Yesterday, we introduced you to ESPN Radio's wildly unpopular new iPhone app. People who had already paid $2.99 for the app over the last two-and-a-half years are being asked to pay an extra $4.99 for a "new app"/crypto-update in order to keep listening to the feeds they already subscribe to.


The app has 1,600 reviews in the iTunes store—"total Rip-Off," "Horrible user experience," "Don't upgrade"—and the lowest possible customer rating: one star.


Since our post went up, we've heard from other cranky ESPN Radio customers. A few more things learned: There definitely will be no refunds; if you seem really upset, you'll get an offer of a six-month sub to ESPN Insider or maybe 20 percent off at the ESPN Shop; and Apple asks that you direct your complaints to ESPN, which asks that you direct your complaints to Apple.

J.N. Gallagher writes:

The ESPN spokesperson is lying about the "important point to make clear." If it's a completely new app, then why did the Apple app store automatically upgrade my old app to the new one? When Barnes and Noble created a new Nook app, the company sent out an email to inform users they needed to download the new app from the store, as an upgrade wouldn't give you the new app. I didn't expect my $2.99 to last forever, but there's no way I'm paying an additional $4.99 so soon after making my original purchase. I've already paid once to listen to their advertising-supported content, which is available for free on my PC and laptop. When I complained to ESPN, I received a reply from someone I mistakenly assumed was a real person, as I've seen the exact reply I received elsewhere on the Internet. When I argued the points raised by the representative, I received a second reply offering me a free, six-month subscription to ESPN Insider. I have no interest in ESPN Insider, and I have no interest in figuring out whether I can use that to listen to ESPN radio on the app. I'm not interested in jumping through hoops for ESPN. I don't subscribe to the view that the customer is always right, and maybe this will pay off for ESPN in the long run when all of the old customers have stopped complaining and gone away. I can tell you that I rarely complain to businesses, and I've never felt the need to write to Deadspin until now.

Jon Anthony Arena:

When I found out I couldn't use the app anymore without paying, I contacted Apple and asked for a refund. They said I should contact ESPN customer service, and they gave me a link to their web form. I filled out the ESPN web form, asking for a refund, and ESPN responded with: Hello, Thank you for contacting us. We appreciate your feedback and understand your concern. If you have experienced issues with the ESPN Radio application on the iPhone and would like to report a problem or request a refund, please use the process below to ensure the fastest resolution. 1. Go to the iTunes store at: http://www.apple.com/support/itunes/ 2. In the upper right hand corner click on your username and log in. 3. Once you are viewing your account info page, click on "Purchase History" from the footer of the page. 4. On the purchase history page, click on the "Report a Problem" button at the bottom. 5. The recent purchase list will load. Click the "report a problem" link/button that appears next to the Fantasy Baseball 2012 application. Enter information on the following pages and submit your request. So I wrote them back and told them that Apple referred me to their web form, and I'd like a refund. To which they responded: Hello, We thank you for your continued feedback and concerns. Unfortunately, we are unable to issue refunds for the ESPN Radio application. ESPN does value our fans and we want to offer you a FREE, no obligation, 6-month subscription to ESPN Insider ($20 value) for you or a friend to enjoy. We'll need to e-mail the activation code to you, or anyone of your choosing, so please confirm where to send it and allow up to three days for the code to arrive. Once you receive the code, it can be redeemed anytime before 9/1/2012. For live assistance with this or any other issue, please call Customer Care at 1-888-549-3776 (ESPN) between 8:00 a.m. and 1:00 a.m. EST. Did you see that? A $20 value!!!!!!! So, yeah. I guess you could say I really came out ahead in this money grab.

No interest in ESPN Insider? Perhaps you'd like a 20 percent discount from the ESPN Shop?

From: ESPN Customer Care

Date: May 22, 2012 7:06:40 PM EDT To: Louis Padavano

Subject: Re: Feedback - Radio iPhone Complaint Hello, Thank you for your reply. As an alternative, we can offer you 20% off an ESPN Shop purchase. We'll need to e-mail the discount code to you, so please confirm where to send it and allow up to three days for the code to arrive. For live assistance with this or any other issue, please call Customer Care at 1-888-549-3776 (ESPN) between 8:00 a.m. and 1:00 a.m. EST.

Regards, Candice

And Joseph D'Agostino: