Track & Field News
Track & Field News is an independently owned specialty publishing company founded in 1948 that delivers monthly magazine coverage, digital results, rankings, archives, and competition tours to track and field enthusiasts, athletes, and coaches across the U.S. and internationally.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1948
- HeadquartersMountain View, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Track & Field News does
Track & Field News is a privately held specialty publishing company founded in 1948 by brothers Bert and Cordner Nelson, operating a monthly magazine plus digital platform that delivers comprehensive coverage of U.S. high school, collegiate, professional, and international track and field athletics. The core product is the Track & Field News Magazine ("The Bible Of The Sport"), supplemented by the eTrack electronic results newsletter, the Track Coach quarterly technique journal, historical archives spanning 75+ years and 1,457+ pages of content, rankings/records/statistics databases, message boards, and a tours division that has taken roughly 22,000 fans to global competitions since 1952. Technology delivery is a web-based digital platform with PDF magazine distribution; no app, API, or proprietary technology stack beyond content management is disclosed.
The business model is direct-to-consumer subscription with four primary tiers — Digital Only ($88/year), Digital Only Premium Archive ($138/year), Print + Digital ($125–$223/year depending on region), and Print + Digital Premium Archive ($175–$273/year) — plus a separate $19.95/year Track Coach subscription and tours revenue from international competition travel packages. Distribution is self-serve via the company website, toll-free phone orders, and USPS print delivery to U.S., Canada, and foreign addresses. Customer segments are consumer personas: track and field enthusiasts, athletes across HS/collegiate/professional levels, and coaches/trainers. The publication transitioned from print to web-based digital in April 2018 and resumed print alongside digital in January 2019, operating in both formats today. The company is independently owned with no disclosed external funding, no parent company, no subsidiaries, and 11–50 employees headquartered in Mountain View, California.
Track & Field News firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Track & Field News
- Legal name
- Track & Field News
- Website
- https://trackandfieldnews.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1948
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Track & Field News is an independently owned specialty publishing company founded in 1948 that delivers monthly magazine coverage, digital results, rankings, archives, and competition tours to track and field enthusiasts, athletes, and coaches across the U.S. and internationally.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Track & Field News industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Sports Journalism & Athletics Publications
- NAICS
- Spectator Sports (71121)
- SIC
- Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Health, Wellness & Fitness Trade Publishing (MPAJAAAL)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Performance Analysis & Video Coaching (HSADAEAG)
Keywords
Where Track & Field News is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Mountain View
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Track & Field News business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Subscription Revenue (Digital): Annual recurring subscriptions for digital-only access, including online articles, archived content, digital issues, and eTrack newsletter. Two tiers: standard digital access and premium archive access.
- Subscription Revenue (Print): Annual recurring subscriptions for physical magazine delivered monthly via USPS, available with or without digital add-ons. Also available as print-only option without online access.
- Tours: Since 1952, T&FN has taken nearly 22,000 track & field fans on unforgettable tours to major competitions around the globe. Tour packages sold as separate revenue stream.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Digital Only Premium Archive |
| Subscription | Annual | Digital Only |
| Subscription | Annual | Print + Digital Premium Archive |
| Subscription | Annual | Print + Digital |
| Subscription | Annual | Print Only |
| Subscription | Annual | Track Coach (Digital Only) |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
Track & Field News product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Track & Field News is a specialty publishing company that produces comprehensive coverage of track and field athletics through a monthly magazine, an electronic results newsletter (eTrack), a quarterly coaching technique journal (Track Coach), and supporting databases of rankings, records, and statistics. The publication is sold directly to consumers via tiered annual subscriptions in print and digital formats, supplemented by a tours division that sells travel packages to major international competitions.
