The Athletic

What The Athletic does

The Athletic is a subscription-based digital sports media company that publishes original journalism, live coverage, podcasts, newsletters, and interactive sports content for sports enthusiasts across North America and international markets. Founded in 2015 and acquired by The New York Times Company for $550 million in 2022, it operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary and is distributed via nytimes.com/athletic and native iOS and Android applications, with U.S. and International (UK) editions. The editorial footprint spans NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, WNBA, college sports, Premier League, Champions League, MLS, NWSL, Formula 1, tennis, golf, Olympics, and emerging verticals such as women's sports and motorsports.

The platform's product surface extends well beyond articles. Add-on modules include Fantasy Baseball, Football, Basketball, and Hockey; Pick'em prediction contests that compete user picks against writers and a proprietary algorithm; the daily Connections: Sports Edition and Soccer Edition puzzles; and more than a dozen email newsletters such as The Pulse, The Bounce, The Windup, No Offseason, Until Saturday, Prime Tire, and The Athletic FC. Embedded commerce integrations with BetMGM (odds), StubHub (tickets), eBay (collectibles), and Fubo (streaming) point to a strategy of turning reading sessions into commerce actions.

The Athletic makes money almost entirely through direct-to-consumer subscription revenue. New users receive a 7-day free trial and are then billed $2 every four weeks for the first year (introductory rate), stepping up to $8 every four weeks thereafter. The customer base sits in the low-millions, and the company employs 501-1,000 staff. Distribution is self-serve product-led growth via web and mobile, with cross-promotional leverage from the NYT subscriber base and infrastructure.

Name

The Athletic

Legal name

The Athletic Media Company

Website

https://theathletic.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

The Athletic is a subscription-based digital sports media platform serving sports enthusiasts with original journalism, podcasts, newsletters, fantasy tools, and prediction contests across professional and collegiate leagues worldwide, operating as a wholly-owned subsidiary of The New York Times Company.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Sports Media

NAICS

Spectator Sports (71121)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Sports Highlights, Clips & VOD Libraries (MPAKAOAF)

Keywords

• Sports journalism subscriptions
• Digital sports media
• Fantasy sports platforms
• Sports news podcasts
• Daily sports newsletters

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Subscription Revenue: The Athletic generates revenue primarily through digital subscriptions. The subscription model offers a 7-day free trial, then converts to paid subscriptions at $2/month for the first year (introductory rate), then $8/month thereafter. This is the primary revenue stream for the company.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Athletic is a direct-to-consumer subscription platform that publishes original, ad-free sports journalism, live coverage, analysis, podcasts, newsletters, and interactive features across all major U.S. professional leagues (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, WNBA, MLS, NWSL), college sports, international soccer (Premier League, Champions League), tennis, golf, Formula 1, and global events including the FIFA World Cup. The offering is bundled with engagement products such as fantasy sports games, daily puzzle games, prediction contests (Pick'em), and commerce integrations for tickets, betting odds, collectibles, and live streaming.

Product overview

The Athletic is a subscription-based digital sports media platform offering original sports journalism, live coverage, and interactive features across professional and collegiate sports leagues worldwide. The core platform is complemented by a suite of add-on products including fantasy sports games (Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Football, Fantasy Basketball, Fantasy Hockey), daily puzzle games (Connections: Sports Edition, Connections: Soccer Edition), prediction contests (Pick'em), and email newsletters (The Pulse, The Bounce, The Windup, No Offseason, Until Saturday, NFL Newsletter, The Athletic FC). The platform is accessible via native iOS and Android mobile applications, and integrates sports betting odds (BetMGM), event tickets (StubHub), collectibles marketplace (eBay), and live streaming (Fubo) to provide a comprehensive sports media and commerce experience. The Athletic is a subsidiary of The New York Times Company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Athletic: Subscription-based sports journalism platform covering multiple sports including NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, soccer, tennis, golf, and college sports
• The Athletic FC
• Connections: Sports Edition
• The Pulse Newsletter
• The Bounce
• The Windup
• No Offseason
• Until Saturday
• Prime Tire
• Full Time

