Check this out: ESPN is launching a mobile phone service.
Big deal, you say. Plenty of content companies offer their stuff on phones. Wait… is this more of that ringtone nonsense? I don’t care about ringtones!!
Hold it! Hold it! You misread this Chaser’s claim. ESPN is not merely offering its sporty goodness to cell-toting consumers; it is jockeying to provide phone service to the very cells they tote!
Sort of.
Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN sports television network is launching its own brand of mobile phone service in a deal with Sprint Corp. intended to lure new users with sports news sent over a next-generation network, the companies said Wednesday.
Sprint would effectively rent out space on its network to ESPN, which would become a pioneer among U.S. media companies aiming to take their wares to the smallest screen.
You’ll be able to get a phone from ESPN Mobile starting next year. They’re providing service as a mobile virtual network operator, or MVNO; details here.
Over at PaidContent.org, the leader of ESPN Mobile has this to say:
One of the compelling aspects of a MVNO is the entirety of the experience that you can create for your customer. We believe there’s an opportunity to create a fan experience at every opportunity where we touch the fan and hence we are going to take on that responsibility.
This is really interesting, Chasers. What other media companies could peddle a product like this? Would you buy pseudo-service from The New York Times? This Chaser thinks he might! What about the Wall Street Journal?
(Actually, the WSJ is, in fact, offering a new mobile service. But it’s the traditional kind: WSJ content through your phone. You won’t get a phone bill from Dow Jones.)
Finally, here’s a canned quote from ESPN’s president:
“Our goal is to extend our leadership and expertise in the two-screen environment, the television and computer, to a third screen that is becoming increasingly important to sports fans — the wireless device.”
Huh. Yeah. It’s too bad so many news organizations are still stuck in the zero-screen environment.