ESPN is going to put the online website for ESPN the Magazine behind a paywall. The transition will take place this summer.
Of course, anyone who is familiar with ESPN.com knows that the magazine’s online presence accounts for only a very small portion of ESPN’s content. AllThingsD.com say that ESPN reps tell them that it is actually less than 10%.
This really won’t affect the daily habits of most sports fans. I would assume that this is an effort to drive more readers to the print copy of the magazine by throwing in “exclusive” online access with the subscription price. The odd thing is that they already have this with their ESPN Insider feature. Maybe it will coincide with Insider–it seems odd right now–but details are not fully available at this time.
The worst part might be the loss of Lil’ Wayne’s blog which was a featured in ESPN the Mag’s online section. Turrible.
ESPN Tries Rebuilding The Pay Wall For Its Magazine [AllThingsD.com]
awww it was fun while it lasted Lil wayne