How could ESPN mobile fail??

Is anyone really surprised by ESPN Mobile’s failure?? Think about it, to whom was this targeted? A very small niche to be sure. You might say that it is targeted to men - a very large niche, but you can’t just target men when it comes to mobile phones. Lets take me for example, I use Sprint my girlfriend uses Sprint therefore we get to call each other anytime without any effect to either plan. If I switched to ESPN mobile.. no such luck. So, unless you can get the female to switch to a new network that allows free calling to ESPN the male won’t switch either.

I’ve been in this relationship for over 4 years so maybe the target is men that are not married or in serious relationships - the niche gets smaller, it becomes single guys. It feels like a long time since I could call myself a truly single guy but I think I remember the things I did back then - most of which did not involve surfing the internet on my cell phone. More importantly I look at my friends that are about my age and single, and I don’t see them surfing the web on their phones. Most of the time they are at work (where they have computers), at their apartments (where they have computers), or out with their friends (and if there’s an important enough sporting event, they are at bars, where ESPN is on TV). So when, would these guys enjoy mobile ESPN? I suppose the ones that don’t have to drive to work could enjoy it when they are on their walk or ride to work, but is that enough to justify the switch?? Most Americans don’t use the mobile internet or really even know about it, and some that have find the experience very limiting.

Now the niche again gets limited to single guys that love sports and use the internet on their phones. That’s pretty small but maybe there are some that would go for it. But there’s one more qualification: they have to be in the market for a new phone and new provider. Most everyone I know gets sucked in to a two year contract, myself included, so I’m not really looking for a new provider just because a new provider came out.

The niche keeps getting smaller and I haven’t really gotten to the worst flaw. What does ESPN know about being a mobile provider?? If I’m in that group that is in the market for a “new” provider I’m going to go with one that I know I can rely on. I’m going to chose the provider with the best service - what does anyone know about ESPN mobile in terms of service?? Nothing.

So now we have a complete look at who the typical Mobile ESPN niche customer was:

• A sports fan that
• uses the mobile internet
• Is in the market for a new phone
• Is most likely single, and
• Is willing to take a chance on an unproven network

And somehow it failed.