Topic: The Athletic

[Paul-LFC]

Saw this linked on Twitter by James Pearce as he's moved to write for them, thought it might be of interest to some here.

https://theathletic.co.uk/

Longform, ad-free journalism (much like The Blizzard, but daily articles in place of the quarterly magazine) on football across Europe and internationally. They also have US sports coverage if anyone follows teams over there.

They have James Pearce and Simon Hughes writing Liverpool content, Mel Reddy has done articles for them too although I'm not sure if she still will now she's with ESPN.

Michael Cox is on board for tactics pieces, and Rafa Honigstein is covering German football, along with journalists for each Premier League club, some Championship ones Scottish football and women's football.

There's a free trial until the end of August then it's subscription based, but they're offering the first year for 50% off (so 30 quid for the year) as part of the launch.

I'm impressed with the majority of what I've read so far. James Pearce has an interview with Tom Werner, Honigstein has interviewed Peter Krawietz, and there's a look at the transfer window from the perspective of the clubs themselves. Plenty more, but those are the ones I've read so far.

The one article I'm not a fan of so far is their "The Owner" piece which seems to be aiming for the Secret Footballer sort of perspective, but is written terribly. Hopefully they either find a way to improve that editorially in the future, or can it. Seems out of place given the quality of the other articles.

[Broad Spectrum]

Michael Cox is on board for tactics pieces, and Rafa Honigstein is covering German football, along with journalists for each Premier League club, some Championship ones Scottish football and women's football.

Was going to start a thread on this and seen you beat me to it. Cox is brilliant, and to be honest makes you realise how good some of the posters are on here when they take the time to analyse our games (they know who they are...). Might jump on board and see how it is. Also covers US sports as well.

[Something Worse]

Almost signed up just because a S*n journalist had a full on meltdown during the big announcement.

[Lush is the best medicine...]

Almost signed up just because a S*n journalist had a full on meltdown during the big announcement.

ah fat man’s tears at not being offered way more money plus equity was brilliant, as for that owner I reckon it’s darragh mcanthony (the £700k to selling for several million a few months later sounds a lot like Dwight Gayle)

[rafathegaffa83]

I really wonder about the sustainability of it without ads. Adding Honigstein, in addition to the others, is a great pick-up

[Hazell]

Almost signed up just because a S*n journalist had a full on meltdown during the big announcement.

What's this about?

[Broad Spectrum]

I really wonder about the sustainability of it without ads. Adding Honigstein, in addition to the others, is a great pick-up

Imagine they will at some point, but just not the spam type adverts that you get on the Mirror for example. Clicked on an article for the Mirror earlier the website is terrible, can barely read the article because of all the pop-ups. They'll probably be a handful of sponsors over time where they're just referenced on the site.

[TepidT2O]

It’s £5 a month, that’s why there are no adverts...

[Lynndenberries]

It’s £5 a month, that’s why there are no adverts...

They actually post good content, too.

[iamrobk]

I've been subscribed to the US site for over a year now so I'm excited to get all this additional coverage as well. Articles seem good so far, though most of it is clearly stuff they'd all been working on for a while now in anticipation of the site launching. I don't really read it as much as I should (thought about cancelling my subscription for a while) but I think that'll change now.

FWIW don't worry about thinking you need to sign up ASAP to get a discount - they're always running half-off (or similar) promotions here even though the site launched well over a year ago now. Actually, the best deal I've seen was this past July 4th where I got an offer for 76% off (1776, the year of the Declaration of Independence for you non-Americans... lol).

[Paul-LFC]

It’s £5 a month, that’s why there are no adverts...

£2.49 a month before the end of August, but yeah, subscription fees are why there's no ads.

I've been subscribed to the US site for over a year now so I'm excited to get all this additional coverage as well. Articles seem good so far, though most of it is clearly stuff they'd all been working on for a while now in anticipation of the site launching. I don't really read it as much as I should (thought about cancelling my subscription for a while) but I think that'll change now.

FWIW don't worry about thinking you need to sign up ASAP to get a discount - they're always running half-off (or similar) promotions here even though the site launched well over a year ago now. Actually, the best deal I've seen was this past July 4th where I got an offer for 76% off (1776, the year of the Declaration of Independence for you non-Americans... lol).

