Athletic Media

Market position

Positioned as a subscription challenger to local newspaper sports sections and to national ad-supported outlets such as ESPN and Sports Illustrated. It was an unusual venture-backed success in sports media, a category historically avoided by venture investors, though it was reportedly unprofitable throughout its independent existence and did not project profitability until 2023.

Ad-free, subscription-only publication built around exclusive beat and national writers, long-form journalism and in-depth analysis for fans of specific teams, in contrast with free, ad-supported sports coverage.

Go-to-market

Growth was driven by launching city-by-city with recognizable local beat writers and columnists hired from newspapers and national networks, supplemented by national reporters and podcasts; critics attributed part of subscriber growth to heavy Facebook advertising spending and discounted subscription pricing.

Dedicated sports fans in North America and the United Kingdom who follow specific professional and college teams and are willing to pay for reporting, analysis, podcasts and newsletters.

Geography

Originally headquartered at 600 California St in San Francisco, California, with an East Coast base at The New York Times Building at 620 Eighth Avenue in New York and UK operations integrated with the New York Times' London bureau. Coverage spans 47 North American cities and regions across the United States and Canada, the United Kingdom and continental Europe, with expanding coverage in regions such as Australia, supported by a distributed network of remote journalists.

History

Launched in Chicago in January 2016 with founding editor Jon Greenberg, the site added Toronto in October 2016, Cleveland in March 2017, Detroit in June 2017 and the San Francisco Bay Area in August 2017, alongside national writers in baseball, college basketball and college football. Expansion continued through 2017 and 2018 into Philadelphia, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Canada, New York, Dallas, Cincinnati, Denver, Boston, Buffalo, Atlanta, Baltimore, Wisconsin, Washington D.C., Carolina, Nashville, Indiana, Miami, New Orleans and others, reaching all NHL and NFL markets by September 2018 and all NBA markets with Memphis as the 47th market in October 2018. Soccer coverage began in May 2018 and fantasy sports in August 2018. The company cut about 8% of staff in 2020, retained LionTree in September 2021 to run a sale process, and was acquired by The New York Times Company in January 2022. In June 2023 it laid off roughly 4% of newsroom staff and reassigned 20 team reporters to regional or general assignment beats; in July 2023 it became the Times' sports department.

Risks & controversies

The company was unprofitable throughout its independent existence and sought a buyer after being unable to raise additional capital at an acceptable valuation; a floated $750 million valuation was deemed too high by potential acquirers including Axios and The New York Times before the eventual $550 million sale. A 2017 comment by co-founder Alex Mather about waiting out and draining talent from local newspapers drew sustained criticism, and the company faced persistent skepticism over the scale of its venture funding, its reliance on paid marketing and discounting, and its effect on already-struggling local outlets. Layoffs affected about 8% of staff in 2020 and about 4% of newsroom staff in June 2023, when 20 team reporters were moved off dedicated team beats.