Buehrle>Wood Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 Not sure what his plan is but I'm guessing he's about to become an extremely rich man. Perhaps build his own sports media empire across all formats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chisoxfn Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 I figured something must have been up when he was on Dan Patrick yesterday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabiness42 Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 Not sure what his plan is but I'm guessing he's about to become an extremely rich man. Perhaps build his own sports media empire across all formats. I would be nice if he would contain all his BS in one location so I only have one place to ignore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleHurt05 Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 Hopefully Grantland stays the same without him, they've been putting out some good pieces. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soxsoxsoxsox Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 so TNT or NBATV? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowand44 Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 Love me some Simmons, interested to see where he goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmags Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 I hope he cuts out TV. Agree on grantland. I enjoy all of their media writers and Zach Lowe is best in biz. Jonah Keri is great too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenksismyhero Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 My guess would be he goes somewhere in the Turner family. He had a podcast with Rachel Nichols a while back and they talked about the amount of access she didn't realize she would get when she signed up with them. Turner owns a ton of properties. It'd suck if he stops doing the BS Report. The schticks with his friends get old, but Lowe, Jalen, Kolsterman, etc. are all must-listens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quin Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 He was the mastermind behind two of the biggest ESPN innovations in the past few years with Grantland and 30 for 30. Dumb move by ESPN. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chisoxfn Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 QUOTE (Quinarvy @ May 8, 2015 -> 09:29 AM) He was the mastermind behind two of the biggest ESPN innovations in the past few years with Grantland and 30 for 30. Dumb move by ESPN. I presume this is not a move by ESPN, rather Bill Simmons, who probably is tired of having to keep his mouth shut due to potential suspensions. Simmons has made significant money plus I think as part of his deal, he owns portions of Grantland, etc, so curious how this all plays out. He has became an emperor in and of itself and is easily the highest profile figure to leave ESPN (more so than Patrick and Olberman). I won't count Gammons but Simmons is higher profile but Gammons was always a writer as well so wasn't ever fully employed by ESPN (still had his duties with Boston Globe, etc). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenksismyhero Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 QUOTE (Quinarvy @ May 8, 2015 -> 11:29 AM) He was the mastermind behind two of the biggest ESPN innovations in the past few years with Grantland and 30 for 30. Dumb move by ESPN. Without knowing how their ad dollars work, it's tough to say if this is really that bad of a move. My guess is Grantland doesn't make them much money, even though it's read by a lot of people (and even that is debatable, as it's still rumored to be small compared to ESPN generally). 30 for 30 is popular, but it's not must-see-tv. It's a glorified OTL segment a lot of the times. ESPN has the games and league affiliations. Plain and simple. That's why people watch/read what they produce, and will continue to do so. Simmons is a minor cog in that machine. Fox could go real hard for him. They need a spark both on their TV and website. Yahoo would be a good fit. Simmons and Woj could be 2 anchors for the NBA, and I have no idea who writes for other sports like the NFL, so Simmons could cover that. I'm sure it's tough to leave Grantland, his baby, but the dude has a ton of options and a ton of friends in high places. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 I could see him doing his own thing like Dan Patrick did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmags Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 If 30 for 30 didn't make money, every sports related channel in the world wouldn't be making knockoff docs. 30 for 30 basically killed the sports movie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoxFan562004 Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 Good thoughts on what Simmons has brought to the table, but Tom Ley from Deadspin wraps up where I think it shook out (Skipper is ESPN head and he and Simmons have not gotten along lately). Full disclosure I'm not a Simmons fan at all, liked his early stuff though. The thing is, Skipper may not even be wrong to believe that Simmons’s value to the company is at this point minimal, or at least vastly outweighed by what he costs. (Everything we’ve heard about Grantland’s traffic numbers would back this up.) He gave them 30 for 30 and Grantland, but ESPN certainly has the money and infrastructure to keep those things going without Simmons, who at this point doesn’t do much but write the occasional mailbag column, record podcasts, and host a basketball TV show that nobody watches. It’s almost cruel for ESPN to so suddenly jettison a longtime superstar who brought so much to the company (even as they made his career), but it’s also a satisfyingly ironic way for the Boston Sports Guy to go down. After all, it’s the same type of cold-blooded move his beloved Patriots would have made. http://deadspin.com/why-espn-fired-bill-simmons-1703103609 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenksismyhero Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 QUOTE (bmags @ May 8, 2015 -> 12:38 PM) If 30 for 30 didn't make money, every sports related channel in the world wouldn't be making knockoff docs. 30 for 30 basically killed the sports movie. For ESPN it makes "nothing" in comparison to actual, revenue-generating media. The loss, if there will be one without Simmons input (how much was there recently?), would be minor. It gives them accolades for journalism/Emmy's for TV more than anything. What's that worth to ESPN? Not much given the content they push out daily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenksismyhero Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 I find it somewhat interesting that nearly every story has a headline that says Simmons leaving ESPN, when it sounds like the opposite is true. ESPN decided not to renew his contract. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heads22 Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 Would imagine Fox will send a truckload of cash to his house Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Y2Jimmy0 Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 Bleacher Report is my guess. They are currently the #2 sports media brand now behind ESPN I'm pretty sure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heads22 Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ May 9, 2015 -> 09:02 AM) Bleacher Report is my guess. They are currently the #2 sports media brand now behind ESPN I'm pretty sure I doubt that, especially considering the awfulness of BR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 Bill needs to see what happens to other people who left ESPN for other places and see how irrelevant they become. He should just do his own site and podcasts. He's friends with Carolla who could probably help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Y2Jimmy0 Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 QUOTE (Heads22 @ May 9, 2015 -> 11:52 AM) I doubt that, especially considering the awfulness of BR. BR has hired a ton of really good writers lately. It's not just fan pieces anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyyle23 Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 @JimMiller: 4 highly regarded @Grantland33 staffers turned in resignations today to @ESPN and will be going to work for @BillSimmons Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve9347 Posted October 11, 2015 Share Posted October 11, 2015 QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Oct 10, 2015 -> 08:11 AM) @JimMiller: 4 highly regarded @Grantland33 staffers turned in resignations today to @ESPN and will be going to work for @BillSimmons Hopefully one of them is Lowe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted October 11, 2015 Share Posted October 11, 2015 Enjoy having his podcasts back in my rotation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmags Posted October 11, 2015 Share Posted October 11, 2015 Sad to see grantland die. I loved a lot of their content. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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