The Athletic hits 500,000 subscribers

[justafan22]

I renewed and will keep renewing. The amount and types of spectacular articles never stops. It’s just great reading all around. I love the fact that there isn’t limits on articles due to space in papers. The article about how the recently fired Wild GM drove the team into the ground is some of the best writing I’ve ever read.

The downfall of Paul Fenton: Inside the GM's turbulent 14...



Mirtle lost his way a long time ago. I don’t blame you. He’s not the good reporter he once was.

If you listened to his appearance on the Steve Dangle podcast, holy hell is he smarmy.

He actively bragged about not being able to confirm depth signings since it was future content for him.

 

[Jozay]

I wish they would let people pay for an individual article if they want to, instead of having to subscribe.

I see some articles that look interesting and would love to read, but im not going to subscribe just for those handful of articles that look good. I downloaded the app to get 3 free articles a month, I wouldnt say the content is good enough to subscribe for. I will see the occasional article thats great and worth paying for to me, but I just dont get that type of article enough.

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

Things I learned from the Athletic.

Katie Strang is f***ing amazing. Tremendous writer.

A lot of these writers either become douches, or are douches.

 

[LadyStanley]

I wish they would let people pay for an individual article if they want to, instead of having to subscribe.

I see some articles that look interesting and would love to read, but im not going to subscribe just for those handful of articles that look good. I downloaded the app to get 3 free articles a month, I wouldnt say the content is good enough to subscribe for. I will see the occasional article thats great and worth paying for to me, but I just dont get that type of article enough.

If you download the app, you can read three articles/month for free.

 

[SJSharksfan39]

I like the Athletic, but I hate the holier than thou mentality of that site. It's the "Look at us, we're special" attitude that comes across some of those articles. I don't know if I can get a discount deal if I renew, but I'm not sure if it's worth the full price for the year. Also, I wish they would allow their podcasts to go onto normal podcasting apps like Pocketcasts or Overcast. I like my podcasts in one place.

 

[LadyStanley]

Also, I wish they would allow their podcasts to go onto normal podcasting apps like Pocketcasts or Overcast. I like my podcasts in one place.

I've had no issues with the one I want.

YMMV?

 

[SJSharksfan39]

I've had no issues with the one I want.

YMMV?

You are able to put The Athletic podcasts on another podcasting app and not on the Athletic. Can you tell me how because when I tried, it wouldn't let me.

 

[Ernie]

I like the Athletic, but I hate the holier than thou mentality of that site. It's the "Look at us, we're special" attitude that comes across some of those articles. I don't know if I can get a discount deal if I renew, but I'm not sure if it's worth the full price for the year. Also, I wish they would allow their podcasts to go onto normal podcasting apps like Pocketcasts or Overcast. I like my podcasts in one place.

Yup and that attitude comes from Mirtle from the most part. He used to be an interesting read before his ego got out of control. At this point he's about as bad of a Leafs homer as it gets.

 

[SJSharksfan39]

Not everyone who signs up is going to renew, particularly those who signed up with one of their discounted deals but then is going to have to pay full freight in year 2. So that could account for a lot of the discrepancy.

I do agree that they have optimistic forecasts but perhaps they are planning some serious discounts for the remainder of the year as well as continuing to invest in content. With that amount of funding backing them, no reason not to go aggressive with their attempts to build their subscriber base. They've raised $60m in the last 10 months.

I've been trying to look into this if they had any discounts for renewals. A lot of the people who signed up, I bet, did so because they got a half off promotion or something. I'm going to be ending my subscription in September and I don't want to pay the full 60 for this, not when I can get various podcasts and articles around on other sites. I will miss the nice Bay Area coverage though, as well as the sports media Bay Area coverage that I do enjoy reading.

 

[Ernie]

I've been trying to look into this if they had any discounts for renewals. A lot of the people who signed up, I bet, did so because they got a half off promotion or something. I'm going to be ending my subscription in September and I don't want to pay the full 60 for this, not when I can get various podcasts and articles around on other sites. I will miss the nice Bay Area coverage though, as well as the sports media Bay Area coverage that I do enjoy reading.

Just cancel your subscription right now, then jump on one of their deals and sign up again when it expires (your current subscription will continue). That's what I did. Though part of it was because I was busy doing other things and let it lapse for a bit. Signed up again because I was following the NBA playoffs.

Also if you can use another credit card and email, refer yourself and get a $25 Amazon gift card. That makes the subscription almost free. LOL.

NHL coverage isn't that good, very Leafs focussed because of Mirtle who appears to have a hard on for Dubas.

