What Steamboat Pilot & Today does

Steamboat Pilot & Today is a local news publication serving Routt County, Colorado, and the Steamboat Springs community. It provides digital and print news coverage across categories including agriculture, business, crime and public safety, education, environment, government and politics, health, obituaries, real estate and housing, transportation, and sports and outdoors, alongside opinion sections, community event calendars, and special magazines. The publication is owned and operated by Swift Communications, LLC, a private media company that publishes multiple mountain-community newspapers, and is governed under the laws of the State of Nevada. Firmographic records list a founding year of 1885, while the operating history and website copyright indicate the current Swift-operated publication has been running since at least 2005.

The core product is the steamboatpilot.com digital news platform, built on Swift Communications' CMS infrastructure using the proprietary Swift News Theme. It is supplemented by add-on modules including an E-Edition (delivered via the PageSuite platform), a Classifieds marketplace (jobs, rentals, real estate, autos, merchandise, and service directories hosted on cmnm.org), email newsletters with subscription management, and an events calendar ("Happenings"). Distribution is domestic and consumer-facing, spanning the website, digital e-edition, physical newspaper, and integrated classifieds and jobs boards operated jointly with Colorado Mountain News Media.

The business model combines digital advertising (including Google AdSense and other ad networks, plus print and commercial print orders), subscription and e-edition access, and classifieds/marketplace transaction listings. Go-to-market is sales-led with direct reader engagement through newsletters, website, and e-edition platforms. Primary customer segments are Routt County residents seeking local news and local businesses seeking to advertise; no specific subscription or advertising pricing tiers are publicly disclosed, with advertising rates managed via Swift Communications rate cards.

Name

Steamboat Pilot & Today

Legal name

Swift Communications, LLC

Website

https://steamboatpilot.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Steamboat Pilot & Today is a local news publication serving Routt County, Colorado, providing digital and print coverage of community news, government, real estate, and sports, plus classifieds and events. It is owned by Swift Communications, LLC.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Steamboat Springs

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Digital Advertising: The website displays advertisements including Google AdSense and other ad networks. The Terms and Conditions reference advertising general terms and conditions for advertisements, inserts, digital services, and commercial print orders.
2. Subscriptions and E-edition: Newspaper offers e-edition access and newsletter subscriptions. Contact address is provided for subscriptions and account management.
3. Classifieds and Marketplace: Online classifieds marketplace for jobs, rentals, real estate, autos, merchandise, and service directory listings.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Steamboat Pilot & Today is a local community newspaper serving Routt County, Colorado, delivering news across categories including government, politics, business, environment, health, sports, real estate, and obituaries. The publication operates a digital news website (steamboatpilot.com), a print newspaper, an e-edition, email newsletters, a community event calendar, and a classifieds marketplace for jobs, rentals, real estate, autos, and services.

Product overview

Steamboat Pilot & Today is a single local news publication serving Routt County, Colorado. The offering consists of the core Steamboat Pilot & Today digital news platform providing comprehensive local news coverage, supplemented by add-on modules including an E-Edition for digital newspaper access, Classifieds for community marketplace listings (jobs, rentals, autos, real estate), Newsletters for email news delivery with subscription management, and an Event Calendar (Happenings) for local community events. The publication is owned and operated by Swift Communications, LLC.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Steamboat Pilot & Today News Publication Local digital and print news publication serving Routt County, Colorado, providing comprehensive news coverage across local news, business, crime, education, environment, government, health, obituaries, real estate, sports, and outdoors for community residents.
• E-Edition Digital replica of the newspaper accessible online, providing electronic access to the publication's content for digital subscribers.
• Classifieds Marketplace Online marketplace for community members to post and browse classified listings including jobs, rentals, real estate, autos, merchandise, and service directory listings, integrated with Colorado Mountain News Media.
• Email Newsletters Daily and breaking news email newsletters delivered to readers with subscription management options.
• Event Calendar (Happenings) Community events calendar featuring local happenings, arts, entertainment, and food and drink events for Steamboat Springs and surrounding areas.
• Best of the Boat Community-focused awards and recognition program highlighting local businesses, services, and attractions in the Steamboat Springs area.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Swift CommunicationscoreOthersParent company owning and operating Steamboat Pilot & Today. Swift Communications LLC is the publisher and owns the website and all content, including the Swift News Theme platform. All Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and advertising terms are governed by Swift Communications.
• News Neighbors NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative network of mountain community news outlets including Aspen Times, Craig Daily Press, Post Independent, Tahoe Daily Tribune, Summit Daily, Vail Daily, and SkyHi News. Content sharing and cross-promotion among regional mountain community newspapers.
• Colorado Mountain News MediacoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorIntegrated print and digital operations sharing classifieds platform (cmnm.org), job board (coloradomountainjobs.com), and commercial printing services. Steamboat Pilot & Today and Summit Daily are jointly hiring for positions like Classifieds Designer.

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Tahoe Daily Tribune: Mountain resort community newspaper in Lake Tahoe region, part of the same News Neighbors network as Steamboat Pilot & Today. Same business model applied to a different but analogous resort geography.
• Sky-Hi News: Local newspaper serving Grand County, Colorado, also part of the News Neighbors network. Closely comparable format and small-market mountain-community newspaper operations.
• Vail Daily: Mountain resort-market newspaper in Eagle County, Colorado, and a fellow member of the Swift Communications 'News Neighbors' network. Same local-news business model serving a similar affluent resort community.
• Craig Daily Press: Local newspaper serving Moffat County in northwestern Colorado, part of the News Neighbors network. Similar small-town community newspaper format targeting Routt County's neighboring region.
• Post Independent (Glenwood Springs): Mountain community newspaper serving Garfield County, Colorado, and a member of the News Neighbors network. Comparable local-news operations, audience, and revenue mix.
• Aspen Times: Mountain resort newspaper in Pitkin County, Colorado, also part of the News Neighbors network with content-sharing and cross-promotion; directly comparable business model and customer base.
• Summit Daily: Mountain community newspaper in Summit County, Colorado, jointly operated with Steamboat Pilot & Today under the Colorado Mountain News Media umbrella; shares classifieds, jobs platform, and commercial printing operations, making it the closest operational peer.

Broad incumbents

• Lee Enterprises: Large publicly traded local newspaper operator owning dozens of community dailies across the U.S. Operates the same local-news/advertising business model at national scale, making it a key strategic comparable for unit economics.
• Gannett: Largest U.S. local newspaper publisher (USA TODAY network). Operates hundreds of community publications with the same subscription + advertising + classifieds model, representing the broad incumbent view of local news economics.

Emerging players

• The Colorado Sun: Digital-first, member-supported Colorado news outlet covering statewide and regional stories. Represents an emerging digital-native model that competes for local advertising and reader attention dollars in the Colorado market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SteamboatPilot

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Steamboat Pilot & Today