The Athletic sells to the New York Times

[InstaFace]

There's another thread about how The Athletic is coming to Boston, but I think their nationwide platform deserves some love here. For example, here's how they covered last night's Rangers-Yankees game (if you just saw the cities and the score, you might think it was cowboys-giants...):

Solid work by Stefon, that's a good hire by them.

 

[PC Drunken Friar]

Cowboys-Giants? Am I missing something? Or just a typo?

 

[McDrew]

Its a reference to this: http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/cast/bill-hader-15226/character/stefon-15671

 

[InstaFace]

Cowboys-Giants? Am I missing something? Or just a typo?

I was referring to the unusually high-scoring nature of the baseball game, perhaps too obliquely. AMcGhie's reference is the joke about "new york's hottest club", a long-standing SNL trope (and one of their best ones).

 

[jon abbey]

I've been subscribing to the Athletic for a couple of months, I'd cautiously recommend it. The game recaps of the teams I care about generally aren't anything exceptional, but Eno Sarris might make the site worth subscribing to for baseball fans all by himself. Today he has a pretty fascinating in-depth article about 'the key to hitting high-velocity fastballs' as the average FB speed in MLB continues to creep up (around 94 now). One short excerpt:

"There’s no relationship between age and wOBA against 96+ fastballs, at least.

Maybe that’s because of how the eyes age. Your visual acuity seems to stay steady until you’re 40, and then only decline after your baseball career would be over."

https://theathletic.com/365661/2018/05/24/sarris-whats-the-key-to-hitting-high-velocity-fastballs/

 

[DeadlySplitter]

maybe the best piece I've read so far on the site -

https://theathletic.com/381605/2018/06/06/lars-anderson-an-obituary-for-the-baseball-career-of-my-teammate-ryan-kalish/

 

[HoyaSoxa]

maybe the best piece I've read so far on the site -

https://theathletic.com/381605/2018/06/06/lars-anderson-an-obituary-for-the-baseball-career-of-my-teammate-ryan-kalish/

I was coming here to post about this one too. Lars has an incredible second career ahead of him.

 

[riboflav]

I was coming here to post about this one too. Lars has an incredible second career ahead of him.

Aren't these usually ghostwritten? Might very well be him, but I've seen it reported that certain popular athletes' blogs and columns usually are.

 

[joyofsox]

When Lars was in the Red Sox's farm system, I recall a story about him (with Laurila?) that mentioned that he read a ton of books, all the time. Going off to see the Kalish article now, but I'm guessing he wrote it.

There is also this multi-part series: https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/lars-anderson-discovers-japan-part-one/

 

[SydneySox]

He wrote a lot about playing down here too.

 

[Rook05]

This might be he best thing I’ve read on The Athletic.

https://theathletic.com/454771/2018/08/02/jackie-bradley-jr-ranks-the-10-best-catches-of-his-career/

 

[JoePoulson]

Phenomenal article made perfect by JBJ's analysis.

 

[Rook05]

Another fun read on the front page: Ethan Strauss talks the life of an advanced scout. Would love to have seen some comments on Brad but the Pop and Snyder anecdotes are great.

 

[RedOctober3829]

Sources: @BuckinBoston, who has been with the Herald since 1995, is leaving soon to join @TheAthleticBOS.

 

[InstaFace]

They get all NHL GMs to give goalie rankings, then aggregate them along with commentary.

 

[JimD]

Really nice piece here about Raquel Ferreira, the Red Sox 'organizational mom' and her impact on our homegrown core:

https://theathletic.com/604618/2018/10/22/raquel-ferreira-the-red-sox-organizational-mom-helps-players-finish-journey-to-adulthood/

 

[DrBlinky]

The Athletic has been running a 50% off the first year subscription special for the holidays. I've seen the ad in my mobile browser but not directly on the site. Here's the link from the ad.


https://theathletic.com/checkout/?pc=rtrgtest&plan_id=45&campaign_type=google&campaign_id=nonbrandeddisplay&source=googledisplayads&utm_source=google&utm_medium=retargeting&utm_campaign=paywallvisitors&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIuLXu-O2z3wIVz28BCh376QWvEAEYASAAEgJ2EPD_BwE

 

[soxhop411]

50 people from the athletic were at the combine

FIFTY

 

[TFP]

I just want to say I've really been enjoying my Athletic subscription. Multiple times a week I read an article where I think "wow - that was a really cool concept". Today's example is a series of articles asking pro athletes about their biggest nemesis when they were younger who is not a famous athlete.

https://theathletic.com/864865/2019/03/25/childhood-nemesis-long-ago-these-people-bested-a-future-pro-athlete-where-are-they-now/

The local Boston content is very good as well. Jeff Howe's article on Gronk's retirement comes to mind from this week.

https://theathletic.com/886074/2019/03/24/howe-what-ill-always-remember-most-about-gronk/

If anyone is still on the fence I'd recommend taking the plunge.

 

[soxhop411]

The Athletic announced it has 500,000 subscribers and hopes to double that by the end of the year.

