Athletic united
Workers at The Athletic, the much-vaunted sports publication that the New York Times Co. picked up for $550M at the start of 2022, are reportedly in discussions to form a union, as the outlet’s position within the Times shifts and expands.
Last July, the Gray Lady announced it would be scrapping its sports department and pivoting to using coverage primarily from The Athletic, both online and in print. That entrenchment deepened on Monday, when the outlet’s website and social posts — platforms on which the publication built its buzzy renown — were finally changed to redirect to the NYT site.
The Athletic staffers’ efforts would be the latest installment in a growing wave of union action at the 170+ year old publication. For example, NYT tech writers, Wirecutter staff, and newsroom workers have all entered negotiations with the company in recent years, with unions staging historic strikes over issues of pay and benefits and return-to-office mandates.
While high-profile acquisitions like The Athletic and Wordle have been instrumental in the New York Times’ strategic pivot — digital revenues amounted to ~$1.4B in 2023, very nearly double what the company made from print — it’s interesting to note that the sports outlet is still unprofitable, despite adding almost 4 million subscribers since it was acquired (many of which are likely to be through bundled packages).
