The New York Times Company has announced that The Athletic is joining Apple News+, granting subscribers to the service access to the digital sports journalism publication. Readers will now have access to consume content from writers and reporters such as Ken Rosenthal, Dianna Russini and Shams Charania among others. Wirecutter is also joining the service beginning early next year, adding an additional publication within its overall portfolio.
The company purchased The Athletic in a $550 million cash transaction in January 2022, looking to bring the outlet to profitability and utilize it as a vehicle to grow its overall subscriptions. Earlier in the year, the newspaper shuttered its sports department in favor of utilizing The Athletic for coverage, a move that drew the ire of The New York Times Guild and caused it to file a grievance over the decision. The initial deal adumbrated the separation between the sports section and The New York Times newspaper itself, but the strategy seems to have changed and led the approximately 35 journalists and editors on the staff to be reassigned to work in different areas of the publication.
“Like so many lifelong sports fans, I am a devoted reader of The Athletic and their fantastic sports reporting and local coverage,” Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of services, said in a statement. “We’re so proud to now bring sports fans The Athletic in Apple News+ – which millions of News+ subscribers are going to love.”
Despite undergoing layoffs earlier in the year, the outlet’s newsroom has over 450 full-time writers, editors and producers focused on delivering comprehensive coverage of professional and college sports teams. Apple News users are able to follow their favorite teams and leagues utilizing the sports tab within the application, and those who subscribe to the premium service will be able to follow The Athletic for accompanying stories.
“The Athletic is home to award-winning, deeply reported coverage of teams, leagues, and players for devoted fans around the world,” David Perpich, publisher of The Athletic, said in a statement. “We provide subscribers with every sports story that matters, brought to life by the most talented newsroom in the business. We’re thrilled to work with Apple News to introduce even more readers to the best-in-class journalism that only The Athletic can produce.”
