Cyclingtips = Velonews, Pinkbike = Beta

[HenryA]

Originally Posted by mcteague

You pay for magazines and newspapers and yet they have always had ads.

Tim

They don’t blink or pop up over what you’re trying to read.

[jemdet]

I happily pay for a news subscription from [insert big national paper] each month. There isn't enough cycling news for me to justify spending any amount of money on a cycling website.

These websites are what, 75% ad placement for bike brands? 15% boilerplate race result copy? 10% photos of readers bikes? Not much "journalism."

The biggest cycling story in recent memory was primarily discovered / reported by a non-cycling outlet, yes?

To that point - check out outside online. They'll give you a great longform article or two every year. The rest of the site is sponcon or filler dreck about canned wine or ponderous generic articles about podcasts.

[Yoshi]

Ah, for the days when VeloNews was a newspaper from Vermont
Those were the days.

[HenryA]

Originally Posted by yoshi

ah, for the days when velonews was a newspaper from vermont
those were the days.

+1

[lightweenie]

I decided to stop reading CT after I got the email. I did enjoy some tool reviews and the bike of the bunch column but I was sometimes upset at clickbait titles (the ultegra fishing rod article comes to mind as an example). It is definitely not a website I consider worth it to pay a subscription for.

So assuming I would like to get a subscription for an old fashioned print road cycling magazine, what are my options? I used to be a subscriber of tour-magazine between 2000 and 2010 but at some point I felt that it repeats itself. Maybe bicycle quarterly or rouleur are worth a look? Other ideas?

[Clancy]

With already extremely low media exposure compared to most other sports, how is cycling going to attract new fans if that media cover is now more restricted?

If I were a new fan becoming interested in cycling and ran into this, I would simply turn my attention to other sports.

Cycling has enough of a climb to grow its fan base. Doesn’t need more obstacles.

As hard as the new market is for media companies to make a profit, for the industry as a whole I believe this is a very shortsighted and ultimately a failing move.

I also quit going to CT, stopped clicking on VN months ago.

[mcteague]

Originally Posted by HenryA

They don’t blink or pop up over what you’re trying to read.

Because they can't. They do often take up an entire page or stretch the article you are trying to read onto a narrow portion of the page. Ads are nothing new in either medium; irritating...yes, but part of the deal I suppose. They have to pay the bills somehow.

Tim

[BRad704]

Fwiw, Outside also bought BikeReg.com


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[alexihnen]

I actually just paid to join CyclingTips and Velonews. Between the two, I have cycling pretty well covered. Our household has also subscribed to a national paper and magazine, as well as a couple kids publications. You can beet having paper in your hands and the printed word to read, especially for the kids. I really look forward to the content on CT/Velonews and think those producing it should be paid well above minimum wage. Happy to pay.


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[oldpotatoe]

Sorry James(Angry Asian)..just deleted off my bookmarks list..Velonews too.

[glepore]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

Sorry James(Angry Asian)..just deleted off my bookmarks list..Velonews too.

Yeah. I think this whole thing will be a hard sell. We're used to the content for free, and we're a pretty small market, so if even 30% of us get annoyed enough to tune out, then what.

Podcasts are next, I'm afraid. Pay to listen.

[alexihnen]

I’m sure that it takes a surprisingly small number of paid subscriptions to offset online ad revenue. Financially, a publication will be much healthier with a subscription model. The reach won’t be as big, but the old model is gone.


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[bmeryman]

Another aspect of the pay-for-content world that's quickly becoming a more common option is Patreon. I'm much more inclined to support a content creator directly rather than subscribing to corporate overlords beholden to shareholders.

For instance, I've been reading Pinkbike for probably about 10 years and I really feel like the Mike/Mike/Sarah team (as mentioned in this thread) plus other staff have really been an integral part of the passion and content being put out on that site, even if it seems to be trending more toward ads framed as articles. If Pinkbike switches to a subscription model, I'd really like to be able to support M/M/S directly rather than just paying Outside.

And maybe they'd decide to part ways and create their own new media outlet that I could support through Patreon...until they become big again and sell to Outside in 2035 and the cycle starts anew.

[MikeD]

What free cycling forums are out there besides Paceline, Weight Weenies, and Road and Mountain Bike Review?

[professerr]

Originally Posted by bmeryman

Another aspect of the pay-for-content world that's quickly becoming a more common option is Patreon. I'm much more inclined to support a content creator directly rather than subscribing to corporate overlords beholden to shareholders.

For instance, I've been reading Pinkbike for probably about 10 years and I really feel like the Mike/Mike/Sarah team (as mentioned in this thread) plus other staff have really been an integral part of the passion and content being put out on that site, even if it seems to be trending more toward ads framed as articles. If Pinkbike switches to a subscription model, I'd really like to be able to support M/M/S directly rather than just paying Outside.

And maybe they'd decide to part ways and create their own new media outlet that I could support through Patreon...until they become big again and sell to Outside in 2035 and the cycle starts anew.

As I have several friends who are on Patreon, I want to like it, but last time I
went there I was totally put off by their performative privacy policies, and a quick look at their investors tells you all you need to know about where they are going with ad based revenue.

Forums like this are (so far) one of the last bastions of (almost) ad free content. You just have to grin and bear the occassional dancing banana.