Original video programming "appears to be the newest way The Athletic is courting subscription dollars," as the site this week begins "airing a video series called 'Gordon Hayward: The Return,'" according to Sahil Patel of DIGIDAY. Produced by The Players’ Tribune, series "spans five episodes, each running between eight and 12 minutes." The Athletic CEO Alex Mather said that the series "marks the first time The Athletic is posting video that’s only for its subscribers." The site has "exclusive rights to 'The Return' globally," while TPT "retains ownership rights of the show concept and intellectual property, and after an unspecified amount of time, will also have the ability to re-distribute the show across other platforms and distribution channels." For The Athletic, which had "more than 100,000 paying subscribers as of June, exclusive video programming is another way to satisfy existing customers while trying to recruit new ones." With nearly $30M in funding, the site has the money to "aggressively court not only big-name sportswriters but also high-quality video productions" (DIGIDAY.com, 10/9). In Boston, Kevin Paul Dupont noted The Athletic will "find a way to incorporate a gambling component to its ever-expanding platform." It is "hard, if not impossible, for mainstream media to develop that niche," but The Athletic has a "stated goal to exterminate daily sports sections across North America" (BOSTON GLOBE, 10/7).
