The Athletic coming to Calgary

[sureLoss]

https://theathletic.com/86695/2017/0...lad-you-asked/

Alex and Adam gave me an overview of their big-picture plans, and their appetite for expansion was impressive. If they could accomplish half of what they hoped, I thought, they have a good shot at success. Since that meeting a lot has changed. I took on a small role as The Athletic's editorial advisor. New city outposts were opened in Toronto (November 2016), Cleveland (March 2017), Detroit (July 2017) and the San Francisco Bay Area (August 2017), with Philadelphia up next (September 2017). Additionally, in short order, there will be bureaus launched in the NHL's six other Canadian cities (Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver, and Winnipeg), plus more hockey coverage across the U.S.

Looks like this new sports news start-up will be expanding to Calgary and all other Canadian NHL cities shortly. They appear to be hiring good talent and producing good content.

Their current subscription model allows for access to all cities with a subscription to one city.

[Harry Lime]

For a moment I was wondering at the weird new relocation plan for Oakland.

It will be great for a news outlet that is not Rogers to start taking this market seriously.

[Tyler]

Whose gonna be on the staff?

Haynes? Wilson? Sportak?

[DJones]

Is it going to be the full cost for cities with only one major sports team?

I'd hate to be paying the same amount as someone from Boston for example.

[ComixZone]

I subscribed to the Athletic two months ago - the quality of the work is top notch, and I'm reading a lot more about other markets (the Jackets, for example) than I ever have before.

Once you start reading the Athletic, it really shows the lack of quality sports journalism and analysis that we generally get exposed to otherwise.

I'm really excited that they'll be covering Calgary (and the rest of Western Canada). Interested to see who they've got on board to cover the Flames.

[East Coast Flame]

I know Mirtle writes there now for the Leafs and he is excellent.

Looks like you can get a yearly subscription for $50. Not a bad deal - depending on who they hire for the Calgary coverage.

[Freeway]

I'm pretty jazzed to see more different hockey coverage in this market. I love the people that cover the Flames right now, but more variety is always welcome.

[Boreal]

I have a subscription as well. The features, analysis, and insight are top notch and interesting. It shows that you get what you pay for. It provides value in content, not the widespread generic oversimplified content within current sports analysis on the internet. They are a bit of a gate keeper of sorts, separating the wheat from the chaff. They know who their audience, what they are looking for, and they are responsive to their needs.

How they handle the Oiler Kool-Aid Cohort will be interesting both from the fan and the organization perspective. Both of which do not take kindly to criticism or realistic assessment.

[united]

I've been a subscriber for a few months now and agree it's excellent and worth the price in general. That said, I have yet to see a Calgary-based writer whose work I would have any interest in paying for - we are really weak in that regard.

[bubbsy]

how much is a subscription? do they offer an app to get the content? Is the contect strictly written, or are there podcasts, etc?

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

how much is a subscription? do they offer an app to get the content? Is the contect strictly written, or are there podcasts, etc?

There's an app, and it's fantastic. Brilliantly designed - and yes, some teams do have podcasts (the app will re-direct you to the podcast app or to soundcloud).

[saillias]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

I subscribed to the Athletic two months ago - the quality of the work is top notch, and I'm reading a lot more about other markets (the Jackets, for example) than I ever have before.

Once you start reading the Athletic, it really shows the lack of quality sports journalism and analysis that we generally get exposed to otherwise.

I'm really excited that they'll be covering Calgary (and the rest of Western Canada). Interested to see who they've got on board to cover the Flames.

Same here, I was convinced to subscribe after an article on Hamonic they did in June. Good stuff, and I'm all for any Flames content that doesn't have the Rogers stink on it.

[Incogneto]

I always just assumed that if/when they come to Calgary, Haynes would be the man. The dude is the best Flames writer we have, and we should all be thankful for him.

[StrykerSteve]

Selfishly, I hope Haynes doesn't join them. I've grown to enjoy his podcasts and it would suck if they end.

[Reggie Dunlop]

I would think former Flames beat writers like Scott Cruickshank or Randy Sportak would be in on this.

Haynes, I think, has a pretty secure gig at Canadian Press. Most of his work goes online. Although who knows these days. Game reports can be written by 'bots nowadays.

[Freeway]

My guess is The Athletic will roll out their Canadian line-up in a couple weeks when camps open.

[Galakanokis]

I know they have hired some excellent football and baseball writers recently. Ken Rosenthal just signed on and he is one of the best in my mind.

Will have to check a subscription out.

[Gaskal]

I'm definitely open to signing up for a subscription, just holding out to see who they hire on.

[RyZ]

Im guessing its going to be somebody like a Kent Wilson writing for Calgary (hockey). From what I have read so far, analytics is king at The Athletic and I dont think somebody like Haynes, Johnson or Sportak are the kind of writers they are looking for.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by RyZ

Im guessing its going to be somebody like a Kent Wilson writing for Calgary (hockey). From what I have read so far, analytics is king at The Athletic and I dont think somebody like Haynes, Johnson or Sportak are the kind of writers they are looking for.

Well, I was interested until this post. Barf.

We already know what the stats are (or we can get them at will). What I don't want is another article telling me this player is great, or that player sucks, based on those stats.

Monahan's possession numbers were only 45% last night? So what? Tell what he did with it when he had the puck. Tell me something interesting that you saw during the game. Don't tell me Hamilton's corsi was 52% and Smith's save percentage was .912. That tells me nothing of value.