Sports websites announce major partnership

Since being purchased by The New York Times in 2022, The Athletic has embraced new strategies.

The latest comes in the form of Thursday’s announcement that the online outlet is partnering with Yahoo Sports to create “a new digital destination for comprehensive women’s sports coverage.”

Axios’ Sara Fischer first reported on the joint venture between The Athletic and Yahoo Sports. Curiously, Yahoo Sports was quick to promote the partnership on its website and social media pages . At the same time, it has remained unmentioned on The Athletic’s website or X feed as of Thursday afternoon.

According to Yahoo’s announcement, the project “will guide fans to written, audio, and video content produced by Yahoo Sports and The Athletic.” It also noted that a subscription to The Athletic will not be required to access the hub.

Offerings available will include podcasts such as The Athletic Women’s Basketball Show and Full Time with Meg Linehan . It will also include original reporting from the likes of The Athletic’s Gabby Herzig, Sabreena Merchant, Ben Pickman, and Chantel Jennings, as well as Yahoo Sports’ Cassandra Negley, Isis “Ice” Young, Henry Bushnell, among others.

Notably, Yahoo’s announcement states that “the partnership addresses clear, increased demand for women’s sports coverage, particularly across Yahoo Sports platforms.” The URL for the hub is also Yahoo-based: yahoosports.com/womens-sports and will be available in the Yahoo Sports app in the near future.

“This partnership is an exciting and important next step in our ongoing commitment to serving women’s sports fans,” Yahoo Sports president Ryan Spoon said in a statement. “We are proud to bring The Athletic’s world-class reporting to our platforms and to help millions of fans access extensive and expert women’s sports coverage.”

Added The Athletic’s chief commercial and development officer Sebastian Tomich: “The Athletic is the leader for journalism covering women’s sports and Yahoo Sports stands as one of the largest and most influential sports media and fantasy platforms. By bringing these two powerhouse brands together, we’re poised to significantly expand the reach of women’s sports coverage and engage a broader audience. This partnership also offers an unparalleled opportunity for sponsors to connect with women’s sports at an industry-leading scale, aligning with the growing momentum and passion for women’s sports.”

While it’s unknown whether The Athletic is receiving a fee for its content appearing on Yahoo’s website, Fischer’s report notes that “sales teams from both outlets can jointly sell advertising packages that include shares of inventory across the entire joint platform.” It also appears that The Athletic’s primary goal in the partnership is to leverage Yahoo’s scale outside of its paywall, with the former’s women’s sports coverage being supported by Google .

For Yahoo, the strategy follows a recent run in which the company has displayed a willingness to showcase content it doesn’t own . As for The Athletic, this marks a markedly different approach for The New York Times -owned company and it will be interesting to see if similar partnerships follow.

[ Yahoo , Axios ]

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