4 ms·

Is this going to work? Grantland was doing everything right, by the standards of people who demand more substantive sports journalism: they had talented writers

Is this going to work? Grantland was doing everything right, by the standards of people who demand more substantive sports journalism: they had talented writers, well-researched longform articles, and no clickbait. They still went under. I’m rooting for these guys, but despite what people claim, I don’t know if the market is there.

rgreasons 9y ago
To be fair, Grantland was an ESPN subsidiary. I believe this model can be a success, but the definition of "success" for The Athletic and for ESPN are probably very different.
- rhizome 9y ago
  Yes, if anything Grantland was only the latest example of how bad sharecropping is for the tenant.
- Touche 9y ago
  Grantland was most likely in the red when it was shutdown.
carlmungz 9y ago
I would hazard a guess and say the market is probably there for publications covering beats that have fans/readers passionate enough to spend money.
mcgrath_sh 9y ago
Listening to Simmons over the last year, it is clear that part of Grantland's failure was being under the ESPN umbrella and not chasing what ESPN considered "small dollar" advertisements and partners. In a recent podcast, Simmons said that his BS Report podcast (an iTunes Top 10 mainstay) was just thrown in with the Subway deal for years. It is also my interpretation that had Grantland and Simmons not been so intertwined, it may have had a better shot at surviving the messy Simmons/ESPN divorce.
- pitt1980 9y ago
  TheRinger seems significantly more 'short form' than Grantland did not sure what that says about the economics of long form sports journalism
  - mcgrath_sh 9y ago
    Simmons has touched on that in the past. He talks a lot about some of what happened at Grantland, ESPN, and decisions he made re: The Ringer on the July 12, 2017 of the Bill Simmons Podcast titled, "Inside the Evolution of ESPN With Jim Miller and Bryan Curtis." Here is the link to his podcast section on The Ringer: https://theringer.com/bill-simmons-podcast-d3868264a984 https://theringer.com/bill-simmons-podcast-d3868264a984
    - Touche 9y ago
      If you'll notice nearly everything he talks about is in relation to their podcasts, not the long form articles. There was a businessweek article a few weeks back that says The Ringer makes nearly (or perhaps all) of its money on podcasts. I'm not sure it's fair to compare The Ringer or Grantland to other sports journalism websites because The Ringer is a podcast company that happens to also write some articles.
  - Touche 9y ago
    This article speaks to the economics pretty well I think. The Ringer should do the same thing. From what we know they make nearly (all?) of their money on podcast ads anyways.
mdm_ 9y ago
I seem to remember Grantland having all sorts of stuff about culture, movies, music, etc. As a sports fan, Grantland always felt to me to be a bit like Slate or NY Mag crossed with Sportsnet: The Magazine.

rgreasons 9y ago

To be fair, Grantland was an ESPN subsidiary. I believe this model can be a success, but the definition of "success" for The Athletic and for ESPN are probably very different.

rhizome 9y ago
Yes, if anything Grantland was only the latest example of how bad sharecropping is for the tenant.
Touche 9y ago
Grantland was most likely in the red when it was shutdown.

carlmungz 9y ago

I would hazard a guess and say the market is probably there for publications covering beats that have fans/readers passionate enough to spend money.

mcgrath_sh 9y ago

Listening to Simmons over the last year, it is clear that part of Grantland's failure was being under the ESPN umbrella and not chasing what ESPN considered "small dollar" advertisements and partners. In a recent podcast, Simmons said that his BS Report podcast (an iTunes Top 10 mainstay) was just thrown in with the Subway deal for years. It is also my interpretation that had Grantland and Simmons not been so intertwined, it may have had a better shot at surviving the messy Simmons/ESPN divorce.

pitt1980 9y ago
TheRinger seems significantly more 'short form' than Grantland did not sure what that says about the economics of long form sports journalism
- mcgrath_sh 9y ago
  Simmons has touched on that in the past. He talks a lot about some of what happened at Grantland, ESPN, and decisions he made re: The Ringer on the July 12, 2017 of the Bill Simmons Podcast titled, "Inside the Evolution of ESPN With Jim Miller and Bryan Curtis." Here is the link to his podcast section on The Ringer: https://theringer.com/bill-simmons-podcast-d3868264a984 https://theringer.com/bill-simmons-podcast-d3868264a984
  - Touche 9y ago
    If you'll notice nearly everything he talks about is in relation to their podcasts, not the long form articles. There was a businessweek article a few weeks back that says The Ringer makes nearly (or perhaps all) of its money on podcasts. I'm not sure it's fair to compare The Ringer or Grantland to other sports journalism websites because The Ringer is a podcast company that happens to also write some articles.
- Touche 9y ago
  This article speaks to the economics pretty well I think. The Ringer should do the same thing. From what we know they make nearly (all?) of their money on podcast ads anyways.

mdm_ 9y ago

I seem to remember Grantland having all sorts of stuff about culture, movies, music, etc. As a sports fan, Grantland always felt to me to be a bit like Slate or NY Mag crossed with Sportsnet: The Magazine.