ESPN says it has suspended the publication of Grantland, its website dedicated to sports and culture.
The site was started by Bill Simmons, who left ESPN earlier this year and joined HBO.
ESPN has been under pressure from high sports rights costs and dropping pay TV subscribers and last week laid off 300 staffers.
"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," ESPN said in a statement.
"Grantland distinguished itself with quality writing, smart ideas, original thinking and fun. We are grateful to those who made it so. Bill Simmons was passionately committed to the site and proved to be an outstanding editor with a real eye for talent. Thanks to all the other writers, editors and staff who worked very hard to create content with an identifiable sensibility and consistent intelligence and quality. We also extend our thanks to Chris Connelly who stepped in to help us maintain the site these past five months as he returns to his prior role," the ESPN statement said. "Despite this change, the legacy of smart long-form sports story-telling and innovative short form video content will continue, finding a home on many of our other ESPN platforms."
Simmons responded to the news on Twitter, writing: “I loved everyone I worked with at G and loved what we built. Watching good/kind/talented people get treated so callously = simply appalling.”
