ESPN's Jason Whitlock and SI's Peter King operate their own branded websites -- TheUndefeated.com and TheMMQB.com, respectively -- and former ESPN Exec VP & Exec Editor John Walsh was instrumental in the creation of them. All three agreed that more are coming as digital media continues to grow and advance. Speaking at Day 2 of the IMG World Congress of Sports, Whitlock said, "What ESPN is trying to do is empower creativity. They’re putting people in a position to be even more creative." Whitlock's site is slated to debut this summer, and he said, "We're going to be a site that analyzes race and culture through the lens of sports. We will operate outside of the news cycle, and we want to stay ahead of the conversation. We want to be focused on the truth, instead of what's popular at the moment." King said sites such as his have to stay nimble and make continual adjustments. To that end, TheMMQB.com recently hired a new staffer specifically dedicated to expanding the amount of video content available on the site. "When you embark on creating a new site,” he said, “particularly one so singularly focused as ours, you always have to examine what you're doing and be willing to change." Walsh said that in the end, premium content will win. "Quality matters,” he said. “That's the one message I'd have for anyone here. People, especially sports fans, recognize quality.”
