Bill Simmons' website The Ringer will soon be "hosted on Vox Media’s platform but maintain editorial independence," according to Daniel Victor of the N.Y. TIMES. Simmons will "keep ownership of The Ringer, but Vox will sell advertising for the site and share in the revenue." The Ringer will "leave its current home on Medium, where it has been hosted since it began" in June '16. Vox Chair & CEO Jim Bankoff said that the partnership was the "first of its type for the company and would allow it to expand its offerings to advertisers." Vox runs several "popular websites, but until now it has not used its technology to host other sites." Bankoff said that there was "no date set for The Ringer's arrival but that it was 'expected later this summer'" (NYTIMES.com, 5/30). The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Lukas Alpert notes The Ringer had been "one of the more high-profile sites to publish" directly to blogging platform Medium. Twitter co-Founder Evan Williams created Medium in '12 and "promised a higher-quality alternative for publishers than typical web advertising." The deal with The Ringer "marks the first time Vox has opened its platform up to a third-party company." Bankoff said that if "all works well, it is possible that other similar deals may follow" (WSJ.com, 5/30).