Can you subscribe with the offer discounts to extend a subscription you already have, or do you have to cancel and then resubscribe?

What's this about?

https://twitter.com/vonstrenginho/status/1158318634797862914

[Hazell]

https://twitter.com/vonstrenginho/status/1158318634797862914

[iamrobk]

Can you subscribe with the offer discounts to extend a subscription you already have, or do you have to cancel and then resubscribe?

I was in the middle of a 1-year sub and wasn't able to take advantage of the 76% off offer, and believe me I tried everything I could think of lol. So while as always YMMV, I wouldn't count on being able to take advantage of new discount offers if you're in the middle of an annual sub (may be different for monthly subs...).

[Ray K]

As a model, it looks like it's working in the US.  I'm not sure if it'll catch on here.

Sure, we all love to get transfer gossip from James Pearce, but that'll still be there on Twitter and I'm not sure if all of us are dying to read his longform pieces.  Might have preferred if they focused more on the analysis/colour pieces, rather than the local club guys, but I guess with the likes of Cox and Honigstein (and probably Taylor, though I hate that snide prick) they should get eyeballs that way. More analytics stuff would be nice.

I'll probably end up giving it a go at some stage as I can always look at their US content too.  Ultimately, the model of letting everyone have all content they want for nothing and expecting newspapers/new media to survive just on google ads was always unsustainable, so I can't really complain if they start looking for a subscription.

I don't see much outside football so far.  If the likes of Jonathan Liew joined up I'd pay up, if only to stop having to enter that godawful Independent website.

[BrandoLFC]

Keep in mind they're also offering credits if you refer others.  Think I got $25 for getting my Dad to sign-up.

At least for US sports fans, the site is great as they tried to hire the best local journalist for each team/sport.  Much easier to then follow your favorite teams if don't live in the area anymore as most major papers now charge regardless.  So I'd end up with a NYT, WaPo, LA Times, Chicago Tribune and Minneapolis Star-Tribune subscription for triple the price if I wanted to get the same type of coverage as I get from the Athletic.

Now obviously with the UK it's a bit different as is there a large following for Rugby or Cricket?  Though maybe NBA is growing in the UK?

In the end if you want good journalism you need the journalists to get paid.  In the US you're seeing the death of most papers in mid to small market as they're bought by hedge fund/private equity/investment funds and then have all profits sucked out so those firms get paid.  If you don't support something good then eventually you'll be left with the shit leftover or worse nothing at all.

[4pool]

Living in the US, my only favorite team is Liverpool FC.

Could give a shit about any US professional team or league .      

[Lynndenberries]

Living in the US, my only favorite team is Liverpool FC.

Could give a shit about any US professional team or league .      

What about college sports? Their college football coverage this summer has been good.

[Paul-LFC]

I was in the middle of a 1-year sub and wasn't able to take advantage of the 76% off offer, and believe me I tried everything I could think of lol. So while as always YMMV, I wouldn't count on being able to take advantage of new discount offers if you're in the middle of an annual sub (may be different for monthly subs...).

Cheers, I thought that'd be the case. Gift subscriptions (which apparently do stack according to their FAQ page) are slightly cheaper than a full price subscription, so I'll probably go that route if it's the case in a year's time.

[WhereAngelsPlay]

It’s £5 a month, that’s why there are no adverts...

I just had a look at it's £109.99pm or £3'ish2.49 if you pay upfront.

[Gerry Attrick]

How much content is posted a week? I do quite a bit of reading, so trying to gauge how much bang I’d get for my buck.

[Crosby Nick]

Can’t really be arsed reading about other clubs beyond Liverpool so not very tempted at the moment. Interesting model will be interesting to see how it goes.

Yours
Steve Davis

[Paul-LFC]

How much content is posted a week? I do quite a bit of reading, so trying to gauge how much bang I’d get for my buck.

Difficult to gauge right now as the football coverage only launched yesterday. There was a lot of content posted at launch, and by my count at least 10 articles on the second day today, maybe a couple more than that.

If you like US sports as well then there will be a lot more articles each day as they've been covering those sports for a while now.

[MBL?]

Will there be podcasts?

[Something Worse]

Imagine being passed over the The Athletic and then your response is to completely justify their decision hahahaha

[Lush is the best medicine...]