Want an example? Here's Mirtle's latest headline:
NHL Contraction Draft: In a 12-team league, the Maple Leafs become a super team

 

[David Dennison]

I've been trying to look into this if they had any discounts for renewals. A lot of the people who signed up, I bet, did so because they got a half off promotion or something. I'm going to be ending my subscription in September and I don't want to pay the full 60 for this, not when I can get various podcasts and articles around on other sites. I will miss the nice Bay Area coverage though, as well as the sports media Bay Area coverage that I do enjoy reading.

Yeah like a lot of online media companies, they are relying on auto-renews. I'm in the same boat, recently cancelled (they did make it easy to cancel, not a call us between 9-5 M-F so we can keep you on the phone for 30 minutes), but might jump back at $30-40 a year.

But for $60, you can get ESPN+ for a year, which has both live events and articles. And if I am focused on the local content, I would rather support a local newspaper with a sub than the Athletic. The main reason I didn't renew was because the local content was pretty much the same stuff that I could get for free from local blogs/newspaper/TV/radio reporters.

 

[David Dennison]

A market specific snippet. $$$ article.

@~$65 per subscriber they are grossing around a milli in St. Louis. I think the market has two full time beat writers and an additional Cardinals writer. But at 500k subscribers in 47 markets (10.6k/market), it would put STL as a bigger than average market.

 

[LadyStanley]

A look at the San Francisco/San Jose/Oakland regional growth for the Athletic. Paywall (but looks to be unlocked article)

Here we are, two years later, and all expectations have been surpassed. From where we began, it is objectively impressive how far we’ve come. We went from myself and Kawakami to a staff of 15 full-timers plus two regular contributors, and a reputation for providing the best sports coverage in the Bay Area.

No specific subscriber #s given

 

[MBH]

I'm unsubbing.
It's gone to shit quick.
Formulaic, cookie cutter content.
Even the long-form journalism feels formulaic.

 

[David Dennison]

500k to 600k in 1-2 months? Increasing 100k subscribers during the sports deadzone of July-August...I am skeptical. Soccer coverage is new, but otherwise no new markets driving an increase in subscriptions.

 

[superdeluxe]

I'd never pay for it, I can find the same content for free online

You mean pirated?

 

[Bookie21]

You mean pirated?

No, Twitter, Facebook, etc. All the up to date information I need for NFL NHL, College football is there

 

[LadyStanley]

No, Twitter, Facebook, etc. All the up to date information I need for NFL NHL, College football is there

But probably not the in depth Q&A with movers and shakers. Nor all the details in some articles.

I've seen a few sites quite sections from articles, but never the whole.

 

[Deleted member 93465]

500k to 600k in 1-2 months? Increasing 100k subscribers during the sports deadzone of July-August...I am skeptical. Soccer coverage is new, but otherwise no new markets driving an increase in subscriptions.

Whether it’s true or not, didnt you just answer your question? The big push into UK could have yielded those subscribers. They have a 50%-off offer for the first year. They have hoovered up many of soccer’s big UK writers. The so-called ‘deadzone’ doesnt exist in soccer. Seems plausible.

 

[StreetHawk]

But probably not the in depth Q&A with movers and shakers. Nor all the details in some articles.

I've seen a few sites quite sections from articles, but never the whole.

To each their own. Some enjoy the deeper dive into stories, otherwise like to get enough info to know what’s going on but for them sports is just a fun hobby to follow and that extra 10-15% of extra coverage isn’t something they want to pay for.

 

[Chaels Arms]

I think it's great. Being a hockey fan in NYC it is not as easy as you might think to find hockey coverage in one spot. It's not on ESPN, it's not on the local news networks and it's not on the local radio networks. When you do get the rare reporter who cares about hockey (Linda Kohn, Boomer Esiason), they usually just get made fun of. And those two aren't even really hockey reporters. My friends laugh at me but one of the things I love most visiting Canada is turning on the radio and instantly hearing hockey talk or turning on the TV and seeing hockey coverage. I'll renew my subscription. I like being able to open one app and see tons of hockey articles in one space covering all different teams. The article Russo wrote regarding Fenton was one of the best examples of good hockey coverage I've ever read.

 

[b1e9a8r5s]

I got the Athletic a few months ago at a big discount. I like the site an all, and it's nice to not have to deal with ads but I can't see myself re-upping at the regular rate. I appreciate what they are trying to do, but I wonder if it's a sustainable business model.

 

[AdmiralsFan24]

Somebody keep this thread towards the top of the page so I'm reminded to cancel my subscription in a couple weeks.

 

[Fenway]

I look at 'The Athletic" as the price of a couple of beers a month.

In return, I get coverage from every NHL city and with local papers all going to paywalls it becomes a prudent buy. The fact that it also covers every other main sport in North America makes its gravy.

 

[LeftWingLocked]

I have a subscription and I like it but some of the writers on Twitter spend the whole day advertising their site which makes me want to cancel it.