NFL Media and The Athletic have had talks about expanding their relationship, including the idea of content from the New York Times—owned sports outlet running on the league’s digital platforms, sources told Front Office Sports.
It is unclear how far the talks have progressed, but landing spots for Athletic content could include NFL.com and the NFL+ app. Spokespeople for The Athletic and NFL Media declined to comment.
Last year, The Athletic struck a deal that gave it the right to use NFL highlight snippets on its site and video podcasts.
Quietly, The Athletic has also already reached a syndication deal for some of its stories to be distributed on NBA.com—one example from earlier this week included a story about LeBron James launching a golf channel on YouTube.
It would be an interesting strategic move for The Athletic content to be distributed on these platforms. On one hand, it leads to wider reach. But on the other, the site’s biggest focus since it launched more than a decade ago has been building a subscription base behind a paywall.
Nevertheless, The Athletic has also been forging ahead with video content, including a popular NFL show hosted by Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen, and Dave Helman. The site also recently hired Jonathan Jones away from CBS Sports, with an eye towards him being a multiplatform talent.
When the NFL sold NFL Network to Disney earlier this year, it retained control of its digital properties, including NFL.com and its YouTube page, mobile and smart-TV apps, and FAST channel. As FOS first reported earlier this week, NFL Media is re-arming its talent base, bringing back hosts Andrew Siciliano, Colleen Wolfe, and Mike Yam, as well as hiring digital creators Brett Kollmann and Trevor Sikkema.
