(YouTube)
Bill Simmons.

Media superstar Bill Simmons is starting a new website called The Ringer.

While Simmons and his team have talked a bit about the new site, several key details have been kept secret.

Here's a new one to add to the mix.

We have learned that Simmons will partner with publishing platform Medium on his new project.

It has funded and hosted some original publications. For instance, Medium runs tech site Backchannel, which is edited by former Wired reporter Steven Levy.

Medium pared back some of its investment in original content last summer.

Simmons' prior site, Grantland, was focused on high-brow long-form content, which fits with the sort of content Medium generally hosts. Simmons will be by far the highest-profile content creator Medium has partnered with to date.

He is a force of nature. Simmons is developing a show for HBO, has a podcast, and is now working on this new site. He has developed the Bill Simmons Media Group, which is being led by former NFL Network executive Eric Weinberger. He has also hired a number of former colleagues from ESPN.

Simmons is also an online pioneer. He started his own blog before people knew what blogging was in the late 1990s. He moved to ESPN.com shortly afterward and became the most popular writer on that site. He helped develop the critically acclaimed "30 for 30" documentary series, developed TV shows for ESPN, and was on its NBA pregame show.

He has 538,000 followers on Facebook, and 4.8 million followers on Twitter. As soon as he announced his new site, it shot up 100,000 Twitter follows overnight. These rabid fans will likely frequently visit his new site.

Simmons left ESPN over frustrations with management about investment and support for Grantland, as well as disagreements about what he could or should say about the NFL and its commissioner, Roger Goodell.

He's determined to prove that he can build a big, powerful media brand on his own with out ESPN's help.

Shortly after he announced The Ringer, someone on Twitter asked, "What are the lessons Bill Simmons learned from running Grantland from a business perspective?"

His answer: "Don't do it with ESPN."

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