You Paid for a Business Magazine. Would You Pay for Sports News, Too?

Boudway focuses on Athletic which has more than half a million subscribers and whether they could turn them into a profit. The Athletic was just another tech-bro startup out to wreck livelihoods in the name of disruption. The Athletic--ad-free, online-only--is a test of digital journalism's sub...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Bloomberg businessweek (Online) 2019-08 (4627), p.46
Main Author: Boudway, Ira
Format: Magazinearticle
Language:English
Subjects:
Electronic periodicals
Profitability
Sports
Startups
Subscriptions
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Boudway focuses on Athletic which has more than half a million subscribers and whether they could turn them into a profit. The Athletic was just another tech-bro startup out to wreck livelihoods in the name of disruption. The Athletic--ad-free, online-only--is a test of digital journalism's subscription model. Subscriptions cost $10 per month or $60 per year, though many start at lower promotional rates. Average annual revenue per subscriber is $64, according to the company. Almost every one of the 1,200 stories the site publishes in an average week is behind the paywall. The question is whether the Athletic can make money. It has yet to turn a profit. Venture capital investors have poured more than $90 million into the site to date; in the most recent fundraising round, a $22 million investment the Founders Fund led in May, the company was valued at about $500 million, says a source familiar with the offering.
ISSN:0007-7135
2162-657X