# Fox sports website to go all digital, no written content **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [June 27, 2017, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-sports-website-to-go-all-digital-no-written-content/789966 "2017-06-27T02:48:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-sports-website-to-go-all-digital-no-written-content/789966/1 "2017-06-27T02:48:20Z")
This seems like a spectacularly bad idea. While video is certainly important in showing sports highlights, most of the web content doesn’t need to be video. I’d much prefer a written story 95% of the time. Of course, I read sports sites mainly at slow times at work or else on my phone while commuting by train to work. Trades in baseball, analysis of the NBA draft, Qatar World Cup corruption, and Michael Floyd’s DUI trial are just 4 random stories I’m glancing at right now, none of which would benefit from video. Sinking a putt in golf? A great defensive play in baseball? A crazy Formula One finish? Sure, give me the option to click on a video. Thankfully Fox Sports was petty much my least preferred sports website, so this won’t affect me too much. I still hope the experiment fails. > **[FOX Sports ditches online written content for video (welcome, former FOX...](https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/06/26/fox-sports-ditches-online-written-content-for-video-welcome-former-fox-sports-customers/)** > > The times are a-changing for online written content. But this one is driven more by money grabs than shifting audience habits.Yes, plenty of younger folks are consuming online content via video. But plenty of folks from all demographics are still... ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-sports-website-to-go-all-digital-no-written-content/789966/2 "2017-06-27T14:56:35Z")
It’s these kids these days. Can’t be bothered to put a little effort. They want everything spoon fed. Either that, or Fox has realized that the majority of their viewers are too stupid to know how to read? Either way, I’m with you on this rant. Why do I have to spend 5 minutes watching each video when I can skim an article in 10 seconds? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-sports-website-to-go-all-digital-no-written-content/789966/3 "2017-06-27T15:26:46Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Either way, I’m with you on this rant. Why do I have to spend 5 minutes watching each video when I can skim an article in 10 seconds? I’m onboard with this rant for exactly this reason. I can read much faster than than most people can speak intelligibly. Also, I don’t have to rewind to re-read. As an experiment, I timed myself reading the linked article in the OP and reading it out loud in my best newscaster voice. Reading it took about 1 minute. Saying it took about 3 minutes. I’ll take reading for ⅓ the time and all the info, thanks. ---
**Author:** ![borschevsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/97f17d/32.png) [@borschevsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/borschevsky)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-sports-website-to-go-all-digital-no-written-content/789966/4 "2017-06-27T15:39:27Z")
It’s probably an advertising thing. It’s much easier to embed an ad in a video stream than to force the user to view ads around a text article. Anyway, I agree with everybody. Text articles are better for almost all cases, except when the item is just a highlight clip. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-sports-website-to-go-all-digital-no-written-content/789966/5 "2017-06-27T16:41:40Z")
I heard on Colin Cowherd yesterday that Fox Sports cut almost all of its writing staff. I guess that’s why. I agree the format is not attractive, but I never go to their website anyway. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-sports-website-to-go-all-digital-no-written-content/789966/6 "2017-06-27T18:21:57Z")
That’s a weird use of the word “digital” especially since it’s opposite to the way the word is used in the linked article (in itself an odd usage): “_Which means that many of the people who are hired to sell advertisements are focusing more on selling video ads than on selling digital ads._” ---
**Author:** ![magnusblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-sports-website-to-go-all-digital-no-written-content/789966/7 "2017-06-27T22:01:02Z")
I’m with you, except for seeing actual highlights, I always prefer reading a written article to watching a video. Unfortunately it’s just much quicker (and therefore likely cheaper) to put together a quick video of someone talking instead of having them write a full article. Same thing applies to doing a Youtube video instead of writing a long, well thought-out blog post. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-sports-website-to-go-all-digital-no-written-content/789966/8 "2017-06-27T22:24:38Z")
I virtually never click into videos either, even on sites I like. (Unless I can be assured of seeing cute cats/dogs.) I can read a story much faster than it takes to watch a video. And videos seem to take forever to get to the point. But now no one will ever need to learn to read (or write) again! Win-win. Betsy De Vos will be happy. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-sports-website-to-go-all-digital-no-written-content/789966/9 "2017-06-27T22:37:43Z")
Any time I see that a story I click on is just a video, I exit out. And I hate that every site now has an auto-played video accompanying every stinking print story. Humbug, I say! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-sports-website-to-go-all-digital-no-written-content/789966/10 "2017-06-28T01:15:20Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **magnusblitz** : > > Unfortunately it’s just much quicker (and therefore likely cheaper) to put together a quick video of someone talking instead of having them write a full article. Same thing applies to doing a Youtube video instead of writing a long, well thought-out blog post. Really? I find the opposite. If I have to speak something, I’m going to want to write a script first, to keep my thoughts organized, because if I realize at the end that there’s something else I meant to say, it’s easier to edit it in in writing than to say “Oh, by the way” at the end (or, longer yet, editing it into the video). And if I’m going to be creating that script anyway, why not make the script itself the thing I put online? ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-sports-website-to-go-all-digital-no-written-content/789966/11 "2017-06-28T12:36:54Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Any time I see that a story I click on is just a video, I exit out. And I hate that every site now has an auto-played video accompanying every stinking print story. +1.