ESPN President John Skipper this morning, following the company’s annual upfront in N.Y., said the recent move to part ways with Bill Simmons was a “business decision,” but added the division was not strictly over salary demands. Skipper instead depicted the split as more philosophical and described a “lack of a match” between the future goals of ESPN and those of Simmons. Skipper said, “It would be incorrect to suggest this was all about money.” He added the split “should not detract from the appreciation I have for Bill Simmons." Skipper: "He re-invented how you do sportswriting in this era. He did an unbelievable job and was a terrific writer and editor.” Skipper declined to say whether Simmons will appear again on any ESPN platform prior to the September expiration of his current contract. He said, “I suspect you will be hearing again from us and from Bill shortly.” Despite the impending departure of Simmons, Skipper again said he intends to maintain the full staffing and budget for Grantland and insisted he does not fear an exodus of talent from the Simmons-led site. Skipper: “We’re committed to Grantland and we’re committed to '30 for 30,' as you saw today with our announcement of the upcoming third edition." Skipper did acknowledge Simmons learned of the split through a N.Y. Times story last week but said talks with him remain “cordial” (Eric Fisher, Staff Writer).
MURKY FUTURE? DIGIDAY's Ricardo Bilton writes ESPN's decision not to renew Simmons' contract has put Grantland's future "in question," as his name "was synonymous with the Grantland brand. Marketing agency Deep Focus CEO & Founder Ian Schafer said that losing Simmons "could make it harder for Grantland to continue attracting big-name writers." Bilton noted ESPN's investment in Grantland "has been significant." Along with its "stable of contributors, the site’s masthead tops 25 people, including two copy editors." Traffic to Grantland, while "still tiny compared to the massive ESPN, has increased at a steady clip over the past few years." ComScore data showed that Grantland "got 6 million unique visitors in March ... double its traffic from two years prior." The site "still has top-tier writers such as NBA reporter Zach Lowe and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Wesley Morris." DigitasLBi Senior VP/Media John Tuchtenhagen said that the Grantland brand "is already so much larger than Simmons." USA Today Sports Dir of Content Development Jamie Mottram said of Grantland, "The site may actually benefit from losing its star player, so long as a sharp editor takes the reins." Trade organization Digital Content Next CEO Jason Kint said, "Simmons might have been a big talent but there are people around him at Grantland who have grown and become major voices in themselves." But Bilton noted ESPN's challenge is "retaining what’s left of the Grantland team." Regardless of the direction Grantland goes, the Simmons situation "underscores the tension inherent in publishers’ efforts to build sites around the brands of individual reporters and personalities" (DIGIDAY.com, 5/11).
