ESPN Bet Flop Mirrors THIS Failed Experiment

A look back at ESPN Zone: yesterland.com/espndlr.html#:....
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ESPN Bet is doing about as well as anyone would expect from a fairly late entrant into a competitive space. It was about as obvious as Chris Berman’s nickname usage during NFL highlights. In fact, the only real surprise is folks acting as if the platform’s financial underperformance in the first quarter is somehow surprising.
If anything it harkens back to another failed ESPN that was launched as part of Disney’s efforts to transform the Worldwide Leader in Sports from a cable network to a brand. That didn’t quite work out as planned. Churning out new editions of Jock Jams and slapping your logo on PS1 games only get you so far.
What ESPN Zone struggled with was deafferentation. There was nothing truly ESPN about the ESPN Zone. You could get the same sort of experience from Dave & Buster’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, or even most Chili’s, assuming they had a TV.
The assumption was the ESPN brand was so strong and harbored such loyalty that people would support it no matter what. But once you got past the logos and name, ESPN Zone didn’t offer much in the way of substance.
Some 26 years after the first ESPN Zone opened, ESPN Bet seems to be charting a near identical path albeit once with much higher stakes and far less early success.
For all the marketing, all the product placement, and all the annoying ad reads, can anyone truly say what makes ESPN Bet different from other betting apps out there? Elle Duncan being in a commercial or Scott Van Pelt & Stanford Steve reminding us about its existence form the 1,765th time doesn’t actually sell the product.
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[@singthelongswansong]

One thing that stood out…. We need more themed restaurant again. Any sort of novelty will do

[@niccage6375]

Great, disney sponsered gamblimg.

[@DuckOfRubber]

I went to the one in New York in the early 2000s. So I guess it really was a once in a lifetime experience, though not particularly memorable other than (or maybe because) the fact that they never even ID’d me despite me not only being underage but looking younger than I am. (I STILL get ID’d sometimes today when I go out, but that day in New York none of the bartenders questioned the 18 year old who looked about 15)

[@SweatPantsJoeEATS]

I found an umbrella that someone left behind at the ESPN Zone next to the Staples Center that I still use to this day.

[@brosciencegutfeelings7058]

We went to the one at Inner Harbor in Baltimore a bunch. It was fun while it lasted…

[@ftwsam2246]

FanDuel, Bet MGM, Underdog Fantasy, and Prize picks, and even Sorare gives you free chips for signing up. And I don't even gamble, idk what type of promotion ESPN bet is doing 😂.

[@NapTownKid410]

I was at the opening of the one in Baltimore, lots of fun.

[@willy11381]

I lost trust in the espn brand when I bought Baseball Tonight on the snes when it first came out.

[@Shanesac]

Was that the hard rock at the old downtown plaza?

[@thetouchback]

Good spot! Before Hard Rock, it was America Live!

[@Shanesac]

@@thetouchback didn’t know that.

[@ryananderson5202]

This guy has ADHD... he is all over the place. are we talking about a restaurant or gambling or a reskin video game.....