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ESPN Mobile Reaches The End Of The Road

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the hardly-knew-ye dept.

fishdan writes "Sportsdot is reporting on the fact that people are apparently not interested in watching baseball (or any other sport) on a cell phone screen. ESPN Mobile is (ahem) pulling the plug after less than one year of service. Current subscribers will get content till the end of the year, and their handset purchase refunded. You have to wonder what other mobile content is going to have to be rethought." "Ahead of its time" might be one take on this as well. It'll be interesting to see when the time is right.

18 of 125 comments (clear)

  1. Not ahead of its time by ackthpt · · Score: 5, Interesting

    You have to wonder what other mobile content is going to have to be rethought." "Ahead of its time" might be one take on this as well.

    Honestly, when I first saw the option to watch a sporting event on a cellphone I had two thoughts:

    • 1. Batter Life, my phone keeps shutting off the display after about 15 seconds of me not hitting a key. How much time on my battery would I sacrifice to watch hours of baseball? Maybe highlights, but not 3-4 bloody hours.
    • 2. What's happening? I can kinda make out the players, but I can't see the ball. Sports don't do much on close-up, but wide views, where detail would be lost on a miniscule display

    In the end, the idea had to be tried, but until people start opting for bigger phones, which is the opposite of the current trend, it just ain't gonna fly. Radio, with decent announcers is still your best mobile bet, get an AM radio.

    --

    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    1. Re:Not ahead of its time by joshetc · · Score: 4, Insightful

      On top of all that.. theres no point.

      Instead of making things so general they should push high speed broadband to cell phones. Let people stream WHATEVER they want via them. Youtube, google video, divx files, etc.

      THEN distributors can sell specialized content. Nobody is going to pay for a phone to watch football, then another to watch TV shows, then an ipod video to watch movies, etc, etc.

    2. Re:Not ahead of its time by garylian · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I don't see how the idea "had to be tried". If I had been sitting in a room full of people and they asked me if I thought it would score big numbers, I'd have laughed my ass off.

      This is one of those things for people with entirely too much time on their hands, and way too much disposable income.

      The streaming video was going to be a joke. The screen is too small to make it worth the effort.

      The updates... How many updates are there that are worth it? I can maybe see a perfect game going into the 9th inning being something to turn the tube on for, but for the rest of it... Nothing that has that much build-up potential is going to be something you can alert for.

      There was a similar kind of service they offer on pagers for fire department personal in some areas. Back in MD, you could get pager alerts for all major fire calls in the state sent to your pager. All the new kids becoming volunteers got it... At first. Then they dropped it because it was too damn annoying, especially since the odds were the call was nowhere CLOSE to where you worked/volunteered.

      Only a hardcore gambler would have considered this thing. Sports fans in general? Well, we see the evidence. It couldn't get their interest.

    3. Re:Not ahead of its time by Spacejock · · Score: 3, Funny

      I had a Sony colour LCD TV with a 2" screen back in 1991. My experience with that device proved that watching just about anything except talking heads was a waste of time. To make it work they need a projector with keystone correction, so you beam a 10" picture onto a desk or the wall, or a screen that can be rolled up and slid back into the device when not in use. Neither are likely with current tech, but if you guys keep buying these gadgets the manufacturers will have more money to invest in research.
      So, TV on mobiles is a great idea. Go buy three of them.

      --
      Hal Spacejock: Science Fiction with Nuts
  2. The time will be right when... by The+Wing+Lover · · Score: 5, Interesting

    ...Americans start taking the train everywhere instead of driving. Mobile phone video content does just fine in Japan.

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    - In Capitalist America, law violates YOU!

    1. Re:The time will be right when... by YrWrstNtmr · · Score: 3, Insightful

      ...Americans start taking the train everywhere instead of driving.

      1. Most sports contests aren't during commute time.
      2. Most non-commute, non-car journeys are short enough not to bother about what happens in the game. If you're THAT interested, you'd stay home or at the sports bar and watch it on the big screen with your buds.
      3. Most commutes aren't THAT long. The 100 mile each way is the exception, not the rule. I can do without video for 15 minutes on my way home.

    2. Re:The time will be right when... by igb · · Score: 3, Informative
      I was on the metro in the rush hour in Tokyo a couple of weeks ago, and I didn't see anyone using mobile video. They couldn't: it was crush loaded. I used the JR trains out to Kawasaki, which aren't crush loaded, and I didn't see anyone using it there. iPods, yes. But not a lot else.

      ian

  3. Death due to Proprietary Lockin by bughouse26 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The trouble was potential subscribers had to: 1. Get a new phone 2. Switch providers to Sprint/Nextel & sign a 2-yr contract Not to mention the huge fees for content you can get on any web-enabled phone for free. Wang 2.0

  4. helio by User+956 · · Score: 3, Funny

    You have to wonder what other mobile content is going to have to be rethought.

