Much loved sports and pop culture website Grantland has been shut down by ESPN, five months after founding writer Bill Simmons and the company parted ways.
The ambitious internet venture ceased operations immediately after an announcement on Friday, nine days after the company said it would be laying off 300 employees.
Simmons has since signed a deal with rival company HBO, with a large amount of staff following him out of the site since his departure.
No reason has been given for the closure of the four-year-old website, but ESPN said in a statement that "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".
Grantland was known for its unusual style of long-form sports writing, where the writers would include themselves in the story.
The Twitter reaction has been almost universal in lamenting the decision to close down the website;
I loved everyone I worked with at G and loved what we built. Watching good/kind/talented people get treated so callously = simply appalling.
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) October 30, 2015
For what it's worth, next Weds was to be my last day at Grantland. Now it's today. Will forever be proud of the amazing work & friendships.
— Andy Greenwald (@andygreenwald) October 30, 2015
Jesus. ESPN shut down @Grantland33 that's a pity. Was a great place to get lost reading for a few hours.
— Colm Gannon (@ColmGannon) October 31, 2015
But there is always balance. I then recalled that ESPN has decided to shutter Grantland. 😢
— Andy McGeady (@andymcgeady) October 31, 2015
Don't know what's next. But I know I had the absolute best job in the world and I'm forever grateful to Simmons and everyone at Grantland.
— Mark Titus (@clubtrillion) October 30, 2015
Grantland dying tells you all you need to know about the future of web content, but in a language that's hard to understand. More tomorrow.
— Andy Khouri (@andykhouri) October 31, 2015
Has Netflix picked up Grantland yet?
— Andrew McNeill (@andrewamcneill) October 31, 2015
Someone write a think piece comparing Grantland to Firefly please and thank you.
— Seth Partnow (@SethPartnow) October 31, 2015
I'm not a person who cares about sports, but I read the hell outta Grantland. Our culture is poorer tonight for the loss. #RIPGrantland
— Kat Kinsman (@kittenwithawhip) October 31, 2015
