ESPN said Friday that it is “suspending the publication of Grantland,” one of its most ambitious Internet ventures, effective immediately.
The surprising announcement came five months after ESPN split up with Grantland’s founding editor Bill Simmons.
“After careful consideration, we have decided to direct our time and energy going forward to projects that we believe will have a broader and more significant impact across our enterprise,” the sports network said in a statement.
It praised Grantland for having “quality writing, smart ideas, original thinking and fun” and singled out Simmons for being “an outstanding editor with a real eye for talent.”
Simmons’ replacement, Chris Connelly, will “return to his prior role” as a reporter.