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View Full Version : Nate Silver is bringing 538 to ESPN



Dev11
07-22-2013, 02:36 PM
Per releases from him and from ESPN this afternoon. It sounds like it will be run similar to Grantland, so it's affiliated with ESPN but doesn't look like espn.com and has its own editorial mission. Not sure how they'll designate 538 vs Grantland content, but nonetheless, I think it's a huge hire for ESPN.

blazindw
07-22-2013, 07:08 PM
Per releases from him and from ESPN this afternoon. It sounds like it will be run similar to Grantland, so it's affiliated with ESPN but doesn't look like espn.com and has its own editorial mission. Not sure how they'll designate 538 vs Grantland content, but nonetheless, I think it's a huge hire for ESPN.

That's really interesting. Is he going to do random segments like they do with Sport Science?

JasonEvans
07-22-2013, 09:30 PM
He may be hired by ESPN, but I am sure his contract contains wording that allows him to work for any Disney property... including ABC News. He will primarily do sports stuff in between elections but move over to ABC for polling and predicting stuff in election years. There is also word that ABC wants him to try to do something where he predicts Oscar winners (http://www.newrepublic.com/article/113982/nate-silvers-oscar-predictions-abc-will-spoil-fun). That could be fun... or could suck ;)


But people pay attention to politics because they are Important. If Silver broadcasts his Oscar forecasts on the actual Oscar telecast and turns out to be usually right, ABC runs the genuine risk of sucking the fun out of the Oscars, whose entertainment derives—along with the dresses, the bad jokes, and Jack Nicholson—from the unpredictability of the outcome.

-Jason "he's a great writer, but is not all that good on TV. But, I am sure he will get more comfortable and get better" Evans

moonpie23
07-22-2013, 09:51 PM
first, let me just say that i really like nate......


That could be fun... or could suck ;)

dennis miller on mon night football.......

snowdenscold
07-22-2013, 11:16 PM
dennis miller on mon night football.......

"I haven't seen murkier bloodlines than this since the house of Plantagenet."

Dev11
07-23-2013, 08:51 AM
He may be hired by ESPN, but I am sure his contract contains wording that allows him to work for any Disney property... including ABC News. He will primarily do sports stuff in between elections but move over to ABC for polling and predicting stuff in election years. There is also word that ABC wants him to try to do something where he predicts Oscar winners (http://www.newrepublic.com/article/113982/nate-silvers-oscar-predictions-abc-will-spoil-fun). That could be fun... or could suck ;)



-Jason "he's a great writer, but is not all that good on TV. But, I am sure he will get more comfortable and get better" Evans

The press release mentioned his involvement across Disney platforms. ABC should get a nice ratings boost during election season for having him on.

I agree, his tv persona isn't great right now, but it will improve. ESPN has made competent tv personalities out of some guys who clearly did not have that skill before arriving. Granted, they also made Skip Bayless, so we'll see.

Wander
07-26-2013, 11:38 AM
I read an article that suggested Silver left the NYT because he was frustrated with journalists' views of him. I can see this - we seem to have a case where the sports world is a little bit ahead of the political and media world. Nearly everyone thought that Alabama and Louisville deserved to be favored over Notre Dame and Michigan in the college championship games this year - not everyone predicted those two teams to win necessarily, but the accepted mainstream opinion was that they were the favorites. Meanwhile, the mainstream opinion about the 2012 presidential election was that it was a complete tossup, despite Silver and others clearly demonstrating that this was never the case. I can see why Silver would get tired of this. It's a great thing for ESPN, and hopefully he can elevate the discourse a little bit.