ESPN did not offer to sell Grantland back to its founder, the outspoken sportscaster Bill Simmons, TheWrap has learned.
In fact, the Disney-owned network didn’t try to sell the digital sports magazine to anyone.
The announcement that ESPN ended the life of its website Grantland “effective immediately” on Friday sent shockwaves through the media.
Was the decision intended to send a message? Disney lost tens of millions of dollars that it invested in the site, and Grantland has never made a profit, according to knowledgeable individuals. Given that reality, the choice to shut the long-form journalism site rather than sell it felt like a message sent by ESPN chief John Skipper to his former employee Simmons.