Bill Simmons out at ESPN
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good NBA writer if you are looking for a different style that can be funny and witty but not very insightful.
but he is awful on tv.
but he is awful on tv.
He's like the new Olberman. Spent his early career being funny by talking about how idiots act when they get famous. Now his head cannot even fit through the doorway at ESPN, which is saying something since that doorway has had to compensate for some massive heads.
I'm thinking this douche is going to take a stab at some sort of sitcom or movie either writing producing or both. He's always fancied himself a "funny" guy so he'll think he can pull it off. His buddy Jimmy will go to bat for him.
NickleDimer
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Hating Simmons is the new liking Simmons.
Would love to see him go to FS1 and see grantland fall off the cliff, but unless Fox gets an NBA deal it won't happen. The only writer there worth reading besides Simmons is zach Lowe, who is fantastic with the NBA.
Will be interesting to say the least.
Would love to see him go to FS1 and see grantland fall off the cliff, but unless Fox gets an NBA deal it won't happen. The only writer there worth reading besides Simmons is zach Lowe, who is fantastic with the NBA.
Will be interesting to say the least.
The OnionVerified account@TheOnionIn Focus: Bill Simmons Releases 2,000-Page Book Exploring How F*cking Clever He Is http://www.theonion.com/r/28666tsd
NickleDimer
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The reality is that the guy hasn't been remotely funny or interesting in at least 5 years, unless you're a close follower of the NBA maybe. Last thing I read of his even somewhat regularly was his weekly NFL column, but even that became impossible to get through the last couple years. Found myself skipping about 65% of any column, jumping past self-reverential e-mails he'd print from sycophants and pop culture schtick on TV shows I never heard of or watched.
And would bet that that Grantland is pretty much worthless to begin with as a property to ESPN, no cliff to fall from. Not sure it fits at all with their site redesign, was probably being phased out.
this is just like when the Ultimate Warrior joined up with Hulk Hogan as a tag team, then Hogan accidentally nailed the Warrior during their first match on the Saturday Night Main Event, and Warrior got real mad and it led to their epic match up at Wrestlemania VI!!!!
NickleDimer
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This. They f*cked it up from the get go. What is that site? Hot takes, pop culture, reality TV, dumbed down sports statistical analysis?
Simmons has 3.6mm Twitter followers. As far as I can tell that is by far the largest following of any espn affiliated person. Hes terrible on TV, but his content drive a lot of traffic online. His two podcasts are 2 and 3 on apples sports top charts. Just another case of espn driving out someone who got too popular.
What trail did he blaze? The sports blogging from your basement? Possibly.
Other than that? Nothing. He didn't invent podcasts or documentaries but I'm sure he thinks he did.
Other than that? Nothing. He didn't invent podcasts or documentaries but I'm sure he thinks he did.
He popularized the sports podcast. He created Grantland, digitalilizing long form sports journalism. He created 30 for 30, which is only topped by the documentary work of Ken Burns in the last 60 years.
You may not like him, but you lose credibility when you say he hasn't accomplished anything. To Alex's point, he's the most influential sports writer of his generation. And he's done it in a way that's different than others because he grasped the technology of a digital age.
You may not like him, but you lose credibility when you say he hasn't accomplished anything. To Alex's point, he's the most influential sports writer of his generation. And he's done it in a way that's different than others because he grasped the technology of a digital age.
NickleDimer
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Let's not get carried away. The creation of 30 for 30 was essentially connecting espn's $ with filmmakers. He didn't direct anything. His creative input was limited.
He wanted a bump from 2M to 6M per year. Insane salary for a writer/podcaster. If they gave in, then what would the actual on air talent demand? 10M a year?
NYTimes reported he was already making $5Mil per. His value is the fact he drives viewers/ads/social media. At a time more dollars are flowing toward digital my guess is his next deal will exceed the money he was making at ESPN. Yesterday the NYT has an interesting piece on the upcoming negotiations between the networks and advertisers. TV viewing experienced another major drop and the trend is expected to continue. Therefore, the ad dollars are beginning to shift. I'll find the article and link it. Believe you can still find it on Drudge. Simmons has a very good agent of he's incredibly smart as he played these trends into millions. Folks need to stop hating and appreciate how he understood media and benefited greatly. You can hate the player but he understood the game.
NickleDimer
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gr8 post.
