Some information on what’s next for us.
Back in January I posted this story to Knights on Ice, and with the month of March almost over, I have some updates to share with you.
Originally it was communicated that SB Nation and Vox Media were going to stop supporting impacted brands (of which KOI was one of) at the end of February, but they ultimately need more time to facilitate a transfer of information, trademarks, and other assorted content so contracts were extended an additional month.
The long story short is that Knights on Ice will continue in April and beyond, and it will do so independently outside of the SB Nation and Vox network. The name of the blog will remain the same, the URL you visit will remain the same, and the back catalog of stories will also remain the same. For licensing reasons pictures will not be transferred over, but pretty much everything else will remain the same.
The user experience will look a little different in terms of appearance of the site, and there could be a bit of a lag during the changeover in ownership, but the intent is to do everything as quickly and smoothly as possible. To facilitate the transfer, we stop publishing content on March 30th, and this will allow for an export of our history that we can take and run with to our next home. Some of the other hockey sites that are being impacted are also launching independently in April, and some will be launching with a form of a paywall so that people can financially support the site. Others will be taking some more time, and there are also a few still weighing their options.
Knights on Ice will not be putting any paywall up to gate off content upon launch, and instead, we will have a tip jar of sorts in the event you want to give a few bucks. Any contributions will be most appreciated considering we are going from an environment where we had a monthly stipend to an environment where we are on our own. This is something that could change down the line, but I don’t envision it being anything obnoxious. We understand times are tough, and what is important right now is setting up shop in a new spot, and then building forward.
I want to use this space to give a huge shout out to Jillian who has been amazing, and a true rock star. She’s been a big part of Knights on Ice from the beginning, and this place would be lost without her. I am happy that she will remain part of the site going forward, and appreciate everything she does to make KOI the place it is.
There are larger plans for what the future of Knights on Ice could look like next season, but at this point the goal is to get through the remainder of the regular season and playoffs, and then regroup when things quiet down. Speaking for myself, I haven’t been as involved over the last month as I would have liked to be, as the timing of this transfer happened while I had to deal with some other things in my regular 8 to 5.
The goal is to get the new site up, develop a schedule of sorts, and have content that is meaningful and worth your time. As we get closer to the change over we will post updates on Twitter, and will notify you as things are in progress. The Ice Garden was the first site to launch independently and transfer assets, and things have gone pretty smoothly for the most part. We hope the same happens here.
Thank you as always for your support of KOI. Originally I joined the site as something of a transitional managing editor, and a lot has changed since that point. The Vegas Golden Knights are an exciting team that’s in position to do something special this year, and KOI will be glad to follow them along for the ride. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out.