ESPN’s features and analysis moving ESPN+ paywall

[ChrisLong]

I don't get any newspapers. I was able to get the print edition of my old paper online for the past 5 years. But something changed on Jan. 1, 2020 (bad year, man, bad forking year). None of my usernames/passwords worked.

I only go to the ESPN website to check the day's schedule of games, times, TV, standings, etc. Occasionally, I'll click to get a look at a box score or a game cast. I never click for stories (any good stuff turns up on SJ). I'm guessing that what I look for will be behind the wall. I'll take a deeper look at Yahoo and see if they have what I want in an easy-to-find format. I don't want to have to go to each individual sport to find the information.

 

[nickp]

For example if baseball insider Jeff Passan has a feature it would be on ESPN+ but if he were to break a big signing it would remain outside the paywall

 

[JayFarrar]

So, dumb question, I already pay for ESPN+ as part of the Disney+/Hulu package.

Do I need to pay another subscription fee to read ESPN+?

Because if I don't, then this seems like a way to push people into more of those E+/D+/H packages, at $12.99 a month, which seems like a bigger win all the way around.

If I do have to pay extra, then there's no chance I'll pay for it.

 

[ChrisLong]

So, dumb question, I already pay for ESPN+ as part of the Disney+/Hulu package.

Do I need to pay another subscription fee to read ESPN+?

Because if I don't, then this seems like a way to push people into more of those E+/D+/H packages, at $12.99 a month, which seems like a bigger win all the way around.

If I do have to pay extra, then there's no chance I'll pay for it.

Hmmm, never thought of this. Interested if anybody knows. My girls are Disney-crazed. We have Hulu and Disney+.

 

[JayFarrar]

If you already have H/D+ adding ESPN+ puts like an additional penny to your monthly bill.

I suspect all this is to just juice those bundle numbers but I could be wrong.

 

[The Big Ragu]

If you already have H/D+ adding ESPN+ puts like an additional penny to your monthly bill.

I suspect all this is to just juice those bundle numbers but I could be wrong.

You may be right. It could be part and parcel of what I was saying about the ESPN website maybe serving purposes beyond being a standalone.

Disney made a huge pivot to streaming, and it has been working hard to try to catch and overtake Netflix.

Disney has a lot of assets under its umbrella, aside from the streaming service, which it can try to leverage in that competition, namely Hulu and ESPN+. If bundling those things drives subscriptions and increases revenue, it would make a lot of sense. It's what Amazon tries to do to suck people in.

 

[Alma]

My sense is it's not great for the readership of those features and analysis pieces. Maybe I'm wrong, but I just don't see there being an essential market for many of them. Wright Thompson, perhaps. I personally like Seth Wickersham. Barnwell perhaps? I have E+ anyway for other stuff, but I'm not sure how many readers will follow over.

 

[LanceyHoward]

My sense is it's not great for the readership of those features and analysis pieces. Maybe I'm wrong, but I just don't see there being an essential market for many of them. Wright Thompson, perhaps. I personally like Seth Wickersham. Barnwell perhaps? I have E+ anyway for other stuff, but I'm not sure how many readers will follow over.

I like Lowe and Barnwall. But the Ringer has a platoon of writers on the NBA and some good NFL writers. I don't think Lowe and Barnwall are worth paying for when I can get good content for free.

 

[Alma]

I like Lowe and Barnwall. But the Ringer has a platoon of writers on the NBA and some good NFL writers. I don't think Lowe and Barnwall are worth paying for when I can get good content for free.

I wouldn't read anyone at this point on the NBA. And I like Lowe. But that's one serious epistemologically boring sport at the moment.

 

[3_Octave_Fart]

So is the NFL.
Not really a moment, either.
It's sucked for a good decade-plus.

 

[Elliotte Friedman]

When Passan joined ESPN, he said he wanted his work to remain in front of a paywall. I'd be curious to hear how he feels

 

[Sam Mills 51]

I like Lowe and Barnwall. But the Ringer has a platoon of writers on the NBA and some good NFL writers. I don't think Lowe and Barnwall are worth paying for when I can get good content for free.

Yeah. Barnwell seems to be a likable enough guy. But that doesn't cut it when analyzing from a logistical and learning point of view, and the fact that he never has quotes or does anything other than look at the numbers, statistics and write from those diminishes his work a lot for my liking. Pass.