FiveThirtyEight made a big splash in its 2008 election debut. According to Wikipedia, there were numerous media outlets competing for its content in 2010. That likely gave Silver a lot of leverage. The same is probably true in 2014, when FiveThirtyEight moved from the New York Times to ESPN/Disney.
Interestingly, the deal with the NYT was that the entire blog was licensed. For the deal with Disney, it seems like Silver gave up a lot more, and only kept control of the models.
Interestingly, the deal with the NYT was that the entire blog was licensed. For the deal with Disney, it seems like Silver gave up a lot more, and only kept control of the models.