The Awl Publisher David Cho yesterday announced that he is leaving the website he co-founded to "join ESPN's new sports site Grantland, edited by Bill Simmons." Cho's initial title with Grantland will be Dir of Business Development, and he said he will be "working on all the facets of the business, whether it's making money, whether it's the product itself, as well as working with ESPN to build out Grantland." Cho added, "I've always been a huge fan of Bill's, and this is a unique opportunity, having the support of ESPN and Bill at the forefront. Grantland can hopefully change the way people monetize content and value content" (ADAGE.com, 6/29). Meanwhile, author James Miller this morning reported on Twitter, "Lots of words & lots of cash: @Grantland33 is already profitable. Ad revenue over $10 Million" (TWITTER.com, 6/30).
SECOND PERIOD: NHL COO John Collins confirmed that the Rangers and Flyers "will be the subjects of next season's installment" of HBO's "24/7" before facing off in the Winter Classic on Jan. 2. HBO chronicled the Capitals and Penguins leading up to this year's Winter Classic, and the GLOBE & MAIL's Bruce Dowbiggin noted the "ratings and critical success of HBO’s behind-the-scenes program surprised both the league and U.S. broadcasters who were unsure that the league could achieve crossover into the crowded American sports market." Penguins coach Dan Bylsma "was clearly impressed by the program," and while he "doubts they’d let the cameras backstage in for the playoffs, he says it could work." Bylsma: "I wouldn’t be averse to that. If I got the same crew back. ... The eight guys (on the production crew) that were in our room were Pittsburgh Penguins. It was ‘we’ and ‘us’, and I still get texts from them" (GLOBESPORTS.com, 6/29).
SURPASSING EXPECTATIONS: 247Sports has surpassed 30,000 online subscribers in less than a year of formal operation, a sum that is ahead of the company's initial business plan and translates to more than $3M in annual subscription revenue. Nearly half of the 30,000 comes from BamaOnline.com, started and co-owned by 247Sports.com CEO Shannon Terry in '96, and part of the Rivals.com network until earlier this year. But 247Sports.com now has 30 team affinity sites in its network. "We have far exceeded our subscription goals," said 247Sports COO Noah Stanley. "We are proving that our plan of more open message board communities can not only coexist with a premium content model, it actually thrives because of the increased traffic" (Eric Fisher, SportsBusiness Journal).
STAYING IN THE HUDDLE: KKTV-CBS announced Tuesday that it "will continue to be the official television partner" of the Broncos in southern Colorado. Under terms of the agreement, KKTV "will be the exclusive home of the four pre-season games" in '11 and '12 (COLORADOSPRINGS.com, 6/29).
