The Athletic Built Its Company Without Ads, and It Doesn't Plan to Change That Anytime Soon

After 2 years, the subscription-based sports website is sticking to its mission

Digital disruption is infiltrating the local sports page thanks to a new publication that opened its doors with something many newspapers have fought for years: a paywall.

The Athletic, a subscription-based sports website, debuted with its Chicago vertical in January 2016 and has substantially grown by recently raising $20 million and expanding its subscriber base to six figures. (The Athletic declined to provide either its audience figures or demographic information, other than a rep noting “our readers run the gamut—fans of all kinds.”)

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This story first appeared in the May 14, 2018, issue of Adweek magazine. Click here to subscribe.