ESPN The Magazine

ESPN The Magazine was an American sports publication created by ESPN and first issued in March 1998. It was developed as a print extension of ESPN’s sports-media identity, combining reporting, analysis, photography, interviews, opinion, humor, and visual features. Its debut issue carried the cover line “NEXT.” and featured a group of prominent young or emerging sports figures: NBA player Kobe Bryant, MLB player Alex Rodriguez, NFL player Kordell Stewart, and NHL player Eric Lindros. The multi-sport cover reflected the magazine’s broad remit and its connection to ESPN’s television and digital properties. The publication initially appeared every other week, giving it a comparatively frequent schedule for a national sports magazine. In early 2016, its schedule was reduced to 24 issues per year, and it later transitioned to a monthly format. Its regular coverage centered on the major professional leagues in the United States—Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, the National Football League, and the National Hockey League—as well as college basketball and college football. It also covered the business of sports, sports statistics, athlete culture, controversial issues, and the personal lives and physical preparation of athletes. Editorially, ESPN The Magazine generally pursued a more informal, irreverent, and visually driven tone than traditional competitors such as Sports Illustrated and the former Sporting News. Departments such as “Two Way,” “The Biz,” “Zoom,” “The Jump,” “Outtakes,” and “The Life of Reilly” mixed reader interaction, business reporting, large-format photography, humor, interviews, commentary, and special-interest reporting. Other recurring features included sabermetrics coverage, “The Truth,” which addressed contentious subjects, and the “NEXT Athlete” recognition for rising young competitors. An anonymous-athlete feature, “Athlete X,” also offered purported insider perspectives from sports including baseball, football, and NASCAR. The magazine’s most distinctive franchise was The Body Issue, introduced in 2009. It featured nude or minimally clothed athletes in a photography-led celebration of athletic physiques, while also discussing training, anatomy, performance, and the relationship between elite sport and the body. The concept became one of the publication’s best-known annual features and extended ESPN’s visual storytelling beyond conventional game reporting. Changing media economics and the migration of sports audiences toward digital and audiovisual platforms eventually reduced the role of the print edition. On April 30, 2019, ESPN announced that it would stop publishing the paper magazine after the September 2019 issue. ESPN subsequently introduced ESPN Cover Story, a digital, multiplatform monthly feature intended to continue selected aspects of the magazine’s narrative and visual tradition, including a poster-like digital cover and profile format. The Body Issue and NEXT Athlete, however, did not continue in that successor format. ESPN The Magazine therefore remains a discontinued print brand, while parts of its editorial approach and feature heritage continued through ESPN’s broader digital media operation.

ESPN The Magazine was launched by ESPN as a national American sports magazine in 1998. Its first issue was published on March 11, 1998, with a cover date of March 23. The debut used the cover line “NEXT.” and presented four high-profile athletes from different sports: Kobe Bryant of the NBA, Alex Rodriguez of Major League Baseball, Kordell Stewart of the NFL, and Eric Lindros of the NHL. The selection established the publication’s multi-sport scope and its interest in athletes positioned as important figures in the next phase of professional sports. The magazine initially appeared every other week. Its coverage included the principal U.S. professional leagues, college basketball, and college football, but it was not limited to game reports. ESPN The Magazine also examined sports businesses, athlete personalities, statistics, controversial issues, media, and training. The publication’s editorial voice was deliberately less formal than that of established sports magazines. It frequently used humor, unconventional presentation, short-form departments, and large photographic treatments to complement longer reported features. Among its recurring departments were “Two Way,” a reader-question feature; “The Biz,” which examined the business consequences and commercial structure of sports; “Zoom,” a prominent photographic spread; “The Jump,” an alternative or humorous take on current events; “Outtakes,” an interview transcript generally focused on subjects outside sport; and “The Life of Reilly,” a commentary and special-interest column. Other features included “Athlete X,” which presented anonymous insider accounts from athletes in several sports, the annual “NEXT Athlete” recognition, sabermetrics coverage, and “The Truth,” a back-page editorial addressing contentious topics. A number of these departments were removed or changed after a 2011 editorial reorganization. By 2016, “Zoom” and “The Biz” were among the features that continued regularly. The Body Issue became the magazine’s most recognizable recurring franchise. Debuting in 2009, it used nude or lightly clothed portraits of athletes to explore athletic bodies, physical preparation, anatomy, and performance. The issue was sometimes compared with Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit franchise, but ESPN presented it as an examination and celebration of the bodies used in elite competition. It became an important part of the magazine’s visual identity and annual publishing calendar. The publication’s frequency changed as the media environment evolved. In early 2016, it moved to 24 issues a year, and it ultimately became a monthly. The monthly format introduced “The Big Ticket,” a feature offering an alternative treatment of sports subjects. The transition reflected the growing importance of ESPN’s digital, television, and video channels relative to a recurring print product. On April 30, 2019, ESPN announced that it would stop publishing the paper magazine after the September issue. The company launched ESPN Cover Story as a digital, multiplatform monthly feature intended to preserve selected elements of the magazine, including a digital poster-style cover, a cover-story profile approach, and the continuation of the “NEXT” athlete concept. The Body Issue and NEXT Athlete did not return in the successor format. ESPN The Magazine is consequently a defunct print publication, although its reporting style, visual storytelling, and some editorial concepts remain part of ESPN’s wider media history.

