EA+ coming July 1
- Updated: June 1, 2025
With big goals and and even bigger hopes in mind, East Alabama Sports Today set to adopt a hybrid subscription model.
By Joe Medley
East Alabama Sports Today
East Alabama Sports Today (EASportsToday.com) has built a brand as a trusted information source for area sports over 11 years, and we want to be more. We want to be even better.
Beginning July 1, the site will go to a hybrid EA+ subscription model, with monthly ($3.95) and full-year ($29.95) subscription options.
There are also a limited number of lifetime ($149.95) subscriptions available.
Visit https://www.easportstoday.com/membership-levels/ to subscribe.
We would not ask our readers to do something we’re not willing to do, so we’ve attached a screenshot of Editor & Chief Joe Medley’s purchase of a year’s subscription.
We want the site to be 51/49 in favor of free content. We still want East Alabama Sports Today (EASportsToday.com) to be your source for immediate and accessible sports information while creating value subscribers.
How will that work?
You’ll still be able to get the basics free … scores, golf stats, useful regular info features like “This week’s schedule” for high school events, schedules/results, etc.
Any byline item will come with a few free paragraphs that will provide the basics.
Content beyond that — like photo galleries, videos, quotes and other reporting that goes deeper than the basics — will be EA+. Feature stories, columns and special items would be EA+, and we’re looking to grow our menu that way.
“We’re excited about our plans to expand coverage and bring cutting-edge innovation to high school sports at easportstoday.com,” said Kenny Wright, CEO of Wright Media, LLC/Hiremaster. “To deliver the in-depth, premium content our community deserves, we need community support through our new EA+ subscription. By joining EA+, you’ll unlock exclusive, detailed coverage that celebrates our local athletes and teams like never before.
“Together, we can elevate high school sports and build a stronger, more connected community!”
We know you’re probably asking, why go to a hybrid subscription model?
East Alabama Sports Today (EASportsToday.com) is an enterprise under its parent company, Wright Media, LLC/Hiremaster. Kenny Wright and former Editor & Chief Al Muskewitz established the site as a giveback to the community, and strong traffic numbers indicate that the site has grown into a popular front porch for the company.
The company has invested more than $500,000 into supporting the site through the nearly 11 years since the site’s founding.
However, sports coverage is not Wright Media, LLC/Hiremaster’s main thing. The main thing involves the freight industry. Like all sectors, the freight industry is subject to market forces and business cycles.
The goal in adopting the EA+ hybrid subscription model for East Alabama Sports Today (EASportsToday.com) is that the site can become financially self-sufficient for the first time in its history.
The hope is much greater than the goal. The hope is that the site can grow and evolve, with more staff and capability.
Folks might not know it, considering how much content the site produces, but our editor, the lone full-time staffer, produces nearly all of that content. Muskewitz burned lots of midnight oil from summer of 2014 into January of 2023, and Medley has regularly worked into the wee smalls since January of 2023. As of this writing, Muskewitz and Medley combined to produce nearly all 8,229 posts to the site’s publishing dashboard … an average of just more than two items per day.
Lots of legwork goes into gathering material for those posts.
Imagine what another writer could do for a site that reflects such work ethic. Imagine what investments in technology could do to grow the content menu.
Thank you for your robust support through the years in the way of page visits and link clicks, another life blood for our business model. Thank you in advance to those who will also support us through subscriptions.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login