ESPN's contract with the NBA is massive. NBA salary cap is going through the roof soon as result. As someone that helps bring and retain NBA fan traffic to their channel/site, he just wants a piece of that pie.
Not really accurate. It was suppsedly his idea entirely, and ideas like this are everything. They were rather easily executed on what were basically minimal budgets - they were a total home run and for all intents the only non game content worth even considering on the network the last 5 years. ESPN now has directors coming to them with ideas for the next ones, and willing to produce them for a very very low cost. It's a phenomenal property for them.
I am not a Simmons guy at all - enjoyed his Boston Sportsguy work in the day but he's been rather insufferable since his dog died. Jbug probably even thinks his an asshole at this point. But adp's points are 100% dead on. He's created all kinds of platforms that attract traffic for which ESPN profits handsomely. Simple as that. Like him, hate him - it doesn't matter. 30 for 30, Gratland, BS Report and his in NBA work - he's a money generator plain and simple. Classic case where it has worked extremely well for both parties, and they could not find a way to leave each other alone.
I had no idea that Simmons was making that much from ESPN or that 30 for 30 was his idea. Kudos to him. I think it's pretty clear that Grantland was his idea too, and that one probably has been a money-loser for ESPN. Win some, lose some. I also can see where he may have became an insufferable d-bag and ESPN decided they could get idea guys for substantially less money going forward. (The company probably owns all of his good ideas to this point anyway by contract.) ESPN and Disney aren't essentially two of the most successful corporate enterprises in the world in recent years by accident, I trust they made the right decision.
The quality of his writing over the last few years has certainly tailed off, not sure that can be debated. And because of his voice he's hard to listen to on TV. But I guess he wasn't getting paid on any of that anyway.
The quality of his writing over the last few years has certainly tailed off, not sure that can be debated. And because of his voice he's hard to listen to on TV. But I guess he wasn't getting paid on any of that anyway.
NickleDimer
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Which is what I said. He had the idea for the series (and it was a good one - nostalgia + sports = $), but that's it.
Simmons is considered without question the most influential sports writer today. It's not even close. Love him, hate him, but don't mis-understand his influence and understanding of how the industry/consumption of media changed. My guess is his next deal will pay close to $10 Mil per. There is also the option, if he so chooses to go small or own his own domain, which include an equity stake. He's an incredibly smart businessman and ESPN did him a favor. My guess is that he basically forced his way out by making ridiculous demands they would never meet. I'd bet a large sum of money that's exactly what happened. He probably doesn't want to be muffled by the mothership. I could see a side deal with TNT to keep himself in the NBA sphere and a separate digital platform which he has co-ownership. Guy is going to crush it more than he does today. The other option would be Fox Sports One to really go after ESPN. It will be interesting to see how corporate he goes. I have mad respect for the guy. He saw the future, moved his family to LA and fulfilled his life-long dream. That's pretty awesome despite what anyone thinks of him personally.
NickleDimer
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I think Simmons is the sports writer who has been most influential, but ESPN is saying that he's peaked and isn't worth that going forward. They don't need him to continue to produce sports documentaries and irreverent long form sports articles. They've harvested him of his prime productive years.
Pretty sure he moved to LA to take a job writing for Kimmel at which point he basically semi-retired from his ESPN columns. So no, he wasn't some genius who saw the future. He was chasing a Hollywood dream to write for a late night show. Not knocking it but get your facts straight. Was he even married at that point? So again not a big sacrifice to move "the family"
At least know the facts about your man crush that you have "mad respect" for, you frat boy.
This is kind of a cross thread comment, but Grantland's coverage of Game of Thrones is great, particularly if you are not a book reader. They fill in a ton of gaps while be very conscious of spoilers.
It was more than that. He curated the ideas, produced the shows, met with the filmmakers and had influence over the look and the feel. He was also involved in the entire branding of the series, right down to the type face.
Anyway - adp, per your post, I'm somewhat curious as to where he lands here. I would agree that he most likely forced ESPN's hand, and it sounds like he was probably a huge dick about it along the way. Many options will be available to him - but I think he's going to need to cut a deal that gives him access to the pro leagues, most notably the NBA and the NFL.
Anytime you move across country to pursue a career that's a bold move. Child please. You hid behind "alts" on a message board (possibly posting from a relative's basement as we speak) and probably lived in the same 100 miles your entire life.