However:

Backers including Founders Fund and Comcast Ventures have driven the Athletic’s rapid growth with more than $90 million in funding. The site has yet to show an overall profit but is profitable in all but a few markets, and new cities routinely achieve profitability within a year, Mather said.

 

[Phil Plantier]

I was coming to post the same article. This line struck me:

The site’s average annual revenue per subscriber is roughly $64, Mather said

I call shenanigans. How can that be true?

 

[kenneycb]

$120 for the year if you go month to month and don't have a discount vs. $48 if you go for the full year without discounts. I have no idea how many people are getting discounts but I imagine they try to get people in on an introductory monthly charge/trial and then people forget and get autocharged the $10/month once the introductory rate is done with. Assuming that number to be true, they have to be getting a lot of their revenue off of people subscribing month to month.

 

[nattysez]

I'm curious how their podcasting income is. I like a lot of their podcasts, but I frequently forget to check them since I generally use PocketCasts to access my podcasts. I haven't seen a good solution for making subscription-only podcasts readily accessible.

 

[JohnnyK]

They are officially launching in the UK now and have 50% off their yearly subscription as a promotion: http://theathletic.co.uk/kayjelski50off
even though this is in pounds it is still cheaper than the standard yearly subscription; this allows access to the global content, so you can also read their NFL or MLB stuff.

 

[InstaFace]

Epic "Tom Brady stories" story:

https://theathletic.com/794592/

 

[Patriot_Reign]

This holiday weekend they're offering a 50% discount on an annual subscription for first time subscribers. I might have to sign up. https://theathletic.com/checkout/?plan_id=45&pc=laborday50&source=promo


edit: it's actually 60% off at the website atm

 

[PC Drunken Friar]

The Athletic has acquired Joe Posnanski's blog. Awesome news.

 

[B H Kim]

Keith Law just announced that he’s leaving ESPN to write for the Athletic. He was pretty much the only reason I paid for ESPN Insider/ESPN+, so I can probably cancel that subscription now.

 

[John Marzano Olympic Hero]

With Deadspin dead, I need a new sports site to read and I'm looking at the Athletic. I know that they normally have deals on subscriptions, anyone have a code for xx% off that I can use?

 

[B H Kim]

View: https://twitter.com/keithlaw/status/1214186084596428803


“You can also sign up now for
@TheAthleticMLB
for 40% off by going to http://theathletic.com/welcomekeith ”

 

[Seven Costanza]

Profoundly stupid question, but I'm in a similar boat to JMOH. Signing up with the Keith Law promo code gives us access to ALL Athletic content, correct? You don't have to sub to individual sports/regions, right?

 

[PC Drunken Friar]

Profoundly stupid question, but I'm in a similar boat to JMOH. Signing up with the Keith Law promo code gives us access to ALL Athletic content, correct? You don't have to sub to individual sports/regions, right?

Yes, you can customize what teams you want "pushed" to you but you have access to all articles.

 

[Seven Costanza]

Awesome; many thanks!

 

[PedroKsBambino]

Law's intro piece is interesting, highlighting that he can focus on labor issues at the Athletic (and that he believes the players are underpaid). He does not specifically say that he could not at ESPN, but certainly leaves that impression. So I wonder to what degree that, and perhaps his personal politics/anti-vaxxer commetary, were less comfortable for ESPN than The Athletic. I'm a big Law fan and while I was debating canceling the Athletic I'm now definitely staying.

Does anyone know whether this will impact John Sickels? He posted a mailbag 7 hours ago and retweeted Law's announcement but one wonders...

 

[The Napkin]

If you're going to sign up current members can get a $25 amazon gift card and you still get the 40% off if you use their link. I'm a member. Just saying....

 

[jon abbey]

Does anyone know whether this will impact John Sickels? He posted a mailbag 7 hours ago and retweeted Law's announcement but one wonders...

Dunno about that but as a long-time Sickels follower, he is writing a novel and honestly I think he has been lapped by all of the other prospect analysis these days, I've been disappointed by his Athletic content so far.

 

[Bunt4aTriple]

If you're going to sign up current members can get a $25 amazon gift card and you still get the 40% off if you use their link. I'm a member. Just saying....

Under Subscribe, there's a link that says "Share for $25". Is that what you're doing here, or is there actually an option to pay extra for a shared subscription? I'd like to share one with my old man, but I also don't want to give him my password if it's against the Terms of Service.

 

[The Napkin]

That's correct, that button just gives a link with my/your referral number built in. It's not for a second account at a discount. I'm not sure how the sharing thing works. I mean I'm pretty sure it'd be against the ToS but I'm not sure how much they would care if it's just you and pops as opposed to you sharing with all the fraternity brothers, ya know?

 

[John Marzano Olympic Hero]

Sorry Nap, I already signed up.

 

[The Napkin]

Also, I already got a couple of these so if others want to add in their links PLEASE feel free to do so and I would encourage people to use theirs. I don't want to be "that guy". I'm "that guy" about enough things already.

 

[JimD]

With Deadspin dead, I need a new sports site to read and I'm looking at the Athletic.

You will not regret it - there's some great longform content in addition to the national writers and the local coverage.

