The only part that matters: Per the Wall Street Journal, The Athletic currently has more than 100,000 subscribers, who ostensibly pay $5 a month or $60 a year but often actually pay less thanks to frequent deals and discounts. That means annual revenue for the site probably falls around, say, $5 million. Is that enough to cover salary plus benefits for 150 employees? Certainly not. Is it enough to please the investors who have sunk $30 million into the young company? Given how successful The Athletic has been at fundraising and how quickly it has grown, it sure seems so.
My general take is year one business plan is set to lose a lot of money, ramp up subscription, then increase it after year one to something more sustainable. I know I'll easily pay 10 to 15 a month for it.
Well they’re a bit older than a year, though it seems they’ve really ramped it up within the past year, likely due to increased funding. However, overall, I think you’re right.
i think they'll have problems once people go off the promo rates. it's still a foreign concept to many to pay for this.
They are timing this well with the demise of local newspapers, though. While Gannett is stripping down TN newspapers and offering a pretty shitty digital product, I'm way more likely to subscribe to a premium product.
Fair asessment overall. Nice to have a new guy in town with, as far as I know, no ties to the area, staff, etc.
It really is funny how simple it is in college because it has to be. And figuring out run vs pass by how long the guy was writing was really well done.