An ad-free media company

Last week, I wrote about the media companies making ad-supported content more friendly for readers. This week, we have a story about The Athletic, a digital publication raising big money with a zero-ads business model.
The Athletic closed a $5.8 million investment round last week, following up on an appearance in Y Combinator’s summer 2016 class. They’re scooping up high-profile editors from places like Sports Illustrated, and they have the cash to take advantage of all the talent freed up by recent layoffs in sports media.
On top of that, they’re already on the road to profitability. The Athletic estimates that it will need 8,000–12,000 subscribers to put a city in the black, a goal they’ve reached in Toronto. When compared to the advertising supported shops that still can’t turn a profit on millions of readers, those numbers make for an attractive business model.
Sports is a uniquely-positioned market for this approach: Not only do most cities have a vested interest in a particular team, but there’s very little crossover. The people in Chicago won’t care about what’s going on in Toronto, letting the editorial staff of each develop independently or cut back when necessary. There’s also a definite audience for high-quality sports journalism. Devoted fans can’t get enough, and a $6-a-month subscription is nothing on top of the hundreds of dollars they pay for cable bundles.
The numbers make sense, the funding’s in place and high-profile talent is getting onboard. The Athletic seems set up for success, putting it in the footsteps of Bleacher Report and SB Nation. We’ll see in the next few months if they can sell the subscriptions to back up expectations.
