*ESPN* The Magazine becomes the latest print publication to try charging for its content online. The magazine announced on its website Friday that its online version, ESPNTheMag.com, was merging with the ESPN (NYSE: DIS) Insider service, which charges $39.95 a year for specialized sports content. “As of Friday June 5, ESPNTheMag.com ceased to exist as we know it, but the site’s signature pieces and voice continue to live on the Insider page,” the magazine alerts visitors. (Print subscribers can continue to access magazine articles via the Insider for free).
ESPN Publishing General Manager Gary Hoenig tells Business Week that it is a move other publishers should make as well. “Why is it, in this business, we are apologetic when asking [consumers] to pay for what we give them online?” he asks. “It’s not like people in the milk business who think ‘we should give it away for free—we can make money on the cartons.’”
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