Bill Simmons has never been shy to talk about his former employer.
And following the shocking news that ESPN had laid off Zach Lowe, he certainly had some thoughts.
On Friday’s episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast, the former Grantland editor-in-chief was joined by Bryan Curtis to discuss Lowe’s firing and what it means for ESPN from a big picture perspective. And in doing so, Simmons shared his belief about what Lowe’s departure means for the Worldwide Leader from a strategic standpoint.
“They clearly value certain things. And I think everybody gets mad anytime something like this happens and I get it. But to me it’s more interesting what the strategy is and what they’re thinking and where Zach fit into that,” Simmons said. “Obviously, they had an issue with this 10 years ago when I was there. Like they didn’t know how to monetize podcasts, they didn’t know how to get real value from them.
“Zach’s biggest value is as a writer and a podcaster and a steward of the game — and also somebody who can go on TV and be good. But it seems like what they value now is people who can do TV hits first and foremost and hits that you can cut into 70 to 90-second videos that can go on their website or go on YouTube. And the better the headline is for those hits, that seems to be where the value is.
Simmons added: “It’s either that or the giant names… spending money on the high end talent; I’m sure they’re gonna bring back Stephen A. Smith. But I think that’s what they’re becoming. I think what’s so fascinating to me is that it’s the opposite of where they were 10 years ago, when they seemed to try to want to be everything but also really have, I guess, for lack of a better word, a soul. I’m not sure what the soul is going to be if this is what your strategy is.”
The Sports Guy then took aim at ESPN for its mismanagement of its NBA talent, which has seen the departures of Doc Rivers, JJ Redick, Adrian Wojnarowski and now Lowe in the last nine months alone.
“They took a bunch of swings with their NBA coverage — none of them worked. They went and they spent money on Doc Rivers. They doubled down on JJ. They were paying Woj as much money as anybody,” Simmons said. “Just NBA in general, the last year: they lose Doc, they lose JJ, they lose their lead color analyst twice after firing [Jeff] Van Gundy. Woj is just gone. Now Zach Lowe’s gone.
“And now I guess what we’re gonna get — and I like Stephen A. so this is not a slight of Stephen A. and I really think he’s a good guy — but it feels like they’re moving toward, ‘It’s a Knicks playoff game: here’s Stephen A’s entrance.’ And that’s kind of what they think people want. And I don’t think they’re right.”
Bill Simmons DEMOLISHES ESPN for their ATROCIOUS management of NBA talent and programming
“It feels like they’re moving towards ‘it’s a Knicks playoff game, here’s Stephen A’s entrance’ and that’s what they think people want – and I don’t think they’re right” pic.twitter.com/9SEvbWwrJA
— The r/BillSimmons Podcast 🎙️ (@rBillSimmonsPod) September 27, 2024
Curtis proceeded to note the backlash ESPN received for its recent use of Jason Kelce on Monday Night Countdown.
“How did that go over with Jason Kelce during the Eagles game the other day?” he asked. “And people were just like, ‘I don’t want this, this is too much.”
While ESPN’s decision to layoff Lowe was reportedly for budgetary reasons, to Simmons’ point, it does say a lot of about the network’s overall strategy. If someone like Lowe — who is widely considered one of the best NBA writers/podcasters in the world — doesn’t have a place in Bristol, then it’s fair to wonder who does as ESPN continues to prioritize the ‘E’ in its acronym at the expense of the ‘S.’
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.