As Elon Musk feuds with Disney, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski is taking his talents to Threads.
On Thursday, the Meta-owned platform announced that it will host a Q&A with Wojnarowski at 11 a.m. ET on Friday. Per the announcement, the NBA insider will be “talking all things @nba and In-Season Tournament.”
While Wojnarowski has been posting on Threads since its inception this past July, his content on the app has largely been indistinguishable from his posts on X (formerly Twitter). Thus, it’s notable that Wojnarowski is now providing at least one form of Threads-exclusive content, especially at a time in which his employer’s parent company is at odds with X’s owner.
For the uninitiated, Disney was among the companies to pull their advertising from X last month after Musk endorsed an antisemitic post on the platform. In the time since, Musk has taken particular aim at Disney CEO Bob Iger.
Meta’s role in all of this is also notable. On Thursday, Musk called attention to a civil lawsuit New Mexico filed against Mark Zuckerberg and his company, alleging that they have enabled child sexual abuse and trafficking, noting that Disney still advertises on Meta platforms.
While Threads launched with a lot of momentum as a potential alternative to Musk’s Twitter, the platform has yet to truly find its footing. Still, Threads boasts a large user base, and perhaps most importantly, the presence of notable news-breakers like Wojnarowski.
The problem for Threads, however, is that it has yet to differentiate itself enough from X. As such, any information available on Threads can usually also be found on X — with the latter offering a more polished user experience.
But if compelling content — like a Q&A with one of the top NBA insiders — starts becoming exclusively available on Threads, that could change the dynamic.
Perhaps all of this timing is coincidental and Wojnarowski was always going to start providing Threads with exclusive content. Or maybe, as its parent company feuds with X, ESPN sees new value in aiding an alternative.
[Threads]
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.