The New York Times is reportedly shopping for subscription-based sports activities website The Athletic | Engadget

It appears , which rapidly got here to prominence for publishing and high-quality sports activities journalism, is getting a brand new proprietor. According to and , The New York Times has agreed to purchase the subscription-based digital media firm for $550 million.

The Times has set a purpose of reaching 10 million subscribers by 2025 and it is nicely on the way in which. It had 8.3 million subscribers as of September thirtieth. Along with its digital and print publications, the Times has separate plans for its cooking and video games (which incorporates crosswords) merchandise. It bolstered its choices in recent times by buying Wirecutter and inserting the favored product evaluate website behind a paywall.

It’s not but clear whether or not The Athletic will likely be rolled into the usual Times subscription or if it would stay a standalone product. The firm beforehand stated it did not count on to show a revenue till subsequent 12 months. The Athletic had 1.2 million subscribers as of November, although its development was by that time. The Times held talks with the corporate final summer time a couple of deal, in keeping with reviews, but it surely backed out earlier than returning to the negotiating desk final month.

The Athletic has a roster of gifted, big-name sportswriters, lots of whom it poached from publications throughout North America and the UK by providing aggressive salaries. Back in 2017, co-founder Alex Mather (oddly sufficient) that his firm “will wait every local paper out and let them continuously bleed until we are the last ones standing” and “suck them dry of their greatest expertise at each second.” Mather later apologized for these remarks.