New York Times to Buy The Athletic for $550 Million

The New York Times Co., doubling down on digital subscriptions and looking to reach younger audiences, announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire The Athletic, a subscription-based sports media business, for $550 million in cash.

The Times had reportedly been in talks to buy The Athletic since mid-2021. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022. The Athletic provides national and local coverage of more than 200 teams in the U.S. and worldwide across a range of sports and has 1.2 million subscribers as of December 2021.

The Times expects The Athletic to be immediately accretive to revenue growth rate and dilutive to The New York Times Co.’s operating profit for approximately three years. The Athletic was founded in January 2016 by Alex Mather and Adam Hansmann.

The Times has been rapidly growing its core consumer subscription business, doubling to over 8 million paid subscriptions across digital and print products in the last three years.

Meredith Kopit Levien, president and CEO of The New York Times Company, said, “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. 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.”

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