ESPN adds Josh Oshinsky as senior director of original content development

ESPN announced Monday that Josh Oshinsky has joined the company as Senior Director of ESPN Original Content Development.

Oshinsky’s role will be to lead ESPN’s multiplatform storytelling development across 30 for 30, ESPN Films, Originals, podcasts, and scripted projects, and to oversee its creative strategy.

“I’m thrilled to join an iconic brand like ESPN at such a pivotal moment for the industry,” said Oshinsky in a press release. “I look forward to shaping the next chapter of ESPN’s original storytelling, marrying ambitious creative vision with formats and partnerships that meet audiences where they are.”

“For those who truly know me, you know it’s a job I’ve dreamed of ever since I knew what jobs were,” he added on LinkedIn.

Oshinsky joins ESPN following a brief stint as V.P. of Creative Strategy at Business Insider and has prior experience in content and digital roles at PepsiCo, Time Inc., Sports Illustrated, Showtime Networks, and Major League Baseball. He has received 14 Emmy Awards, along with multiple Webby, Telly, and Anthem Awards.

Oshinsky also previously did some ESPN-related work, producing and editing the well-regarded 30 for 30 documentary Four Days in October.

These are certainly interesting times for original content and sports documentaries. The space isn’t what it used to be back when 30 for 30s were cinematic and must-watch experiences. Often, modern documentaries and docuseries trade authenticity for access or play it safe as background entertainment, rather than challenging their audiences and subjects to go deeper. Perhaps the modern media economics don’t allow for that as much, but ESPN has an opportunity to claim that mantle once more, just as they did when the 30 for 30 series was at its zenith. We’ll be very curious to see what Oshinsky’s vision is for the future of those verticals.