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Thread: The Athletic

  1. #1
    A Pleasure to Burn Joseph's Avatar
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    The Athletic

    Anyone paying for this online service? I get links to lots of articles there because of my Blackhawks fandom, but it's my understanding it's branching mainstream instead of Chicago-centric.

    Championships for MY teams in my lifetime:
    Cincinnati Reds - 75, 76, 90
    Chicago Blackhawks - 10, 13, 15
    University of Kentucky - 78, 96, 98, 12
    Chicago Bulls - 91, 92, 93, 96, 97, 98


    “Everything that happens before Death is what counts.”
    ― Ray Bradbury, Something Wicked This Way Comes


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    Re: The Athletic

    Quote Originally Posted by Joseph View Post
    Anyone paying for this online service? I get links to lots of articles there because of my Blackhawks fandom, but it's my understanding it's branching mainstream instead of Chicago-centric.
    They're an interesting model. Hard paywall. Very aggressive in picking off established sports journalists. You probably know it better than I do (non-subscriber), but my understanding is they're going for a network of hyperlocal sites, essentially becoming your town's standalone sports page. It's their contention that newspapers have been living off the backs of their sports sections.

    More here: Why The Athletic Wants to Pillage Newspapers - New York Times

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    Joseph (11-13-2017)

  5. #3
    A Pleasure to Burn Joseph's Avatar
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    Re: The Athletic

    Good read. Thanks for sharing that.

    I haven't subscribed yet, I'm trying to get a feel for them from anyone who might have already subscribed. That article pushes me a bit closer to it. I hate paying for stuff online like that [sorry Doug] so I've always been reluctant to shell out. It's not a cheap thing, it's just a slow to catch up to the rest of the world thing. The 'net was always free and adjusting to a subscriber system just rubs me funny.

    Championships for MY teams in my lifetime:
    Cincinnati Reds - 75, 76, 90
    Chicago Blackhawks - 10, 13, 15
    University of Kentucky - 78, 96, 98, 12
    Chicago Bulls - 91, 92, 93, 96, 97, 98


    “Everything that happens before Death is what counts.”
    ― Ray Bradbury, Something Wicked This Way Comes

  6. #4
    Member kaldaniels's Avatar
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    Re: The Athletic

    https://thebiglead.com/2018/06/04/th...ore-to-endure/

    They’ve been given a lot of venture capital so they aren’t sinking but as I’ve said, with such a stable of writers they need a ton more subscribers.

  7. #5
    Member Sea Ray's Avatar
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    Re: The Athletic

    I'm not tempted to pony up. Too many free options out there

  8. #6
    breath westofyou's Avatar
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    Re: The Athletic

    Quote Originally Posted by Joseph View Post
    Anyone paying for this online service? I get links to lots of articles there because of my Blackhawks fandom, but it's my understanding it's branching mainstream instead of Chicago-centric.
    It's a great site, it has great content, I pay for great content, this is better than anything in one place out there

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    bucksfan2 (06-04-2018),Hillsdale87 (06-04-2018)

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    Re: The Athletic

    Quote Originally Posted by westofyou View Post
    It's a great site, it has great content, I pay for great content, this is better than anything in one place out there
    This is my feeling too. I don't usually pay for content online, but this is worth it for me. It is significantly better than the majority of other sports coverage.

  11. #8
    Member kaldaniels's Avatar
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    Re: The Athletic

    Quote Originally Posted by westofyou View Post
    It's a great site, it has great content, I pay for great content, this is better than anything in one place out there
    For the cost and that stable you can’t beat any other pay service. But will it last?

    It certainly doesn’t look it it without reducing their payroll or raising rates.

  12. #9
    Rally Onion! Chip R's Avatar
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    Re: The Athletic

    I'm just waiting to see how those upstarts at the New York Times work out before I think about subscribing to this.
    Quote Originally Posted by Raisor View Post
    I was wrong
    Quote Originally Posted by Raisor View Post
    Chip is right

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    Hoosier Red (06-04-2018)

  14. #10
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    Re: The Athletic

    I recently subscribed. I viewed it as an investment in the ecosystem of good writing, what with other sites, local newspapers and magazines slashing staff. I want people like Jayson Stark writing about baseball, not finding another line of work. Don't get me wrong, I love free content, but someone somewhere has to be paying or the content will eventually dry up. It might anyway, as no one seems to know what business model really works online, but this is the kind of attempt I can support.
    Reading comprehension is not just an ability, it's a choice

  15. #11
    Waitin til next year bucksfan2's Avatar
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    Re: The Athletic

    I signed up a while ago. I like C.Trent, Ari Wasserman (OSU), Stark, Mandel, and Feldman. Joe Goodberry is decent in covering the Bengals, a little technical at times for my liking, but I like to hear what he says. I can take or leave Egger but tend to read his stuff. Oh year there is some guy who moonlights named Dirty Doug who writes some top quality stuff.