Products and services

• The Athletic Core Subscription Platform A direct-to-consumer subscription product providing original, ad-free sports journalism, live coverage, analysis, podcasts, and newsletters across all major professional and college sports leagues worldwide. Includes a 7-day free trial, then $2 every four weeks for the first year and $8 every four weeks thereafter.
• Fantasy Baseball Fantasy baseball platform enabling users to create teams, compete, and track player statistics throughout the MLB season. Available to subscribers of The Athletic.
• Fantasy Football Fantasy football platform for NFL coverage allowing users to manage fantasy teams, access projections, and track player performance. Available to subscribers of The Athletic.
• Fantasy Basketball Fantasy basketball platform for NBA coverage enabling users to build and manage fantasy teams. Available to subscribers of The Athletic.
• Fantasy Hockey Fantasy hockey platform for NHL coverage allowing users to create and manage fantasy hockey teams. Available to subscribers of The Athletic.
• Connections: Sports Edition A daily word puzzle game where players group sports-related terms into four categories based on common themes, published in partnership with The New York Times. Available to subscribers of The Athletic.
• Connections: Soccer Edition A soccer-themed version of the Connections word puzzle game featuring soccer-related vocabulary and terminology. Available to subscribers of The Athletic.
• Pick'em Prediction Contest Sports prediction contest platform where users compete against The Athletic's writers and an algorithm to predict match outcomes across various sports leagues and tournaments. Available to subscribers of The Athletic.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• SB Nation: Vox Media-owned network of team-specific sports blogs and national verticals covering all major leagues. Comparable as a digital-first, team-focused sports media network with overlapping editorial coverage and fan engagement.
• Sports Illustrated: Historic sports media brand (now under The Arena Group / Minute Media) producing sports journalism, analysis, and multimedia. Comparable as a multi-sport subscription-adjacent sports editorial brand with deep league coverage and a parallel monetization challenge.
• Bleacher Report: Turner/Warner Bros. Discovery-owned digital sports media property targeting younger fans with team-specific content, social distribution, and short-form video. Comparable as a major digital-first sports publisher competing for fan attention and ad/subscription dollars.
• The Ringer: Spotify-owned digital sports and pop-culture media brand built around podcasts, written analysis, and commentary. Directly comparable as a subscription-adjacent digital sports media brand with strong podcast-led engagement.
• Barstool Sports: Penn Entertainment-backed digital sports media brand known for opinionated commentary, podcasts, and personality-driven content. Comparable as a digital sports media company competing for the same fan demographic with a different editorial tone.
• ESPN+ (Disney): Disney's direct-to-consumer sports streaming subscription bundled with ESPN content and rights. Most directly comparable to The Athletic as a paid digital sports subscription product for fans seeking premium coverage and analysis.

Emerging players

• FanSided: Network of 300+ team and sport-specific sites producing fan-driven sports content, owned by Minute Media. Comparable as a multi-sport digital publisher with team-focused coverage, though reliant on ad/affiliate rather than subscription.
• Front Office Sports: Digital media brand focused on the business of sports (deals, leagues, media rights). Comparable as a subscription-oriented sports media brand serving engaged sports business and fandom audiences.

Broad incumbents

• The New York Times (Games / Cooking cross-sell): The Athletic's parent company and bundling partner, which cross-sells The Athletic within its broader subscription bundle alongside Games, Cooking, and Wirecutter. Relevant as both an internal benchmark and the distribution channel determining The Athletic's reach.
• The Sporting News: Established legacy sports media brand producing editorial coverage across leagues. Comparable as a broad sports editorial competitor with historical brand equity but a different digital monetization model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TheAthleticHQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/TheAthletic
• Instagraminstagram.com/TheAthleticHQ

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds9 records

Investors19 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Athletic