Interesting story here.
While most big sports media companies implemented some form of furloughs, wage reductions, or lay offs, The Athletic seemed to be operating smoothly since the COVID-19 pandemic brought sports to halt about eight weeks ago. The subscriber-only website instead offered a 90-day free trial for new users during the shutdown.
This is the first and only cut I’ve seen from the company thus far:
Odd timing, isn’t it? NASCAR is set to resume next Sunday at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina, which would make you think the services of a motorsports writer could be useful.
About a week before the COVID shutdown, there was an article in The Washington Post that said The Athletic was approaching one million subscribers and is valued at $500 million, but is not yet profitable. Various rounds of fundraising have brought in a ton of cash to keep the three-year-old site running.
There was also a line in the story reading as such:
“It’s too soon to know if it’s just a good idea or if it’s a long-term viable business,” one investor of the Athletic said.
Keep an eye on The Athletic, because they employ a ton of writers and have a unique and still relatively unexplored revenue model in a time when sports media is getting absolutely eviscerated. This is just one layoff, but the timing raises some red flags. If that bubble ever bursts, it’s gonna be a really ugly scene.