ESPN.COM is counting on less clutter and more advertising options to bolster revenue at a time when its sister cable channels are battling rare weakness.
The new design for ESPN.com clears away some text, while adding easier access to video.
About a year in the making, the overhaul represents at least one significant shift in strategy. Instead of inundating visitors with its intense coverage of every major sport from the get-go — something that the company now believes can drive away certain fans — ESPN.com is moving in a less-is-more direction, at least on the home page.
Making ESPN.com as appealing to visitors as possible — and thus to advertisers — has taken on greater importance as the economic recession in general and in auto sales in particular have put pressure on the company’s television ad sales. The young male audience ESPN serves up continues to be prized by advertisers, but Disney singled out soft ad sales at the channel as one reason profit growth in the company’s media networks unit slowed in the most recent quarter.
The new ESPN.com will give advertisers eight options for displaying messages on its most heavily visited pages, up from three. A spokesman said the site will introduce in January a new video advertising option specifically with movie studios in mind. Ford has signed up as the redesign’s presenting sponsor.
Read the full article here: ESPN Strives to Eject Clutter From Its Site | NY Times
