ESPN’s Staying Power
The new year started out with a bang in the digital media space. Last week, the New York Times announced that it was buying The Athletic, widely considered to be the most intriguing sports media start-up, for $550 million in cash.
The deal does not look to come at a time of strength for The Athletic. Rumors from just a few months ago pegged The Athletic as seeking $750 million in a sale. The planted rumors didn’t have their intended goal of creating a bidding war for the sports start-up. Instead, the New York Times, which had been mentioned as an interested suitor last year, got The Athletic to budge. I don’t have too many positive things to say about The Athletic from a business model perspective.
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