February 23, 2009
Newspapers. Not really black and white and read all over anymore, are they? Subscriptions are down on newspapers across the country, reporters are leaving or being bought-out, companies are filing for bankruptcy, and digital age companies are looking to fill the void. One such company filling the void is ESPN (maybe you’ve heard of it?). The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the World-Wide Leader is going local,
The “Worldwide Leader in Sports” this week said it plans to launch ESPNChicago.com, a Web site devoted to the Chicago sports scene. The site, scheduled to launch in April, will feature a daily Chicago version of “Sportscenter,” ESPN’s signature sports news show, and contributions from ESPN columnists and radio personalities with ties to the city.
ESPN hopes ESPNChicago.com will be the first of a series of new sites that will deepen its online penetration in local markets, following an increasingly popular approach for major content providers. Having already built a national audience of devotees of a particular topic, some publishers are targeting subgroups linked by geography and civic pride.
Going local seems to be a popular theme considering the national media situation. As I mentioned previously, large media outlets (newspapers) have been losing significant steam, being replaced by the smaller faster, digital media persona. ESPN has recognized that a void exists, in a sense, and their move to fill that void sounds like a very sound business strategy. My only question? Will ESPN begin to tap into the blog scene? Many sports bloggers began blogging about their local teams, and have continued to do so for years. Who knows the local sports scene better? Some new journalist who is on assignment, or the blogger who’s been blogging about every trade and acquisition for the local teams for the last 5 years?
Maybe the future has bloggers moving out of their parents basement and into a real place?
…I’m sure they’ll still come back for the free food and laundry though.
Wall Street Journal — ESPN plans local sports sites
2 comments
I think there is a HUGE opportunity right now for who can figure out hyper-local content, whether in sports or just area-related news. The big media guys haven’t cracked the code yet, and I’m not sure they will, as more and more people create their own news and read about it on local blogs and websites.
GreetingS:
I never thought I will agree with this opinion, but you know… I agree pattially now.