ESPNndependent – Life After the Butterfly

Earlier this month, ESPN and MSN parted ways after their multi-year deal expired and was not renewed. I am not a spokesman for ESPN so I of course cannot comment, but I did want to point readers in the direction of a great pair of interviews on the subject. In one interview, Staci Kramer of the USC Online Journalism Review talks to John Skipper, Executive Vice President at ESPN and one of the smartest people I’ve ever known. In the other, Kramer interviews Ross Levinsohn, Senior Vice President and General Manager at Fox Sports Interactive Media.

The interviews provide a nice view into the differing strategies of two online sports franchises; one on the way into a deal and one on the way out of one.