• 2019

  Print publication ends

  [1]ESPN The Magazineen.wikipedia.org

  ESPN announced the end of the paper magazine after the September 2019 issue and introduced ESPN Cover Story as a digital successor format.

• 2018

  Later monthly format introduced

  [1]ESPN The Magazineen.wikipedia.org

  The publication adopted a monthly format in its later period, with The Big Ticket among the features introduced during that phase.

• 2016

  Publishing frequency reduced

  [1]ESPN The Magazineen.wikipedia.org

  The magazine reduced its schedule to 24 issues per year in early 2016.

• 2011

  Editorial department changes

  [1]ESPN The Magazineen.wikipedia.org

  A major editorial change led to the removal or revision of many regular departments and features.

• 2009

  The Body Issue debuts

  [1]ESPN The Magazineen.wikipedia.org

  The annual Body Issue launched as a photography and editorial franchise focused on the bodies, training, and physical capabilities of elite athletes.

• 1998

  First issue published

  [1]ESPN The Magazineen.wikipedia.org

  ESPN The Magazine released its first issue on March 11, 1998, with a March 23 cover date and a multi-sport cover featuring Kobe Bryant, Alex Rodriguez, Kordell Stewart, and Eric Lindros.

In-depth, visually distinctive, and often humorous sports journalism spanning major professional and college sports.

• Sports magazine · 1998

  ESPN The Magazine

  The core print publication covering Major League Baseball, the NBA, the NFL, the NHL, college basketball, and college football. It combined reported journalism, opinion, humor, photography, interviews, business coverage, statistics, and athlete profiles. It began as a frequent publication, later operated at 24 issues annually, and ultimately became monthly before ending in 2019.

• Annual editorial franchise · 2009

  The Body Issue

  An annual issue introduced in 2009 that featured nude or minimally clothed athletes in photography and accompanying editorial material. Its stated editorial focus was the athletic form, including physical structure, training, performance, and the demands placed on elite competitors.

• Digital editorial feature · 2019

  ESPN Cover Story

  A digital, multiplatform monthly story format launched after the end of the print magazine. It used a poster-like digital cover and a profile format intended to continue selected elements of ESPN The Magazine’s visual and narrative approach.

• 2009The Body Issue

  United States

  ESPN The Magazine introduced an annual issue built around portraits and stories about the bodies of elite athletes. The format used distinctive photography to discuss anatomy, preparation, performance, and the physical ideals associated with sport.

  Outcome. The Body Issue became one of the publication’s best-known recurring franchises and continued as part of its identity until the print magazine ended.

  Source

• 2019

  End print publicationStrategy

  Background

  ESPN announced a change in the role of the magazine within its broader multiplatform sports-media operation.

  Action taken

  ESPN ended the paper edition after the September 2019 issue and launched ESPN Cover Story as a digital, multiplatform successor.

  Aftermath

  The successor retained a cover-story and digital-poster approach, but The Body Issue and NEXT Athlete did not return in that format.

  Source

• 2018

  Adopt a monthly formatStrategy

  Background

  ESPN The Magazine was adjusted to a lower-frequency publishing model during its later years.

  Action taken

  The magazine became monthly and introduced The Big Ticket among its later editorial features.

  Aftermath

  The monthly print format lasted until ESPN announced the end of paper publication in 2019.

  Source

• 2016

  Reduce annual issue frequencyStrategy

  Background

  The magazine had originally been published every other week, but its schedule was later adjusted as ESPN’s media business increasingly emphasized digital and audiovisual distribution.

  Action taken

  ESPN reduced the publication schedule to 24 issues per year in early 2016.

  Aftermath

  The magazine later moved to a monthly format before its print edition was discontinued.

  Source

1. 1ESPN The Magazineen.wikipedia.org