Bill Simmons Leaving ESPN

[Rev]

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/09/sports/bill-simmons-and-espn-are-parting-ways.html?_r=0

Bill Simmons and ESPN Are Parting Ways

Bill Simmons, who built a personal empire at ESPN and is one of America’s most influential sports personalities, will leave the media giant when his contract expires in the fall. He and the company were unable to reach an extension after months of talks.

“I’ve decided that I’m not going to renew his contract,” said John Skipper, the president of ESPN. “We’ve been talking to Bill and his agent and it was clear we weren’t going to get to the terms so we were better off focusing on transition.”

Skipper said that the differences between the company and Simmons were “about more than money,” although he would not offer details. He added: “We’ve had an excellent run with Bill, almost 15 years. It’s been good for us and good for him. It was a decision I had to make and he had to make to move forward.”

Grantland, the sports and entertainment site run by Simmons for ESPN, will be unaffected by his departure, Skipper said.

“It long ago went from being a Bill Simmons site to one that can stand on its own,” Skipper said.

Simmons’s contract expires at the end of September.

The outspoken Simmons built himself into a major brand at ESPN, branching out from his base as a freewheeling columnist to host a popular weekly podcast, the B.S. Report; to create Grantland; and to play a role in the launch and success of the “30 for 30” documentary film series.

But his future at ESPN became a cause célèbre last year when the company suspended him for three weeks for calling N.F.L. Commissioner Roger Goodell a “liar” during a podcast and effectively dared his bosses to fire him. Simmons became a free-speech martyr during his absence, with the likes of Lena Dunham and Judd Apatow supporting him. Those who spoke out on his behalf on Twitter used the hashtag #FreeSimmons.”

Skipper said that the incident had no bearing on his decision to end ESPN’s relationship with Simmons.

Now the intrigue will begin about his next step. Simmons could join another traditional media company, like Fox, or a digital media outlet like Yahoo. Or he could use his high profile to start his own multimedia platform with investment from private equity.

lol Skipper slapped that whiny fool around with those quotes.

 

[Alexander The Great]

http://thebiglead.com/2015/05/08/bill-simmons-espn-hbo-fox-six-million/

So apparently he wanted $6 million a year

Bill Simmons and ESPN waged intense contract discussions over the last few weeks, and this became the sticking point on Bristol’s end: It’s difficult to justify paying Bill Simmons $6+ million a year for the revenue he was driving.

And ultimately, that’s what the contract talks boiled down to: Simmons is the most powerful member in sports media, an innovator with the most popular podcast in sports, a vanity website, the “original blogger” who carved out a niche as the Boston Sports Guy and smoothly transitioned to being a creator of the Emmy-award winning 30-for-30 series, but … were any of those ventures generating significant revenue?

Simmons has been understandably frustrated at the network for not being able to monetize his popular podcast, and he’s let it be known that Grantland was never going to be a site whose goal was to generate millions of dollars with posts geared toward getting linked on Facebook or “videos going viral.” And there’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, it should be applauded.

But when ESPN goes down the line and rattles off how much revenue Mike & Mike’s radio show pulls in (you may agree with Simmons on the show, but it’s a money maker), and how much money First Take brings in, well, a bottom-line business like ESPN eventually balks at making that big of a pay-day to a writer (who does dabble in TV). And President John Skipper has mentioned this to more than a few people: Hey, we’ve got Skip Bayless and Colin Cowherd contract talks ahead, if we set the bar around $6 million, what do we pay those guys?

And therein lies the issue: Should ESPN brass have convinced Disney that “we want to be in the Bill Simmons business, whatever the cost, because innovative, sharp guys are worth it?” That’s a highly subjective debate. Another question: So who is now the front-man of Grantland? Do those writers bail to follow Simmons? Does Grantland throw in the towel in a year?

And as close as Simmons and Skipper were, don’t think the network isn’t nervous about Bill going to another venture and consistently bashing ESPN. In recent years, Skipper has scooped up those who have bashed the company (see Keith Olbermann and Jason Whitlock).

So after 14 years, Simmons is done at ESPN, off to his next venture. And don’t fall for the silly ‘next stop’ lists that will float around on the web today: It’s way too early for anyone to know anything. Creating shows/documentaries for HBO? Sure, why not. Turning his podcast into a show on Sirius? Why not? Hey Fox, put me on Bill O’Reilly once a week, give me a show on FS1 and a weekly column, and let’s talk shop.

Anything’s in play.

 

[Alexander The Great]

actually the Turner/Bleacher report is a good idea. Partly because I think he could produce some good and much needed content for NBA TV.

75th anniversary of the league is coming up and we gonna need those Top 75 players of all time, Top Games, Guards, Centers, etc specials like NFL Network does

 

[WOAHMYGOODNESS]

lol Skipper slapped that whiny fool around with those quotes.

So disrespectful

 

[1stPick]

This is a bad day for NBA coverage at ESPN

 

[Lucky_Lefty]

Will that corny mf David Jacoby be gone too?

 

[Brandon M.]

nah..and this is irrelevant to try to deflect from the stupid bullshyt you were spewing a few posts ago

what the fukk u talkin bout fukk Bill Simmons and fukk you too

 

[Lucky_Lefty]

How the fukk did he get Jalen a job? Jalen was working in the media WHILE he was still playing. Stop giving him credit for that.
And he doesn't need ESPN anymore. With youtube he can get his viewers And clicks. His name can stand alone and he'll still succeed just on a smaller level.

He saved Jalen after the dui and some other shyt. Hence why Jalen be tap dancing for BS now

 

[Lucky_Lefty]

They really gonna try to keep Grantland going without him

He not even pushing the best content on the site. He basically built an all star roster of talent over there. Grantland will be fine

 

[calh45]

How the fukk did he get Jalen a job? Jalen was working in the media WHILE he was still playing. Stop giving him credit for that.
And he doesn't need ESPN anymore. With youtube he can get his viewers And clicks. His name can stand alone and he'll still succeed just on a smaller level.

Jalen's DUI fukked up his standing in ESPN. They pulled him off the air and everything. Bill was the one that pulled him out of the dog house. He was a glorified sideline reporter and now he's their lead NBA analyst.

 

[FlyRy]

People on twitter saying he needs espn and will disappear like sas when he went to fox are dumb as hell

who the hell said that?

simmons has 3.6 million twitter followers..he can start his own indie site and all it take is one tweet for everyone to have a new bookmark

 

[MJ Truth]

where has he shown racisim? in his nba book he said he always wanted to be black as a kid

In his NBA book he said a team of the greatest white players would beat a team of the greatest Black players, partially because there'd be less selfishness.

 

[mozichrome]

as long as dude got grantland then we all right
will the 30 for 30s continue tho?

 

[Hoganese]

Better not fukk with Grantland.

 

[feelosofer]

Bill Simmons despite his homerism is one of the best NBA analysts in the business. ESPN needs to pay the man otherwise their NBA coverage is kind of a joke.