purge at CyclingTips

[mstateglfr]

Im trying to figure out what I would pay for this. I would pay $5/month for sure as I find value and entertainment from the podcasts to be worth that, even if they are free.

Would I pay $10/month though?...eh, not sure. No real logical reason to hesitate, just gut. $10 is barely and sometimes not even a single fast food order now, so its not like thats big money, yet still I hesitate.
Fascinating.

I dont know what all of them want to be paid, but if there are 5 full time, I would think they would need over 8000 subscribers at $5/month to cover salary, web costs, and basic financial reporting.
^Is that a lot of subscribers? Not a lot? No idea. Its global so from a population perspective it seems small. Those base numbers are also obviously a WAG. If anyone has knowledge and wants to chime in to adjust, have at it.

[jpritchet74]

Originally Posted by Clean39T

I think Dave would say that a good chain tool is a metaphor for happiness though.. he just isn't so on-the-nose with it. I love listening to him talk about that stuff on the pod. And I also love that Caley rides and has a soft-spot for Campagnolo, even if he (and the rest of the gang) appear to know less about Campy than your average Paceline'r*. Maybe they need a Crusty Fries guest blog on the new site.. Ye Olde Patate needs a wider audience, if he's available.


*I of course have to tip my hat to Shoddy regardless - just listening to him say 'Campagnolo' is reward enough....

Yes to all of that.

I am hoping that this works out for them.

[trener1]

This model might be able to work.
I am not sure if many of you have heard of The Athletic
I am a big baseball and football fan and I subscribe to the athletic. it's all subscription based and behind a paywall.
But what they are putting out is really great writing, through and analytical, way beyond the scores etc...
They are the ones that broke the Astros sign stealing story (just as an example) and the are growing, hiring more writers.
In fact the 2 teams that I follow had one dedicated beat writer at the start of 2022 and now have 2 beat writers (each).

Now.... the big difference is of course the target market, there are tens of millions of people that follow, MLB, NFL, NHL, NBA, Collage Football, Collage Basketball, Soccer. so even if you are a fan of just one of those sports you pay the subscription, obviously cyclingn's fan base is maybe 1 percent of those numbers.....

[earlfoss]

I am just not into taking on another monthly payment no matter how much. I wish them the best though.

[Upcountry]

Originally Posted by trener1

This model might be able to work.
I am not sure if many of you have heard of The Athletic
I am a big baseball and football fan and I subscribe to the athletic. it's all subscription based and behind a paywall.

A big tell might be that The NYT includes a free subscription to The Athletic with a standard NYT subscription...

[redir]

But why do we need ‘traditional media’ anyway? If YouTubers, influencers, and social media give us an assortment of satisfying content fed by an algorithm, what else do we need?

If you’re waiting for me to answer this rhetorical question, you’re probably not part of the audience we want to appeal to. Apologies if that sounds dismissive, but it’s a conversation for another day.

This is not traditional media though. The last cycling related traditional media I got was Dirt Rag, a magazine shipped to my front door. I was totally bummed when they folded. I would still pay for that but I'm not going to pay for a website.

Media shouldn’t exist for the sole purpose of selling you more ****.

When has it not? From the very first publications in news print, pamphlets, magazines to the first radio, silent film, talkies, motion pictures and TV there has always been commercial advertisements.

People are sick and tired of the subscription model. Many who 'cut the cable' because it cost so much find them selves paying more for Hulu, Netflix, blah blah blah nickeled and dimed to death.

I sincerely wish them good luck but it seems like they are paddling up stream to me.

[aaronffs]

Originally Posted by Upcountry

A big tell might be that The NYT includes a free subscription to The Athletic with a standard NYT subscription...

athletic was around for six~ years before being bought the NYT though (but needed a buyout due to their financials...)

a better comp for this would probably be defector, seems to be doing alright with the exact same story + business model

[Old School]

Originally Posted by prototoast

I still haven't forgiven Patrick Brady for that awful article he wrote in bicycling magazine that was supposed to be about riding in Japan, but was actually about his failing marriage.

Interesting. That is one of the best articles about cycling I have ever read in my life. I have also shared with several people, who have also enjoyed the metaphors of cycling and emotion, despite all of us having successful marriages and families.

I was also able to visualize Japan and temples while reading.

Would you ever consider re-reading it?
I have probably read it three times, and glean something new each time.

[rice rocket]

Originally Posted by aaronffs

athletic was around for six~ years before being bought the NYT though (but needed a buyout due to their financials...)

a better comp for this would probably be defector, seems to be doing alright with the exact same story + business model

$550 million in cash was a bailout buy?

[spoonrobot]

This is great news. I spend around $150/month on various substack and I'd be more than happy to throw another $10-20 a month to Cyclingtips to get them out from under the thumb of both the publishing industry and the bicycle race-industrial complex.

[Old School]

Perhaps relevant to their discussion of themselves, but interesting in it's own right.

"The Expanding Dark Forest and Generative AI
Proving you're a human on a web flooded with generative AI content"

https://maggieappleton.com/ai-dark-forest

[trener1]

Originally Posted by rice rocket

$550 million in cash was a bailout buy?

You beat me to it.

The times bought The Athletic for over 1/2 $ Billion, so The Athlatic must have been doing something right.
And their coverage has only improved since the buyout

[Jaybee]

The Athletic is definitely doing something right. If you want smart, insightful writing on whatever sport or team, I'd start there. Most of the good beat writers and analysts have at least some connection to them these days.

I'm not sure if it will scale similarly, but if this CyclingTips 2.0 can be anything like that, I'm in.

[aaronffs]

Originally Posted by rice rocket

$550 million in cash was a bailout buy?

Originally Posted by trener1

You beat me to it.

The times bought The Athletic for over 1/2 $ Billion, so The Athlatic must have been doing something right.
And their coverage has only improved since the buyout

https://www.vox.com/recode/22870773/...lion-explained

"The reason the Athletic is selling for $550 million — less than the $750 million the company was reportedly seeking, and around the value its investors thought it was worth in February 2020, when it last raised money — is because it has to.

As The Information’s Jessica Toonkel has reported, the startup burnt through more than $100 million in 2019 and 2020. In 2020 alone, when sports went dark for much of the year, it lost $41 million on revenue of $47 million. And even its most optimistic projections had it losing money until at least 2023. "

It's not a profitable business, buying the highest profile local writers and constantly offering discounted subscriptions isn't exactly a winning short term model... but I agree with both of you, the content is good and the model will probably work for ct2.0 (fwiw, i've been subscribed to the athletic for a few years now)

[mhespenheide]

Originally Posted by rice rocket

No disrespect to TCI, but their content misses my interests by about a mile.

CT fit my needs of understanding bike tech + current events with (relatively) unfiltered editorializing. TCI provides neither.

I agree with you on the content; I was talking about the underlying concept.

I'm baffled why Red Kite Prayer was something that I checked regularly and sometimes had great content, while I often go months at a time without even remembering that The Cycling Independent exists.

But I do think that CT absolutely editorialized. But perhaps their editorial philosophies align with mine/ours more closely and that makes it look transparent...