Will there be podcasts?

they do for other sports so I’d guess there will be some

[Paul-LFC]

Will there be podcasts?

There aren't currently, but their UK editor has said that football podcasts are on the way.

[Paul-LFC]

This fantastic (and very long) piece from Simon Hughes made for a great read on my commute this morning

The inside story of FSG’s love affair with Liverpool and the Boston Red Sox

https://theathletic.com/1089599/2019/08/07/the-inside-story-of-fsgs-love-affair-with-liverpool-and-the-boston-red-sox/

[Andy_lfc]

Will there be podcasts?

They are working in conjunction with the TIFO podcast to start with for this season - I had never head of it but the Athletic journalists will be making guest appearances on it over the season.  Listened to their VAR in the Premier League podcast and was interesting if a little technical.

[ScottScott]

This fantastic (and very long) piece from Simon Hughes made for a great read on my commute this morning

The inside story of FSG’s love affair with Liverpool and the Boston Red Sox

https://theathletic.com/1089599/2019/08/07/the-inside-story-of-fsgs-love-affair-with-liverpool-and-the-boston-red-sox/

This was fantastic. A genuinely great piece of writing. If they continue this level then I'll keep my subscription after the free trial

[filopastry]

I have really enjoyed it so far, as I have an interest in US sport as well I suspect I may keep the subscription when the free trial expires

[ScouserAtHeart]

This fantastic (and very long) piece from Simon Hughes made for a great read on my commute this morning

The inside story of FSG’s love affair with Liverpool and the Boston Red Sox

https://theathletic.com/1089599/2019/08/07/the-inside-story-of-fsgs-love-affair-with-liverpool-and-the-boston-red-sox/

This is the first picture I've ever seen of Mike Gordon

[.adam]

Living in the US, my only favorite team is Liverpool FC.

Could give a shit about any US professional team or league .      

Couldn't*

Sorry - pet hate of mine.

[thekitkatshuffler]

It’s £5 a month, that’s why there are no adverts...

We all know that a monthly subscription fee, even one double that of The Athletic's, is no guarantee of avoiding adverts...

Personally I'm not in a rush to pay for the pleasure of having James Pearce parrot the club's agenda at me.

[Paul-LFC]

We all know that a monthly subscription fee, even one double that of The Athletic's, is no guarantee of avoiding adverts...

Personally I'm not in a rush to pay for the pleasure of having James Pearce parrot the club's agenda at me.

True, but they've been around in the US since 2016 and seem to have avoided advertising so far.

Whether the content is worth it really depends on whether you want just Liverpool content or anything football related. There isn't too much in the way of Liverpool articles and although there are some I'd say it isn't worth the monthly fee just for those (personal opinion, some may well disagree). However I've read some very good articles focused on other clubs and players, and Michael Cox's tactical pieces are great as well.

[Lone Star Red]

We all know that a monthly subscription fee, even one double that of The Athletic's, is no guarantee of avoiding adverts...

Personally I'm not in a rush to pay for the pleasure of having James Pearce parrot the club's agenda at me.

Pearce’s writing is awful, that won’t change with the subscription. But there’s a lot of other good writing on the site.

[ScouserAtHeart]

https://theathletic.com/1112975/2019/08/08/why-liverpool-fans-booed-the-national-anthem-a-lesson-in-history-very-few-want-to-listen-to/

[ScouserAtHeart]

Another fascinating read-- https://theathletic.com/1122761/2019/08/10/the-long-road-to-anfield/

Okay I'll stop posting these now

[Clayton Bigsby]

Wont lass in its current version. Ads pay the bills

[Paul-LFC]

Rafa has joined as a columnist for them. His first column is about why he left Newcastle; not too much in the way of new information, rather understandably as presumably he's bound by NDAs or similar.

He says his future columns will be focussed on football in general.

Wont lass in its current version. Ads pay the bills

Ads pay next to nothing. If they get enough subscribers it's a far more sustainable business model. Big if, granted, but certainly a better option for sustainability than advertising is. They already have quite the number of subscribers in the US and Canada to give them some time to build an audience in the UK.

[Hij]

Based on what I've seen so far, and with a yearning for long form quality football articles that aren't based around clickbait which is basically all the Echo exists as now - I'm giving it a go as a subscriber.