Major Magazine Will Cease Mailing if PRC Proposal Happens

March 20, 2018

ESPN The Magazine promised it will cease mailing all of its 2,000,000 magazines if the PRC program becomes reality. ESPN is a top-30 magazine, about the size of the nonprofit magazine, Guideposts. Hearing that it will leave the mail completely is not a good sign for the Postal Regulatory Commissioners’ plan to throw money at the USPS.

Dennis Farley, ESPN’s Distribution Director and a longtime member of the Mailers Technical Advisory Committee, filed the letter below. Dennis is the leading advocate for “the anchors in the mailbox.” He recently told us that he considers nonprofits to be another irreplaceable anchor in the mailbox.

Without the anchors, the mailbox will sink. USPS already is struggling with a trend in which households do not even check their boxes every day. The Postal Service’s expensive digital initiative called Informed Delivery is meant to restore and secure interest in the mailbox.

But let’s be clear. When it comes to the mailbox, as with all information delivery mechanisms, content is king. To remain relevant, the USPS needs to focus on retaining, encouraging and growing rich, diverse content. And it must be beyond commercial advertising and packages.

March 1, 2018

Commissioner Robert Taub, Chairman

Commissioner Tony Hammond, Vice Chairman

Commissioner Nanci Langley

Commissioner Mark Acton

Postal Regulatory Commission

901 New York Avenue, NW, Suite 200

Washington, DC 20268

RE: Docket No. RM2017-3

ESPN The Magazine is a Periodical that celebrates our 20th anniversary this year. We have 2,000,000 paid subscribers. We are proudly one of the USPS “anchors in the mailbox”. People look forward to receiving ESPN in their mailboxes every issue.

ESPN considers The Magazine as one of the many “screens” we use to deliver ESPN content. The content is printed on paper and delivered right to the consumer at their homes via the USPS. ESPN The Magazine is the original direct-to-consumer product.

We are 83% carrier-route, over 99.99% barcoded, drop ship to over 175 SCF and FSS locations, is 100% palletized- no mail sacks- a very efficient product for the USPS. We also mail many First Class invoices; Priority Mail subscription Premiums; Market Mail renewal notices and new subscriber Postal Regulatory Commission Submitted 3/9/2018 11:18:45 AM Filing ID: 104218 Accepted 3/9/2018 solicitations; Business Reply Mail cards and receive many First Class letters from readers.

We partner with the USPS on any and all projects that can help the USPS. ESPN is the only Periodical participating in Informed Delivery and we are proud to support our partner’s programs.

If the PRC proposes to increase our postage rates 40% over the next 5 years then ESPN will not produce a paper Periodical mailed through the USPS.

The content will be delivered via the many other means we now use to deliver our content. Please keep the anchor in the mailbox. Please keep ESPN The Magazine alive.

Sincerely,

Dennis Farley

Distribution Director

ESPN The Magazine

77 West 66th St

New York, NY 10023