is Zach Lowe. Since ESPN owns Grantland it will be interesting to see how that site changes and if Zach follows Bill to create a new site.

[dkolo]

http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/05/inside-shocking-abrupt-divorce-bill-simmons-and-espn Paging @Golfingdad FWIW, I think he'll end up in a Grantland-style outfit at NBATV/NBA.com. He’s always celebrated the NBA (and their online media presence) more than the other sports (not exclusively, but certainly more than he’s celebrated the NFL, MLB, or NHL), he likes Adam Silver, and the NBA will let him do his own thing like they do with The Starters. He’d be able to keep his podcast (with a new Simmons podcast plus The Starters, they’d have two of the most popular sports podcasts in the country), and I think they’d let him develop a Grantland-ish site. He’ll do TNT halftime shows on occasion, and maybe they’ll even let him start up a west coast outfit where he can host his own show (similar to the Grantland Basketball Hour).

I like Bill, but in most worried about what it'll do for Grantland. Hope it doesn't wither away. It's an amazing site. I think he winds up doing a Grantland-esque site for Fox or NBC Sports, maybe Bleacher Report. I really doubt something as corporate as the NBA would give him the freedom to throw bombs like he wants to do. If crapping on Goodell got him fired from ESPN, maybe the first two don't work since they're NFL partners, but I think they're less worried about appearances than Disney owned ESPN.

[jamo]

I like Bill, but in most worried about what it'll do for Grantland. Hope it doesn't wither away. It's an amazing site. I think he winds up doing a Grantland-esque site for Fox or NBC Sports, maybe Bleacher Report. I really doubt something as corporate as the NBA would give him the freedom to throw bombs like he wants to do. If crapping on Goodell got him fired from ESPN, maybe the first two don't work since they're NFL partners, but I think they're less worried about appearances than Disney owned ESPN.

That's actually why I think he'd be a good fit at NBA.com. He likes the NBA as a league much more than the other leagues. He loves Adam Silver. He celebrates NBA history much more than the other sports. Retired NBA players seem to like him (just from listening to his podcast and when he did the NBA Countdown). And I don't think the NBA would care much if he launched bombs at the NFL or MLB. [quote name="JazzFatCat" url="/t/81910/bill-simmons-out-at-espn/0_30#post_1140496"]Arg, I like Bill Simmons but the best basketball mind on Grantland is Zach Lowe. Since ESPN owns Grantland it will be interesting to see how that site changes and if Zach follows Bill to create a new site. [/quote] I agree. I've read a few articles that have said Simmons is the only part of Grantland that really makes money (and the site as a whole acts as somewhat of a loss leader), so I wonder how much leeway ESPN will give it once Simmons leaves. But that's part of why I think a site at NBA.com could be so great. I have to imagine they'd LOVE to have Zach Lowe at NBA.com, and could you imagine the kind of wizardry Kirk Goldsbury could pull with the full backing of the NBA?

[JazzFatCat]

I'd rather he start his own site where he can shoot his mouth off as much as he wants.

[mchepp]

I like some of the work he has done and some of it I don't care for. I like grantland but I think I mostly like the writers. That said the idea of grantland is pretty good and coming up with it is a stroke of genious. I like 30 for 30 but recently I haven't liked it quite as much. I think ESPN can certainly survive without him. They have seen stars come and go like Dan Patrick but still soldier on.

[JazzFatCat]

He just signed a deal with HBO for a basketball talk show. Hopefully he will do some documentaries too. Seems like a good place for him.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/23/sports/bill-simmons-to-join-hbo.html?_r=0