Product overview
Track & Field News operates as a traditional publishing company offering a single core product—the Track & Field News Magazine—supplemented by multiple content delivery mechanisms and subscription tiers. The core magazine, 'The Bible of the Sport Since 1948,' provides comprehensive coverage of track & field athletics across U.S. and international competitions. The product portfolio includes the eTrack electronic results newsletter, Track Coach quarterly technique journal, Tours to major competitions, Message Boards community forum, and Rankings/Records/Stats databases. Subscriptions are available in four tiers: Digital Only ($88/year), Digital Only Premium Archive ($138/year), Print + Digital ($125-$223/year depending on region), and Print + Digital Premium Archive ($175-$273/year). All digital subscriptions include the Track Coach archives. The publication transitioned to web-based digital format in April 2018 while maintaining print production.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Track & Field News Magazine Monthly publication covering U.S. high school, collegiate, and professional track & field action with detailed coverage of the European Circuit, World Championships, and Olympic Games. Available in both print and digital formats.
- eTrack Newsletter Electronic results service providing processed elite-meet results via email. Subscribers receive comprehensive meet results with splits, positions on all-time lists, and consistent formatting not available from original source websites.
- Track Coach
Companies that use Track & Field News
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Track & Field News technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Track & Field News partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Track & Field News competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Runner's World: Monthly running and fitness magazine offering deep coverage of distance running training, gear, and events. Directly comparable as a niche sports publication with subscription model covering a single endurance sport, though with a larger running audience than T&FN's track & field focus.
- LetsRun.com: Track & field news, results, and community forum. Closest direct competitor in digital track & field coverage with active message boards and meet results—the same content categories T&FN covers, delivered free.
- FloTrack: Subscription-based track & field and cross-country streaming and content platform. Directly competes for the same paying track & field fan base, with streaming video that complements T&FN's editorial coverage.
- MileSplit: High school track & field results, rankings, and coverage platform. Directly comparable for the high school segment T&FN covers, with extensive meet-results database and athlete profiles.
- Athletics Weekly: Long-running UK-based track & field publication covering athletics news, results, and analysis. Closest international peer with similar subscription publishing model covering the same sport.
Emerging players
- DyeStat: High school track & field and cross-country news and results site. Comparable niche coverage of the same sport with a digital-first, free-content model competing for T&FN's high school audience.
Broad incumbents
- World Athletics: International governing body for track & field publishing official results, rankings, and records. Overlaps with T&FN's rankings/records/stats products but operates as the sport's governing authority rather than independent media.
- Sports Illustrated: Mainstream US sports magazine that covers track & field during Olympics and major events. Broad incumbent in sports publishing that occasionally competes for the same Olympic-cycle attention T&FN captures year-round.
- ESPN: Largest US sports media platform with significant track & field coverage during major events. Competes for advertising dollars and audience attention, particularly during Diamond League and championship events.
Regional players
- Track & Field Review (Track Review): Smaller independent track & field newsletter/publisher that addresses a portion of the same enthusiast market with training, results, and commentary content.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Track & Field News social profiles
Digital presenceTrack & Field News financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Track & Field News leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
Track & Field News funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Track & Field News M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Track & Field News
What does Track & Field News do?
Track & Field News is a specialty publishing company that produces comprehensive coverage of track and field athletics through a monthly magazine, an electronic results newsletter (eTrack), a quarterly coaching technique journal (Track Coach), and supporting databases of rankings, records, and statistics. The publication is sold directly to consumers via tiered annual subscriptions in print and digital formats, supplemented by a tours division that sells travel packages to major international competitions.
Is Track & Field News a public or private company?
Track & Field News is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was Track & Field News founded?
Track & Field News was founded in 1948. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Track & Field News based?
Track & Field News is headquartered in Mountain View, United States, in the North America region.
How does Track & Field News make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Subscription Revenue (Digital) is the primary driver. The others are subscription Revenue (Print) and tours.
Who are Track & Field News's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Runner's World, LetsRun.com, FloTrack, MileSplit and Athletics Weekly. DyeStat is listed as an emerging player. Broad incumbents are World Athletics, Sports Illustrated and ESPN. Track & Field Review (Track Review) is listed as a regional player.
Does Track & Field News have an API?
No public API is recorded for Track & Field News.
What industry is Track & Field News in?
Track & Field News's product category is Sports Journalism & Athletics Publications. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJAAAL, Health, Wellness & Fitness Trade Publishing, with a secondary code of HSADAEAG, Performance Analysis & Video Coaching. Its NAICS code is 71121 and its SIC code is 2721.