The Athletic in Talks to be Acquired by The New York Times

At the end of March, news broke that The Athletic was talking with Axios about merging. But apparently, that’s no longer on the table.

 

Per the Wall Street Journal, the Athletic/Axios merger talks have ended, and the company has turned its sights to a distinctly different entity: the New York Times, the epitome of old media.

 

Details of the potential acquisition are minimal at this point, and it would be tough to imagine the Times absorbing all of The Athletic’s lauded local coverage (and the added costs that go along with it) with a smile on their face. And if The Athletic’s local coverage disappears, or is severely reduced, as a result of a merger or acquisition, how many of the site’s million-plus subscribers will go along with it? And if that happens, how much value would the company actually have to a buyer?

https://awfulannouncing.com/athletic/the-athletic-is-reportedly-no-longer-talking-to-axios-about-a-merger-is-now-talking-with-the-new-york-times.html

I suppose this was an inevitability, but it's still unfortunate to see. What I like about The Athletic, is that it is wonderfully curated and edited, and is independent from existing entities. Its growth from a handful of markets into an international sportswriters platform over a few years is incredible. Any merger that takes place is going to lose a bit of what it was established to be, but the New York Times is just a bummer. The Athletic will downsize and water down their coverage because like the article said, there's no way NYT is going to absorb those costs entirely.

An Axios merger would have been interesting given their rise to prominence over the past few years.

I suppose this was an inevitability, but it's still unfortunate to see. What I like about The Athletic, is that it is wonderfully curated and edited, and is independent from existing entities. Its growth from a handful of markets into an international sportswriters platform over a few years is incredible. Any merger that takes place is going to lose a bit of what it was established to be, but the New York Times is just a bummer. The Athletic will downsize and water down their coverage because like the article said, there's no way NYT is going to absorb those costs entirely.

 

An Axios merger would have been interesting given their rise to prominence over the past few years.

Yep, it's very unfortunate. Athletic has a stable of great writers and great writing. It'll be a shame to see that quality decrease.

Still wish the Rangers had a better writer though.

Yep, it's very unfortunate. Athletic has a stable of great writers and great writing. It'll be a shame to see that quality decrease.

 

Still wish the Rangers had a better writer though.

I don't hate Carp, but he doesn't exactly draw me in. I subscribed before him, because I knew the initial group was going to cover the league well enough, but Carp is adequate. He just doesn't fit with the rest of the group though, just like Brooks wouldn't fit in. It's too old school.

Carp just writes like a boomer would, and it kills me. Can't get through half his articles because they're so shallow and entirely "eye test" material.

If this ends up happening, I'll probably cancel my subscription. No sense paying for watered down coverage.

Carp just writes like a boomer would, and it kills me. Can't get through half his articles because they're so shallow and entirely "eye test" material.

 

If this ends up happening, I'll probably cancel my subscription. No sense paying for watered down coverage.

Yepp exactly

Shame because carps not great but he’s still the best option as far as following the rangers. Brooks just writes what I read on here so he doesn’t count.

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Yepp exactly

 

Shame because carps not great but he’s still the best option as far as following the rangers. Brooks just writes what I read on here so he doesn’t count.

 

 

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A big fan of both Brooks and Carp and I subscribe to The Athletic to read Caprs reports.

A big fan of both Brooks and Carp and I subscribe to The Athletic to read Caprs reports.

I miss Sam Weinman