    My biggest concern is they won't have the finances or ability to really cover the local sports on a day to day basis over the long haul.

  16. #12
    Member Redsfaithful's Avatar
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    Re: The Athletic

    I'd probably subscribe if the Reds and Bengals were good at the same time.

    I can't imagine it'll ever be a winner for some coverage - like I can't imagine paying for Ohio State coverage when Eleven Warriors exists for free (I'd probably pay them a small yearly fee if they went behind a paywall.)

    Joe Goodberry, to me, is the kind of thing that's a draw. I don't care about beat writers anymore, really at all. C. Trent is fine, but I just don't see the value. What Goodberry does adds value as a fan, and it's not something I see for free on fan sites.

    I don't see the value in columnists anymore either really. What guys like Mo Egger and Daugherty (I know Daugherty isn't with the Athletic, but he's who I think of when I think Cincinnati sports columnist) do - most of the time, not always - isn't appreciably different than what's out there for free.
    Last edited by Redsfaithful; 06-05-2018 at 04:49 PM.
    Turning and turning in the widening gyre
    The falcon cannot hear the falconer;

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    breath westofyou's Avatar
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    Re: The Athletic

    Quote Originally Posted by Redsfaithful View Post
    I'd probably subscribe if the Reds and Bengals were good at the same time.

    I can't imagine it'll ever be a winner for some coverage - like I can't imagine paying for Ohio State coverage when Eleven Warriors exists for free (I'd probably pay them a small yearly fee if they went behind a paywall.)

    Joe Goodberry, to me, is the kind of thing that's a draw. I don't care about beat writers anymore, really at all. C. Trent is fine, but I just don't see the value. What Goodberry does adds value as a fan, and it's not something I see for free on fan sites.

    I don't see the value in columnists anymore either really. What guys like Mo Egger and Daugherty (I know Daugherty isn't with the Athletic, but he's who I think of when I think Cincinnati sports columnist) do - most of the time, not always - isn't appreciably different than what's out there for free.
    There are seriously way more sports stories out there outside of SW Ohio, you might want to explore some of those someday

  18. #14
    Member Redsfaithful's Avatar
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    Re: The Athletic

    Quote Originally Posted by westofyou View Post
    There are seriously way more sports stories out there outside of SW Ohio, you might want to explore some of those someday
    Here are some outstanding sports stories that have nothing to do with Ohio that I've read in the past few weeks (not all published in the last few weeks):

    http://www.espn.com/espnw/voices/art...-truths-within

    http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2...ker-days-ahead

    https://www.racked.com/2017/10/4/164...eys-hockey-nhl

    https://www.theringer.com/2018/6/5/1...ti-bruce-arena

    narrative.ly/the-hidden-queer-history-behind-a-league-of-their-own/

    https://www.sbnation.com/a/ole-miss-...ent-violations

    https://www.theringer.com/nba/2018/5...markelle-fultz

    https://rw.runnersworld.com/selects/...n-the-sun.html

    I feel comfortable saying these are mostly higher quality than anything the Athletic is putting out, and they were all free. So eh.
    Turning and turning in the widening gyre
    The falcon cannot hear the falconer;

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    westofyou (06-05-2018)

  20. #15
    breath westofyou's Avatar
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    Re: The Athletic

    Quote Originally Posted by Redsfaithful View Post
    Here are some outstanding sports stories that have nothing to do with Ohio that I've read in the past few weeks (not all published in the last few weeks):

    http://www.espn.com/espnw/voices/art...-truths-within

    http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2...ker-days-ahead

    https://www.racked.com/2017/10/4/164...eys-hockey-nhl

    https://www.theringer.com/2018/6/5/1...ti-bruce-arena

    narrative.ly/the-hidden-queer-history-behind-a-league-of-their-own/

    https://www.sbnation.com/a/ole-miss-...ent-violations

    https://www.theringer.com/nba/2018/5...markelle-fultz

    https://rw.runnersworld.com/selects/...n-the-sun.html

    I feel comfortable saying these are mostly higher quality than anything the Athletic is putting out, and they were all free. So eh.
    Ahh but I never said anything about other sites, I was simply following your line of thought that was all Bengals/Reds/OSU centric.

    So yes congrats on finding other things besides the local teams to read about, sadly you are one of the few who strive to do that. Hence why so many on this board have a limited view of MLB, because they mostly watch nothing but the Reds, which can (and will) skew your POV.

    That said the MLB and NHL National coverage on The Athletic is why I bought in, not the local coverage

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    Redsfaithful (06-05-2018)


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