As ESPN2 hosted an NFL free agency special amid the most untimely X outage possible, Laura Rutledge implored viewers to subscribe to Adam Schefter’s breaking news alerts on the ESPN app.
“You don’t need to see it on X,” Rutledge said after Schefter broke the news of pass-rusher Haason Reddick’s one-year deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. “It’s on the ESPN app, as well as right here.”
“Haason Reddick going to Tampa Bay. Sign up for those ESPN app alerts. We’re gonna bring ’em right to you with X being down!” – Adam Schefter
“You don’t need to see it on X. It’s on the ESPN app, as well as right here.” – Laura Rutledge #NFL
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing.bsky.social) March 10, 2025 at 12:23 PM
As it turned out, the X outage proved to be the best advertising opportunity possible for the Worldwide Leader and Schefter.
According to the Sports Business Journal’s Austin Karpp, Monday marked a record-breaking day on social media for ESPN’s NFL insider, who saw his most engagements for a single day in his more than 15 years on various platforms, per data from Shareablee. Meanwhile, Schefter now boasts 1.4 million subscribers for his breaking news alerts on the ESPN app, with 40 percent of those users having signed up since the start of the NFL’s legal tampering period on Monday.
While X returned to full functionality roughly an hour after the start of the legal tampering period, the temporary outage undoubtedly provided a boost to Schefter’s Threads and Instagram accounts (unlike other NFL insiders, he’s not on Bluesky). Ultimately, the fact he was able to turn in record-breaking numbers on social media despite X being down for multiple hours on his biggest breaking news day is nothing short of impressive.
As for the ESPN app, the network has been pushing the breaking news alerts from insiders in recent months. And it appears that Monday’s X outage only aided efforts, providing users with a firsthand look at the type of value that having Schefter’s breaking news sent directly to your phone can bring.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.