Grantland

[TheLeviathan]

ESPN announced today that the site is closing down.  Thoughts?

 

I'm really sad to see it go.

[gunnarthor]

I don't care much. Some of the articles were good, some not so much. But it didn't really fit into ESPN. Was it much different than something like Deadspin? I'm not sure. 

 

That said, the politics behind it's closure seem pretty interesting.  Apparently, all the editors that followed Simmons weren't allowed to warn ESPN that they were going to leave which left Grantland in a bit of a pickle.

[TheLeviathan]

I thought a lot of their sports analysis articles were very well done.  It was a bit more irreverent than many other places along with being pretty sharp in what they did.

[biggentleben]

Simmons has jumped on this after causing it, and he's coming off as a complete dirtbag in this whole situation. I always found him slimy on air, so it makes me feel justified in that thought when he went above and beyond the slime level I thought he was capable of.

 

I've had some interaction with folks on the Grantland staff, and this sucks for them. I'm a big fan of long form writing about sports, and even though I have to fit within the parameters of where I writer, I'd much prefer to release my top 100 list in one article rather than a slide show that's split up over multiple days just for page click purposes. A lot of good things started on Grantland and then developed further. Simmons, for all his faults, did have an exceptional eye for talent, and I'm curious how ESPN will re-assign those writers.

[drjim]

I'm sad to see it go, but will be interested in what ESPN does with the talent. I liked the writing and I really liked the podcasts, because of my job it's the best way for me to consume their content.

 

I wonder about the business model. I know the clashes between Simmons and higher ups lead to problems, but it wasn't making any money. Perhaps if ESPN had marketed it more it could have done better, but it's also very possible there just isn't enough of a market for this type of content to justify the cost.

[TheLeviathan]

I always thought the value of Grantland was bringing a variety of people to the sports table through a wide range of interesting articles and writers.  I read the pop culture stuff as much as the sports.

 

But it was also a money pit.

[kab21]

I am not sure that ESPN ever wanted Grantland but they did it as Simmons' project.  Simmons had a great eye for talent but as far as I can tell no business sense.  ESPN also never found a way to monetize it.  the website was a mess.  I just found the complete 30 for 30 archive a few months ago. 

 

This is what started me listening to podcasts and they have (had) some of the best out there.

 

It will be interesting to hear what the staff has to say about this in the coming weeks.  Most of the podcasts had been shut down for the last couple of weeks.  Not sure if that was ESPN's doing or the the staff.

[DaveW]

Grantland simply wasn't making nearly enough money (low page views) to make it worth ESPNs while, it sucks but most of the people who were let go will find work easily and are better off for having the platform to begin with.

 

Simmons is annoying, he has a couple good ideas like: talent he brought on and 30 for 30 but just ruins all his good will with his petulant whining. Dude, ESPN Put you on the map and you made obcenes amount of monies, time to act like an adult.

[Mike Sixel]

Simmons sounds like a jerk.....but I will miss Grantland a lot. Really was entertained by that site. I am not surprised by this at all.

[Vanimal46]

They were pretty innovative coming up with a multi-media site. I didn't take advantage of the podcasts and videos created as much as I should have. With how much money ESPN was dumping into the project, you would have thought they would advertise it more than just a little blurb next to Five Thirty Eight.... They did have a good group of talented writers that I usually took the time to read: Andy Greenwald's TV and movies breakdowns, Chuck Klosterman's writing style, Bill Barnwell's breakdown of the NFL, and Wesley Morris. 

 

Maybe Simmons will poach some of the writers again when he starts at HBO next year. 

[kab21]

 

They were pretty innovative coming up with a multi-media site. I didn't take advantage of the podcasts and videos created as much as I should have. With how much money ESPN was dumping into the project, you would have thought they would advertise it more than just a little blurb next to Five Thirty Eight.... They did have a good group of talented writers that I usually took the time to read: Andy Greenwald's TV and movies breakdowns, Chuck Klosterman's writing style, Bill Barnwell's breakdown of the NFL, and Wesley Morris. 

 

Maybe Simmons will poach some of the writers again when he starts at HBO next year. 

They should have been able to do something with this but nobody seemed to take the marketing/organization part of the project.

 

I agree that Simmons was annoying in podcasts.  They were some of my least liked podcasts on Grantland.