    I was going to make a comment about the Myspace Phone, but then I realized that's not really "content".

    --
    The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
  5. Screen and power problems are bogus. by twitter · · Score: 3, Interesting

    this won't catch on until we have HUDs with simulated 40" displays. ... i can't see using a 1.5" screen to watch...

    You don't need some kind of 3D or other unobtainable tech to make this work. My $200 digital camera from Walmart has composite video out and plays movies fullscreen. They look as good as broadcast ever did. There is no reason you can't fit the same stuff in a cell phone. Using this existing technology you could, you know, SHARE the game with your friends.

    Battery life might be a problem, so you can ship it with a good wall wart.

    Viola, ESPN in your pocket. Anywere there's a TV and a wall outlet, you have the game. The night watchman, people who spend all of their time on the road and any sports fan who does not have a satelite TV equipped mobile home would like such a service.

    --

    Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.

    1. Re:Screen and power problems are bogus. by Cloud+9 · · Score: 4, Funny
      Anywere there's a TV and a wall outlet, you have the game.

      Then why bother with the phone? You must be an engineer.

      --
      Karma: Dyn-o-mite!(mostly affected by Jimmy Walker reading your comments)
  6. Step 2... question mark... by dpbsmith · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Year 2000 dot-bomb formulae:
    --We're going to sell dog food... but... we're going to do it on the WEB!
    --We're going to sell kid's toys... but... we're going to do it on the WEB!
    --We're going to sell groceries... but... we're going to do it on the WEB!

    Nowadays:
    --We're going to broadcast sports... but... we're going to do it on CELL PHONES!
    --We're going to bombard you with advertising... but... we're going to do it on CELL PHONES! ... and, of course...

    --We're going to let you browse the Web (and buy dog food, kids' toys, and groceries)... but... we're going to do it on CELL PHONES!

    --

    "How to Do Nothing," kids activities, back in print!

  7. Re:Right target, wrong content by lewp · · Score: 3, Funny

    Seriously! I've been lamenting for years that the only time I can't watch porn is when I'm in meetings at work. I'd jump at the opportunity to finally bridge this terrible gap. My coworkers would like, nay, they deserve to see me watching and/or masturbating to quality porn all day.

    --
    Game... blouses.
  8. Misleading summary by sehryan · · Score: 4, Informative

    The summary is a bit misleading. ESPN is shutting down thier branded cell phone service. The exclusive content that they provide to existing carriers is going to continue.

    --
    The world moves for love. It kneels before it in awe.
  9. I blame the moral decay in society by Opportunist · · Score: 4, Funny

    With less and less people going to church, the need for mobile video entertainment is dramatically shrinking.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  10. Uh... by Inoshiro · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Viola, ESPN in your pocket. "

    I fail to see what classical musical instruments and ESPN in a pocket have to do with each other.

    --
    --
    Internet Explorer (n): Another bug -- that is, a feature that can't be turned off -- in Windows.
    1. Re:Uh... by twitter · · Score: 3, Funny

      I fail to see what classical musical instruments and ESPN in a pocket have to do with each other.

      Try this.

      --

      Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.

  11. Phone Size (screen too) is the overall problem by Ka+D'Argo · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Several have pointed it out but yea that's the main issue. As cell phones are becoming smaller and smaller, more ergonomic, etc the size is the issue. I mean there are cell phones out there roughly the size of an iPod Nano, and that's damn small. The screen is sooooooo tiny. It kinda reminds me of things in the old days, when tv's weren't so readily avaible you'd listen to your team on the radio as the announcers called the game. Maybe that's what cell phones need, just a radio component to listen to the games that some radio stations dish out. The screen size is really too tiny to see who's doing what and where. Imagine football where they need to zoom out to show both sides of the line when a play starts, all the guys look like tiny pixel dots and you can't see the ball or even who has it.

    That and, I'm not sure on the price, but with the way companies ass rape you for the costs of something as simple as text messages, live tv coverage of a sports game on your cellphone sounds uber fucking expensive. Again I don't know the price but if I had to guess, I'm sure Motorola, Verison, Sprint etc are watering at the mouth in terms of what they could charge for such content onto your phone.

    And is it just me, or should we really be concentrating on more important things? Like, better reception nation wide. Making less areas where you completely drop your signal at random, or really bad reception all the time? Developing longer lasting batteries that don't die out in a few hours after being fully charged, and by die out I mean not inconstant use but the phone is "on" aka waiting to be called or call out. How about making phones and minutes more affordable? (Yes I know there are several pay as you go services but for people on fixed incomes or limited incomes thats still not a viable option and cellphones can be life savers in emerganices).

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    Aw Frell this