ESPN's new website The Undefeated is "expected to finally come to life" tomorrow morning, "nearly three years after" the network conceived the idea, according to Richard Sandomir of the N.Y. TIMES. The stand-alone site is a "significant gamble by ESPN to appeal to African-Americans with daily and long-form journalism, commentary, podcasts, music, comedy, blogs, video and live coverage of events." The site will have "four sections: sports, culture, historically black colleges and universities, and a stream of joyful items called The Uplift." Each day, the site plans to have "10 to 15 new pieces of content." The Undefeated Editor-in-Chief Kevin Merida said that one of the site's goals is to be "expansive about its view of the world it is covering." Merida: "There is no one way to be black. No one way to be white. No one way to be a millennial. And no one way to be a sports fan." ESPN Exec VP/Global Strategy & Original Content Marie Donoghue's trust in Merida "underscores how much ESPN believes in his ability to produce a compelling and, more important, enduring site that will be original, independent and complementary to ESPN’s television programming and digital properties like ESPN.com." Merida’s success "will rest on people embracing a site that is far more ruminative than ESPN.com." Donoghue said that expectations for The Undefeated "were based partly on its ability to sell sponsorships by being active on other ESPN platforms." Donoghue: "The benefit and value of The Undefeated to the company will be beyond the site" (N.Y. TIMES, 5/14).
MAKING IT PERSONAL: SI.com's Richard Deitsch noted the long-awaited project "is a personal one" for ESPN President John Skipper, who "appears serious about giving writers of color the opportunity (and financial wherewithal) to create multi-media content at a national outlet." Skipper and Donoghue, who also oversees Nate Silver's FiveThirtyEight, are "well aware that they need to fight the elephant in the room when it comes to how they handle this microsite." Merida said that he "wants to reach an audience through music, comedy, spoken word and other forms." The ESPN2 show "His & Hers," featuring African-American hosts Jemele Hill and Michael Smith, "will have a major presence on the site," and the site is "in discussions with ESPN Radio for a permanent weekend show." Donoghue said that landing Merida to run the site was her "most successful ESPN deal ever." The site is "expected to have around 40 staffers around launch" (SI.com, 5/15). In L.A., Tom Hoffarth wrote ESPN "could not have afforded to let this one go away as easily as it did with Grantland.com" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 5/14).
STORY BOARD: Merida said that being an African-American athlete "isn't enough to warrant a story in The Undefeated." In Chicago, Ed Sherman notes there "has to be something more involved" than Warriors G Stephen Curry "having a big game." Merida said that the "many facets" of Panthers QB Cam Newton, who was "roundly criticized for his post-Super Bowl news conference" would be an example of something the site would cover. Merida: "We might look at how he is viewed as a black quarterback. What does he bring to the position stylistically, culturally?" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 5/16).
