SB Nation

• 1. The Oakland Athletics Blog

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  In July 2003, a single blog named Athletics Nation launched online. It focused exclusively on the Oakland Athletics baseball team. The site was created by Tyler Bleszinski and quickly became the second largest website on the Blogads platform. Only Daily Kos ranked higher at that time. Markos Moulitsas served as an editor for Daily Kos while Bleszinski ran his new sports project. Six additional writers joined Bleszinski to create content for the growing network. They used the Daily Kos platform to encourage community growth among fans. Established bloggers were selected to contribute articles while readers could leave comments on posts. The network expanded to cover all Major League Baseball teams shortly after its launch. It later added coverage for National Basketball Association franchises and National Football League teams. College teams, mixed martial arts, and professional wrestling also found homes within the expanding digital walls. At its peak, the network hosted over 300 community sites across these various sports categories.

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• 2. From SportsBlogs To Vox Media

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  Sports Blogs Inc. operated under this name from 2003 until October 2011. The company headquarters sat in Washington, D.C. during those early years. Jim Bankoff advised the company during venture rounds before becoming CEO in January 2009. In 2008, SB Nation raised $5 million in a Series A financing round. Accel Partners and Allen & Company contributed funds alongside Ted Leonsis. By February 2009, the network had nearly 185 blogs and five million unique users. Comcast Interactive Capital spearheaded an eight million dollar second round of financing that July. Revenue generated by the network increased four times throughout 2009 alone. The parent company rebranded as Vox Media in October 2011. This shift coincided with the launch of The Verge technology site in November 2011. The new entity moved operations to offices in Manhattan and Washington, D.C. Jon Bois published his serialized speculative fiction narrative 17776 through the platform in July 2017. A sequel called 20020 followed in 2020.

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• 3. The Holtzclaw Editorial Failure

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  In February 2016, the site published a lengthy profile of Daniel Holtzclaw. He was a former police officer convicted of multiple accounts of rape and other charges. The piece focused on his college football career and appeared sympathetic to him. Critics heavily criticized the article within hours of its publication. Editors took down the story after it drew intense backlash. Spencer Hall, the editorial director, apologized for what he called a complete breakdown of SB Nation editorial process. He described the story and its publication as a complete failure of site standards. The network cut ties with freelance journalist Jeff Arnold who wrote the original piece. Glenn Stout, head of the longform program, faced suspension and later firing. A peer review found that the longform program was isolated from the rest of SB Nation. It made proper vetting of stories impossible under the existing structure. Sensitive stories were reviewed by senior editor Elena Bergeron and senior content producer Sarah Kogod. This practice raised concerns about lack of diversity in the newsroom. The company permanently shelved the longform program and replaced it with a features program.

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• 4. Video Series And Fictional Narratives

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  SB Nation created an online video series for NBC Sports around NBC Sunday Night Football in May 2016. The network expanded into radio programming through a partnership with Gow Media mid-2016. They sold their first original television program Foul Play to Verizon Communications go90 in September. Foul Play premiered in May 2018 while the network averaged seventy million unique monthly visitors. Jon Bois published 17776, a serialized speculative fiction multimedia narrative in July 2017. A sequel called 20020 arrived in 2020. In January 2018, SB Nation and Eater aired a three-episode celebrity cooking competition series sponsored by PepsiCo. National Football League players Greg Jennings, Rashad Jennings, and Nick Mangold competed against chefs Anne Burrell and Josh Capon. The YouTube channel renamed itself Secret Base in August 2020. Dorktown focuses on telling obscure sports stories while Chart Party examines specific statistical data. Collapse charts the decline of various successful franchises and teams. The Worst series covers the worst sporting contests and performances of all time. Rewinder explores background and context of memorable sporting moments. Beef History dedicates episodes to high-profile interpersonal rivalries between athletes and coaches.

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• 5. Layoffs And Site Divestitures

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  Vox Media laid off fifty employees in February 2018 including some members of the SB Nation social video team. Part-time copy editors and news writers were also cut from the payroll. In December 2019, Vox announced it would end contracts with most contractors at California brands over coming months. This decision aimed to comply with California Assembly Bill 5. By June 2020, a number of writers and editors from Banner Society left through buyouts. The company shut down several sites focused on college sports in September 2022. Another round of layoffs hit seven percent of staff in January 2023. Most hockey and soccer sites became unaffiliated or shut down completely during this period. Women's ice hockey site The Ice Garden became an independent site with more financial backing than before. MMA site Bloody Elbow sold back to its original founder in March 2024. Sacramento Kings site Sactown Royalty transferred to its original founder while Chicago Bulls site BlogABull moved to Substack. Sounder at Heart transitioned to a reader-supported model by August 2024. Vox Media divested Outsports to LGBT-oriented publisher Q Digital in March 2024. The company shut down its podcast network in April 2024.

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