One of the original pioneers of digital sports journalism was just sold to an outside firm — and none of its current staff is being retained. According to now-former Deadspin writer Julie DiCaro, Deadspin was sold to a European startup and the new owners were not keeping any staff members. The entire Deadspin team was locked out of the company Slack channel and its laptops.
According to an email acquired by The Daily Beast writer Justin Baragona, the company was sold to Lineup Publishing, a European firm that contacted parent company G/O Media about purchasing the site to expand its portfolio. G/O Media accepted the terms after consideration, though the email makes sure to note that G/O was not shopping Deadspin. The new company plans to, “be reverential to Deadspin’s unique voice…they plan to take a different content approach regarding the site’s overall sports coverage.”
Sports media members have reacted to the perceived lack of quality from Deadspin over the past few years. In 2021, Sports Hub 98.5 host Fred Toucher said the site “used to be a thousand times better,” while longtime sports radio voice Tony Bruno called the site a “clickbait, dirtbag site” in response to an article critical of his work.
This will be at least the third time Deadspin has been sold, the first as a solo entity. In 2016, Univision Communications acquired Gawker Media, which then established Gizmodo Media Group to oversee operations. 2019 saw Gizmodo Media Group get acquired by Great Hill Partners and rebranded to G/O Media. Later in 2019, the company experienced a mass resignation due to the firing of former editor-in-chief Barry Petchesky.
While many are offering Deadspin staff members condolences, a certain sports media member is celebrating the news as only one Dave Portnoy can, unsurprising to those who know him:
