The New York Times Company announced Thursday that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the subscription-based sports journalism site The Athletic, for $550 million.
The agreement was announced in a press release, which said it is subject to customary closing adjustments and is expected to close at the end of the first quarter of 2022.
“Acquiring The Athletic puts us in a position to be a global leader in sports journalism and offer English speakers around the world another reason to turn to the Times Company to meet their daily news and life needs,” Meredith Kopit Levien said in the press release. “The Times already provides distinctive sports coverage for a general interest audience as part of our core report.
“As a stand-alone product, The Athletic will enable us to offer much more — extensive coverage for fans who seek a deep connection to and understanding of their favorite teams, leagues and players. With one of the largest dedicated teams of reporters covering sports globally and a commitment to everyday reporting, The Athletic is a great complement to The Times.”
The Athletic was founded in January 2016 by Alex Mather and Adam Hansmann and has grown to 1.2 million subscribers, per the release.
Mather (general manager and co-president) and Hansmann (chief operating officer and co-president) will stay on with The Athletic, which will operate as a subsidiary, separate from the New York Times.
“We started The Athletic to bring fans closer to the teams, players and leagues they love through deep, immersive journalism and storytelling,” Mather and Hansmann said in the release. “Today marks a thrilling milestone for that dream, one realized because of the hard work of every single one of our employees.
“We are proud to have The Athletic become part of The Times Company’s family of subscription products. When we founded the company, we hoped to become the sports page for every city in the world. We’re excited to continue serving our avid subscribers as we grow and scale with the help of the most important journalistic organization and the leader in digital subscription news.”
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