New York Times to buy the Athletic in $550m deal

The sports-news website has more than 1 million subscribers

Started six years ago, the Athletic established itself by poaching big-name sportswriters from news outlets.

The New York Times agreed to buy the Athletic, acquiring a sports-news website with more than 1 million subscribers, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The deal is valued at around $550m (€487m), said the person, who asked not to be identified because it hasn’t been announced.

Started six years ago, the Athletic established itself by poaching big-name sportswriters from news outlets across the country, including Ken Rosenthal in baseball and Shams Charania in basketball.

The Athletic’s co-founder, Alex Mather, told the New York Times in 2017 that, “We will wait every local paper out and let them continuously bleed, until we are the last ones standing. We will suck them dry of their best talent at every moment.” He later apologised.

The company raised about $50m (€44m) two years ago at a valuation of around $500m (€442m). In November, it had about 1.2 million subscribers who pay for access to articles about major professional sports teams in the US, as well as professional soccer teams abroad. In June 2020, the Athletic cut 46 employees or 8% of its staff.

The Athletic also held talks with the online news site Axios. Negotiations broke down over a range of issues, including price and who would lead the combined company, according to people familiar with the matter.

Bloomberg