I've been meaning to give the Athletic a test drive, but just haven't found the desire to commit to another subscription that I'll probably keep forgetting to cancel.
To me, it simply looks like they are trying to replicate ESPN's web strategy from the past. Spending money on recognizable national talent, while trying to develop regional branding as well by acquiring existing names in those markets.
ESPN evidently didn't think it was a great business, but hard to say whether it was because it was failing or just not particularly significant to their bottom line.
I will say that the addition of guys like O'Brian and Schultz actually probably lessened my likelihood to subscribe. That not the kind of content I'm particularly interested in reading. Maybe they'll be freed by the experience, but somehow I doubt it.
Since the marketing is region targeted, they are trying to convince homers to subscribe and that will encourage the writers to continue playing nice with club until the groundswell makes it safe to go the other way.
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Originally Posted by sturg33
