ESPN will televise ESPN The Magazine, at 7:30pm ET on
Wednesday March 11, a half-hour look at its new magazine
unit the day before it debuts nationally (ESPN). NEWSWEEK's
Richard Turner profiles the magazine's launch, which is a
"true frontal assault on SI's turf." ESPN Magazine's "credo
is a variation on what has been the rap (partly unfair,
partly out-moded) against SI for decades: too old, too
white-guy, too country-club. Your father's magazine, with a
slightly moralizing tone. On oversized pages, ESPN will be
closer to the feel of a Nike ad or MTV. It will 'celebrate'
sports and be a fan, not a paunchy, cynical sportswriter."
Disney "expects to spend" $75M on the unit, which has a
first issue guaranteed circulation of 350,000, which Turner
calls "a good start" (NEWSWEEK, 3/16 issue).
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: ESPN Magazine Editor John
Papanek said the publication will be forward looking and not
"a news magazine." Papanek: "We're going to assume the
readers of our magazine know the results, have seen the
highlights, seen 'SportsCenter,' heard the analysis"
(HARTFORD COURANT, 3/8). In N.Y., Keith Kelly reports that
ESPN "is aiming" for an average reader of 29-years-old. It
will launch with 108 ad pages, "joining an elite group of
magazines," and hopes to hit 500,000 subscribers by
September. While the SI "franchise" today clears more than
$100M-a-year in profits, insiders say Disney doesn't expect
to make a profit on the ESPN unit "until 2003" (N.Y. DAILY
NEWS, 3/9). Also in N.Y., Paul Tharp puts the magazines ad
pages at 107 and worth $2M. Tharp: "Media experts say that
the oversized format of ESPN will sit on the stands for two
weeks and could grow stale in the fast-changing world of
sports" (N.Y. POST, 3/9). In previewing the launch, Lisa
Magenheimer cites a recent survey showing that 78% of
American adults "recognize the name" ESPN and each week 42%
of all "men tune in to the ESPN network" (TAMPA TRIBUNE,
3/8). In publishing weeks, ESPN Magazine will reach
subscribers on Wednesday and Thursday (L.A. TIMES, 3/8).
