Bill Simmons Leaving ESPN

[DJ]

Re: Bill Simmons Leaving ESPN

Turner/Bleacher Report would be a nice fit. He'd be a good semi-regular addition to the 'Inside The NBA' show and then his podcasts, columns could live on the Bleacher Report site.

I also wouldn't be surprised if he goes the Glenn Beck route and basically runs his own site.

[Hassan Darkside]

Re: Bill Simmons Leaving ESPN



ESPN is wrong for this (if this is true).

[longshadow11]

Re: Bill Simmons Leaving ESPN

I never liked his voice. He sounds like a teenager.

[LambertandHam]

Re: Bill Simmons Leaving ESPN

I can see him doing what Dan Patrick did after he left.

[LowerWolf]

Re: Bill Simmons Leaving ESPN

I never really liked Simmons, but I respect him for carving out a nice little niche for himself. Grantland and 30/30 are both excellent, and I like him and Rose together on their NBA show.

I think he's much better writing/discussing the NBA than he is with the NFL/MLB.

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: Bill Simmons Leaving ESPN

Respect him for what he did, but **** him.

[Yeah...THAT Guy]

Re: Bill Simmons Leaving ESPN

Bad news for people who want Grantland to continue on. According to unnamed ESPN sources, the site was only profitable because of Simmons related traffic and corporate sponsors. I dont think the sponsorships will continue with its biggest star gone.

Everything I had read was that Grantland just wasn't profitable period, but that most of the traffic was for Simmons' stuff.

Grantland seems to be one of those things where they've nailed it artistically, but haven't figured out how to really monetize it yet. Their podcasts seem to be such a big part of their traffic, but it's almost impossible to really make money off of podcasts at the moment. Nobody has really figured it out.

[SPTO]

Re: Bill Simmons Leaving ESPN

Grantland seems to be one of those things where they've nailed it artistically, but haven't figured out how to really monetize it yet. Their podcasts seem to be such a big part of their traffic, but it's almost impossible to really make money off of podcasts at the moment. Nobody has really figured it out.

There is a way to monetize podcasts however I dunno if it fits with Grantland's stuff because they're all mostly specifically tied to the time and place it was recorded in. I've seen some (though very little in the grand scheme of things) podcasts use a system where users get about 3-4 months of archives for free and the rest you have to pay money for if you want to listen to something older. I think the podcasts i've seen do that charge something like 4-5 dollars per older cast.

[JODYE]

Re: Bill Simmons Leaving ESPN

It shouldn't be that hard to monetize.

Keep the written content free and charge $5 a month for access to all Podcasts, comparable to the ESPN Insider service. I'd pay $5 a month for Grantland podcasts.

And that doesn't even include the money generated from product placement/advertisement.

[Herky]

Re: Bill Simmons Leaving ESPN

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/05/09..._r=2&referrer=

Wonder what he does and if he takes anyone with him.

Grantland will remain. Honestly, it's so much more then Simmons. Dude kinda comes off as a douche, but I respect him for laying the foundation. The content on Grantland is great. A stable of my bathroom and downtime reading library.

I've heard he's become more and more of a prick over the years. I think the whole jump to TV and social media sort of has allowed his ego to get the best of him. When he first started out at ESPN you never really saw or heard from him outside of his articles and now he's all over.

I remember listening to a podcast about a year ago where someone said Simmons was a total *** to a NBA TV reporter who was new. The guy went up to Simmons before a game to tell him how much he liked his work and Simmons blew him off and ignored him.

I guess fame does that to people. I like his work but his opinion of himself is pretty high.

[mgoblue]

Re: Bill Simmons Leaving ESPN

I've heard he's become more and more of a prick over the years. I think the whole jump to TV and social media sort of has allowed his ego to get the best of him. When he first started out at ESPN you never really saw or heard from him outside of his articles and now he's all over.

I remember listening to a podcast about a year ago where someone said Simmons was a total *** to a NBA TV reporter who was new. The guy went up to Simmons before a game to tell him how much he liked his work and Simmons blew him off and ignored him.

I guess fame does that to people. I like his work but his opinion of himself is pretty high.

This is my impression....I like the blogger type guy, seemed kinda "one of us" as a writer/fan. Now he's "Bill Simmons", this character...I dunno, just gives a holier than thou attitude now that he didn't used to have.

[DakkoN]

Re: Bill Simmons Leaving ESPN

Man, I'm really missing all of Simmons' podcasts. It honestly came in the worst possible time, right in the middle of NBA playoffs..

[slickdtc]

Re: Bill Simmons Leaving ESPN

Chris Connelly made interim editor in chief of Grantland.

[dickey1331]

Re: Bill Simmons Leaving ESPN

I wonder how long it will be before he signs with someone else.

[aholbert32]

Re: Bill Simmons Leaving ESPN

I wonder how long it will be before he signs with someone else.

Can't sign with anyone officially until September because he is still under contract.