Lack of Flames correspondent at the Athletic

[Robbob]

After McDavid leaves and the 2nd decade of darkness starts, by year 3 the apathy will kick in and a lot of those fans will change allegiances.

[DJones]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

I canceled the Athletic this year and they emailed me with an offer of less than 50% off so I took it. I dislike the lack of flames coverage but appreciate coverage for other teams I cheer for like the Raiders and Raptors as well as general NHL, NFL, NBA coverage. I will pay the discounted price but never the full $75/yr

Went to cancel and they offered $2/month

They sucked me back in

[NegativeSpace]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Yeah I don't think a lot of Flames fans realize just how much more popular the Oilers are in Alberta.

And not just Alberta. I live in BC and see way more Oilers stuff than even Canucks. It is at least comparable between the Oilers and the Canucks. Flames are a distant third.

[BigThief]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Yeah I don't think a lot of Flames fans realize just how much more popular the Oilers are in Alberta.

The Oilers are an identity in Edmonton. In Calgary the Flames are just part of the scenary. As a Flames fan it would be nice to have the same fandom but then as a Calgarian I'm like...yah that's fine. The Oilers have too much of a presence in Edmonton, they're the big ticket item there. I'm not going to pretend Calgary is a major trendy city with all sorts of wild and crazy stuff happening, we just don't worship our hockey team here, and I'm fine with that.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

It is weird. Ultimately I largely subscribe to the Athletic for broader coverage, as any Flames news I get from here including better analysis and opinions.
But it still is pretty poor on their part.
I noticed the same article yesterday and the fact that not a single Flame prospect was mentioned.

A little late to the party but these are my thoughts exactly.

What is the Athletic going to tell me that I can't find here? Maybe comparisons on prospects pools by 'experts' around the League? I'm not so interested in that and I'm dubious at best regarding the 'experts' anyways.

[Number 39]

Former subscriber and I always wondered why they would parachute someone from out of market into Calgary to cover the Flames. I find it hard to believe that there was no one local who was qualified.

[Sandman]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Tashan Reed covered the Raiders for the Athletic for years and he just left for a new job last week so both my teams currently have no full-time correspondent. I don't usually see a lot of fan engagement in Flames articles there which may be the issue when it comes to paying for a full-time correspondent.

Originally Posted by Vinny01

I canceled the Athletic this year and they emailed me with an offer of less than 50% off so I took it. I dislike the lack of flames coverage but appreciate coverage for other teams I cheer for like the Raiders and Raptors as well as general NHL, NFL, NBA coverage. I will pay the discounted price but never the full $75/yr

Raiders fan here too.

HUGE fan of the Notre Dame Irish...

I subscribe to the Athletic, but I don't read it nearly as much as I used to.

[jay2tharoc]

The writing at The Athletic is absolute trash. It was weak 3 years ago and it's only gotten worse.

[Locke]

Alright fine. *cracks knuckles* I'll do it.

What do I have to do?

"And that boys and girls was the downfall of modern sports media."

[Rutuu]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Yeah I don't think a lot of Flames fans realize just how much more popular the Oilers are in Alberta.

Agree...and further...how many think it has to do with championships in the 80s.

From a squeezing every ounce out of the brand / franchise perspective, we've been out competed for decade. This is the result. That aspect of the team is fully in our control too.

Anyway...eventually a new owner will come in and there is a lot of low hanging fruit, as Calgary is too amazing a market to be out competed by Edmonton from a business perspective forever.

[Press Level]

Originally Posted by Rutuu

Agree...and further...how many think it has to do with championships in the 80s.

From a squeezing every ounce out of the brand / franchise perspective, we've been out competed for decade. This is the result. That aspect of the team is fully in our control too.

Anyway...eventually a new owner will come in and there is a lot of low hanging fruit, as Calgary is too amazing a market to be out competed by Edmonton from a business perspective forever.

Not really out competed on the business side, just out competed on the ice. When it comes to pro sports, nothing is better for building your brand than winning. The Flames have not made it past the second round in 21 years. The Oilers have made the finals 3 times since then. Even with the Decade of Darkness, they have been the most successful Canadian franchise this century.


If the Flames make a couple of good play-off runs, or, God forbid, win another Cup, you will see Flames jerseys all over the place.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Winnipeg, Ottawa, Minnesota (Saint Paul), Raleigh, Columbus all have NHL correspondents. I wouldn’t have thought Calgary is a smaller or worse market than those cities, but I guess maybe we are.

I take your point, but those US cities are all much larger than Calgary (and surrounded by other nearby population centers).

Twin Cities is 3.8 Million and state population is 5.8 million. Columbus (right in the center of Ohio) is 2.2 Million, and the population of Ohio is 12 million. The Raleigh TV market is 2.7 million, and state population is 11 million.

[BigThief]

The Twin Cities has a CSA of over four million people. Calgary region has about 1.7 million people. Why would you think Calgary is a bigger market?

[Hot_Flatus]

Originally Posted by BigThief

The Twin Cities has a CSA of over four million people. Calgary region has about 1.7 million people. Why would you think Calgary is a bigger market?

Just because the population is X in another city (especially the U.S.) doesn't mean it is a bigger hockey market. I would say that in Minnesota, it very well could be. But most other places the percentage of hockey fans they are catering too that will subscribe and read a publication like the athletic for hockey purposes is likely far higher here.

[Knut]

When i went to cancel it offered me 9.99 for the entire next year.....

[BigThief]

Originally Posted by Hot_Flatus

Just because the population is X in another city (especially the U.S.) doesn't mean it is a bigger hockey market.

Yeah, I know. I didn't suggest otherwise and that doesn't change my post.

[1Nite]

Never read anything from them, just the occasional thing on here, but constantly see headlines in my Google news feed, from them and always assumed they were just a soiler outlet.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by troutman

I take your point, but those US cities are all much larger than Calgary (and surrounded by other nearby population centers).

Twin Cities is 3.8 Million and state population is 5.8 million. Columbus (right in the center of Ohio) is 2.2 Million, and the population of Ohio is 12 million. The Raleigh TV market is 2.7 million, and state population is 11 million.

The Athletic is paying for dedicated NHL correspondents in those cities, not general sports correspondents. And I’d wager their NHL fanbases are smaller than Calgary’s. They’re also paying for NHL correspondents in Winnipeg and Ottawa.

Are we really the smallest or worst NHL fanbase in the 32-team league? Something doesn’t add up.

[Mazrim]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Are we really the smallest or worst NHL fanbase in the 32-team league? Something doesn’t add up.

These would be my guesses for the smallest fanbases:
- Anaheim
- Carolina
- Columbus
- Seattle
- Utah

I don't have any numbers to back it up, but I can't see any Canadian team struggling to get enough eyeballs to end up in the bottom 5.

For the Athletic, I don't even remember the last time I read a Flames article there. I use it for other NHL, PWHL and sports business news, and get my Flames news here.

[ResAlien]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

The Athletic is paying for dedicated NHL correspondents in those cities, not general sports correspondents. And I’d wager their NHL fanbases are smaller than Calgary’s. They’re also paying for NHL correspondents in Winnipeg and Ottawa.

Are we really the smallest or worst NHL fanbase in the 32-team league? Something doesn’t add up.

I wouldn't say we're the smallest or worst but our lot is a fate worse than both: we're irrelevant.