ESPN Re-Redesigning ESPN The Mag
Thursday, February 05, 2009
ESPN the Mag, the A.D.D. reader's dream, is going through yet another makeover. According to Sports Business Daily, "The Mag" will not only get a new look but will also receive a stronger online presence across ESPN's platforms. Via SBD....
ESPN is prepping a major relaunch of ESPN The Magazine that will include a full-scale visual redesign of both the print magazine and the ESPNTheMag.com Web site; a deeper tie with ESPN.com's Insider service, which has included a subscription to the magazine; and a much stronger embrace of digital distribution methods. Exact launch dates for many of the initiatives have not yet been established, but some efforts such as multi-platform ad sales around the magazine brand have already begun. And company execs are aiming for a full-scale presentation of the magazine's new look and identity at this spring's advertising upfronts. The moves come after several months of unfounded industry rumors of a potential demise for the print version of the 11-year-old magazine. "This is about expansion, not contraction," ESPN Publishing GM & Editorial Dir Gary Hoenig said. "We are not abandoning the idea of a printed magazine. It remains a cornerstone of what we're doing. But what we're after is an evolution of the brand."The goal, the network says, is to try and get "Insider" subscriptions up where the "Mag" subscriptions are. The current numbers are a shocking 1.75 million apart, and that alone might explain why I get two copies of the magazine, and haven't paid for Insider in about three years. Many of you have relayed similar stories, and that's certainly not the best way to keep a publication in circulation.
I still think it's a futile effort in the end, but at least they're trying to salvage it. It's really not THAT bad of a read.
ESPN Preps Redesign Of ESPN The Magazine, Accompanying Web Site (Sports Business Daily - $)
8 Comments:
I have a big reticence against spending money on anything on the Internet, yet the major reason I've never so much as signed up for an Insider free trial is the forced ESPN The Mag subscription.
I'm one of those people that sill keeps getting it for some reason, but I would not know if it really is not that bad because even when the headline sounds interesting, I can not read the article. Like physically I can not read the piece.
I'll start get lost, the words change size, colors, in and out of boxes.... next thing you know its like Mad Libs and I'm reading word after word from different articles wondering what weight class Danica Patrick is going be fighting in as the next big thing in MMA.
The only thing I liked about that magazine was Dan Patrick. Now he's gone and the back page is Reilly. Horrible.
When they launched they were always talking about 'what is next' in sports. The last few years they've had Will Ferrell and Jimmy Kimmell on multiple covers.
That pile of crap is written for people who don't like sports.
Sports Illustrated around 1978, that's how you design a fucking magazine. Pretty simple, no consultants are needed.
I can't wait to see how much bigger they make that magazine. Pretty, pretty pictures.
I remember writing a newspaper column condemning the magazine the first week it came out.
And many of those criticism (starting with the size) still hold true like 10+ years later.
A good start: fixing it so you don't go blind trying to read the gazillion typefaces and butt-ugly layouts. "Cutting edge" does not equal "designed by monkeys."
Come on, AA, it really is that bad.