The Athletic, acquired by The New York Times in 2022, is scaling back its local podcasts while focusing more on national audio content. Sources inside The Athletic say the shift is strictly audio, and beat reporters will continue to write local coverage. The decision aligns with recent layoffs at The Athletic that affected 4% of the newsroom staff.
The New York Times aims for The Athletic to profit by 2025. The Times has disbanded its sports department, relying solely on The Athletic for sports coverage.
The Athletic’s change in podcast strategy coincides with its reduced focus on in-depth coverage of individual pro teams over the past year. The platform’s current podcast lineup includes three national NBA podcasts while cutting several local podcasts dedicated to teams like the Detroit Pistons and Dallas Mavericks. Despite the cuts, a few local podcasts remain, primarily those with high listener engagement.
Several former hosts of The Athletic’s podcasts plan to relaunch their shows independently, although they will have to rebrand due to The Athletic retaining the rights to the podcast names.
