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That acrimony surely raised the profile of -- and helped with the promotion for -- his multi-pronged deal with HBO, which the sports personality kicked off with "Any Given Wednesday," a play on the well-worn adage about an underdog being able to win on "any given" day. Simmons actually isn't much of an underdog -- he capitalized handsomely on his success at ESPN, where he also launched the website Grantland -- but he did embrace the role of David to the sports behemoth's Goliath. He attributed his exit to his harsh commentary about NFL commissioner Roger Goodell (for its part, ESPN chief John Skipper refuted that, citing Simmons' "repeated lack of respect" for ESPN and its employees). The weekly half-hour show that premiered Wednesday was a relatively unimpressive affair, despite being front-loaded with top-notch guests. After Simmons delivered an extended ode to LeBron James for his latest NBA championship, Simmons brought out analyst Charles ...

To survive the rapid transition to a direct-to-consumer future, companies across the E&M sector need an effective fan-centric strategy — or risk decline and irrelevance. A few recent, seemingly disparate, events illuminate the seismic shifts occurring in entertainment and media (E&M). When basketball superstar Kobe Bryant announced his retirement from the NBA on November 29, 2015, it occurred not on a major sports network but via social media and the  Players’ Tribune,  an athlete-centric digital publisher. That same month, CBS — which like NBC, FOX, and ABC is trying to grow viewership outside of traditional pay-TV — announced plans to revive  Star Trek,  one of its best-known franchises, exclusively on CBS All Access, its new subscription video on-demand service. Fox declared it will no longer track same-day TV ratings; rather, it will report on program viewership occurring after three and seven days, responding to the prevalence of on-demand viewing. Mobil...

Two lawsuits filed in behalf of a family of four as well as an official at Dalton State College who suffered horrific deaths near the Ooltewah exit of I-75 last June 25 are asking that huge damages be paid. The lawsuits filed in Hamilton County Circuit Court, in addition to suing the truck driver and trucking firm, also are filed against an additional trucking firm as well as those involved in a construction project that halted traffic. One suit is filed in behalf of Tiffany Watts and her mother Sandra Anderson. Another is for the children of Ms. Watts, Kelsie and Savannah Garrigues.  Two others were killed when truck driver Benjamin Brewer slammed into the rear of a line of vehicles, including Jason Ramos, director of residence life at Dalton State College. Ms. Watts, who was driving, died at the scene after being ejected from the vehicle. The car caught fire and Ms. Anderson and the girls died in the vehicle before they could be rescued. Chattanooga attorney Morgan G. Adams is as...