One of my recent favorites - a profile of University at Buffalo coach Jim Whitesell

Jim Whitesell was vital in helping the University at Buffalo make the NCAA Tournament three times in four seasons and reach the second round the past two years. Now, he’s the head coach.

Yet Whitesell, one of six sons, might hold the family’s least interesting job.

His oldest brother, John, directed the television shows “Roseanne,” “Cosby,” “Coach,” “Law & Order” and two movies in the “Big Momma’s House” franchise.

Christopher, the second oldest, is a legendary writer of daytime soap operas. Tom is a prominent Los Angeles banking executive. Jim is the fourth. Sean, the fifth son, produced the TV series “House” and “Cold Case” and was an actor, writer and producer on “Oz.”

Baby brother is among Hollywood’s most influential people. Patrick’s firm represents stars such as Denzel Washington, Matt Damon, Jennifer Aniston and Ryan Reynolds. Its portfolio includes UFC.

“Dang, that’s crazy,” said Buffalo center Brock Bertram, a redshirt junior Jim Whitesell recruited four years ago. “I didn’t know any of that. It’s surprising he’s not on a TV show after hearing that.”

Jim Whitesell agrees with the notion that professionally he’s the least of his brothers. His lifetime salary wouldn’t stack up to theirs. He flies commercial. His office is modest, its view offering neither skyscrapers nor Pacific beaches.

Jim, however, isn’t competing with his brothers. Like them, he’s right where he wants to be.

 

[PedroKsBambino]

Dunno about that but as a long-time Sickels follower, he is writing a novel and honestly I think he has been lapped by all of the other prospect analysis these days, I've been disappointed by his Athletic content so far.

Yup...agreed. I almost feel like I know the guy, been buying his stuff for so long. So I care he’s employed! But it has a sense he’s doing it more by remote control at this point.

 

[jon abbey]

Also, I already got a couple of these so if others want to add in their links PLEASE feel free to do so and I would encourage people to use theirs. I don't want to be "that guy". I'm "that guy" about enough things already.

Sure, here's my link, thanks in advance to anyone who uses it. I'm a big big fan of The Athletic especially as pretty much all other sports journalism seems to be withering and dying, support these guys if at all possible and you won't regret it.

https://theathletic.com/checkout?pc=raf40&plan_id=45&shared_by_name=Jon&shared_by=212795&source=referral

 

[johnmd20]

Sure, here's my link, thanks in advance to anyone who uses it. I'm a big big fan of The Athletic especially as pretty much all other sports journalism seems to be withering and dying, support these guys if at all possible and you won't regret it.

https://theathletic.com/checkout?pc=raf40&plan_id=45&shared_by_name=Jon&shared_by=212795&source=referral

I joined under your link. 36 bucks for the year, which is certainly worth it. Thanks.

 

[tmracht]

If you're into Celtics stuff the Jay King/Sam Packard podcast has moments of hilarity. Believe the title is Anything is Poddable!

 

[jon abbey]

I joined under your link. 36 bucks for the year, which is certainly worth it. Thanks.

Thank you!!

 

[CoolPapaBellhorn]

Sure, here's my link, thanks in advance to anyone who uses it. I'm a big big fan of The Athletic especially as pretty much all other sports journalism seems to be withering and dying, support these guys if at all possible and you won't regret it.

https://theathletic.com/checkout?pc=raf40&plan_id=45&shared_by_name=Jon&shared_by=212795&source=referral

Joined. Thanks!

 

[Brand Name]

This is hands down the best purchase I’ve made for sports journalism. The Q&As are fantastic too. Absolutely an awesome purchase for full price, forget the 40% off.

https://theathletic.com/checkout?pc=raf40&plan_id=45&shared_by_name=Jessica&shared_by=1076927&source=referral

 

[simplicio]

Sure, here's my link, thanks in advance to anyone who uses it. I'm a big big fan of The Athletic especially as pretty much all other sports journalism seems to be withering and dying, support these guys if at all possible and you won't regret it.

https://theathletic.com/checkout?pc=raf40&plan_id=45&shared_by_name=Jon&shared_by=212795&source=referral

Awesome, I get to support klaw and Jon at the same time. Subbed.

Who beside Law and Joe Pos should I be following on there? Only care about baseball.

 

[jon abbey]

Awesome, I get to support klaw and Jon at the same time. Subbed.

Who beside Law and Joe Pos should I be following on there? Only care about baseball.

Thank you! Actually I find the feed a bit irritating, as I don't think there's any one place that just lists all of the content and lets you toggle through it. I also mostly care about baseball these days and what I recommend is going into the preferences and clicking every MLB-related thing you can, I wasn't getting nearly all of the MLB stories for a while so I went through and searched on each team, figured out the primary beat person and favorited them. I don't read all of that but at least I can see it all and choose to or not (and I do read most of it, heh).

Some of the general guys off the top of my head besides those two are Eno Sarris, Ken Rosenthal (has been breaking all the big stories lately), Jim Bowden (generally very wrong), old friend Peter Gammons, they don't really have bad writers (Steve Buckley excepted).