ESPN has signed Zach Kram to join the company as a national NBA writer, further bolstering its coverage of the NBA. Kram had announced last week that he was concluding his time with The Ringer after nine years with the outlet. Under his new role, he will be joining a roster that includes industry veterans such as Ramona Shelburne, Shams Charania and Brian Windhorst as the network prepares to commence a new 11-year media rights deal with the league, reportedly worth $2.62 billion per season.
In a series of posts on X, Kram described that he had landed his dream job out of college with The Ringer and affirmed how much he loves and values the outlet. Furthermore, he divulged that he started working as an intern for the digital media brand one week before the website launched and conveyed his gratitude for being able to grow alongside it. Kram has written several articles for the outlet over the years discussing topics such as basketball, baseball and pop culture.
“I’m positively thrilled to embark on a new journey with the wonderful NBA team at ESPN,” Kram shared on social media just after the announcement on Monday afternoon.
Kram studied psychology, history and creative writing while matriculating at Washington University in St. Louis while also participating in the Student Life newspaper publication. Throughout his time in college, he held various leadership positions with the outlet, including copy chief, senior sports editor and longform editor. Ahead of his graduation within the Class of 2016, he was an intern for The Daily Record and later became an editorial assistant with The Ringer. Kram had been a staff writer for the brand for over six years and also participated on a variety of podcasts through the Spotify-owned platform.
Earlier in the season, ESPN signed a variety of its NBA talent to contract extensions, some of whom include Bobby Marks, Danny Green, Angel Gray and Tim Bontemps. The network recently averaged 2.01 million viewers for its broadcast of Luka Dončić making his debut as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. ESPN will present the NBA Finals on ABC at the conclusion of the season for the 22nd consecutive year.
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