1-2 Knockout Presents the "If at First You Don't Succeed..." Award: ESPN Ultimate Remote

For the better part of the decade, ESPN - an otherwise shining subsidiary of Disney - has been trying to figure out how to expand their content delivery platform (reach) beyond the traditional TV, radio, and internet channels.  One such attempt was ESPN Mobile, a MVNO service-provider platform intended to carry the ESPN content machine straight to the user on a whenever/wherever basis.  Unfortunately for the good folks up in Bristol, the best laid plans of mice & men oft' go awry, and ESPN mobile (in its original incarnation) died a relateively quick death after it failed to gain any measurable traction in the marketplace. 

Well, ESPN does not take failure lightly, and, in the face of seemingly insurmountable adversity, has returned to the consumer electronics market with their latest, greatest sure-fire hit: The ESPN ULTIMATE REMOTE!

It slices! It Dices! It..."eradicates coffee table clutter through a single remote control device.  Monday-morning quarterbacks and armchair jocks will have one-touch wireless access to their favorite Gamecasts, ESPN.com fantasy leagues, news, stats, scores and information in the palm of their hand!!!!!!"

I'm not from Connecticut, and I don't know how things work up there, but where I come from, we have things like laptops, blackberries, and normal universal remotes - or just a pile of individual remotes that despite being annoying and duplicative - get the job done just fine.

In parlance of product development, this is a prime example of what we call a technology- or product-push strategy (strangely reminiscent of ESPN Mobile, no?), which historically has only worked well with high-tech products for which their functionality/performance/etc was unmatched by competing/existing products (or services).  Rolled-out years before any major studios pledged support for the standard, BlueRay is a prime example of this strategy.  Few products come to mind when you think of a product that didn't represent a leap forward technologically (i.e. performance, features, etc) that was brought to market in this manner.

This device does not incorporate any cutting-edge technology, nor does it perform significantly better than existing offerings to compell consumers to make the switch from competing products or combinations thereof.  What is the competitive advantage besides the ESPN branding?  Great, you can "surf" the interwebs on your universal remote, whoohoo!  Because I couldn't switch to ESPN News (or any other ESPN channel), get the scores on my laptop (which is on my lap), cellphone, etc, etc.  At best, the Ultimate Remote is a jack of all trades, master of none, and is a stunning example of a product that should have never been made in the first place.  I'm calling my shot right now, the Ultimate Remote will meet with the same fate as ESPN Mobile, and, may very well get pulled from the market in even less time (>1year) than its older brethren.

Comments

[Lee D]

Personally, I despise poorly designed remote controls more than you can imagine.

It gratifies me to see potential end-users scorn it, which means that it's not just me being a technosnob.

[Anal_yst]

@ Lee D

This thing is like a parody of itself, honestly I can't believe this POS made it all the way to market, its just mind-boggling.

Over under on sales before this thing gets yanked, I'm setting it at 7,500, who wants some action?

[Lee D]

Net after RMA's from the distribution channels in six months time, I'll take under. Waaay under.

[Anal_yst]

haha I wish they broke out costs for this thing...considering its reportedly being sold for like $300, maybe that 7,500 units number was a little high

[1-2]

Is it wrong that I kind of like it?

[Anal_yst]

@ 1-2

I hear The Sharper Image has some stuff you might be interested in

[1-2]

Yea, well i just bought two Chumbys...what can i say...youve seen my apt...i love gadgetry!

[1-2]

Yea, well i just bought two Chumbys...what can i say...youve seen my apt...i love gadgetry!