My $0.02
I certainly have no inside information, but I wonder if the "spend some 1-on-1 time with the magic pro of your choice" that is offered elsewhere was something along the lines of what the academy was going to be? And now that such is being offered elsewhere, I wonder if Dan and Dave spent some time rethinking, revising, retooling revamping, or otherwise bolstering and improving it to make it more worthy of the D&D brand in comparison and contrast to those others. Of course, it could be something else completely.
But we do know that another big D&D splash is right around the corner. Earlier this month they did say that they "just tripled the speed and capacity of our server for an exciting new release this month. More details to follow." Somehow I don't think they did that because of new t-shirts, card clips, or boxes containing a random assortment of old playing cards (not to take anything away from any of those by any means - the "worst" thing they offer is still of far higher quality and desirability than what's on most other magic sites.)
