With sports, local newspapers try 'unbundling' the subscription
The rookie campaigns of many newspapers' digital sports subscriptions are over. Now comes the work of developing the standalone subscription products into long-lasting sources of revenue.
After the success of The Athletic proved that sports coverage is a passion area that can drive people to take out their wallets, newspapers carved out their sports coverage as discrete subscription products. The bet is these products, while priced lower than a full digital subscription, will draw in sports fans who primarily rely on the publication for sports coverage versus, say, city hall reporting. Newspaper publishers ranging from Hearst to McClatchy to The Dallas Morning News all piled into the space, and upstart news publications such as the Daily Memphian, which launched in the fall of 2018, did too.
For example, McClatchy, which has put a sports content product called SportsPass out in 10 of its 30 markets since launching its first in August 2018, is figuring out how to expand SportsPass past its core offering of unlimited access to that market's sports content for $30 per year. It is kicking around ideas ranging from conference calls with reporters to exclusive livestreams on Facebook, Miami Herald managing editor Rick Hirsch said.
Read more from Digiday.
MORE
Branding high school football
Attach the newspaper's name and brand to the local high school football rivalry game, and you have the Citizen Tribune Kickoff Classic in Morristown, Tenn.
The two high schools serving Morristown and Hamblen County, the East Hurricanes and the West Trojans, play the game, sell the tickets and provide the concessions. The Citizen Tribune sells everything else, from souvenirs to Jumbotron ads to time-out sponsorships.
"They play anyway. We just make it a much bigger deal," said Mike Walker, sales and marketing director for the paper.
MORE
AP to add automated stories previewing NHL games
The Associated Press has begun previewing all National Hockey League games with data-driven text stories generated by automation from HERO Sports and data from Sportradar.
AP staffs all 1,250 NHL regular-season games and all playoff games each season, but the global news agency has never before delivered previews of every game.
MOREChattanooga Times Free Press selects Presteligence for high school sports coverage
Presteligence has announced that the Chattanooga (Tenn.) Times Free Press will use My Team Scoop for its high school sports coverage of 55 area schools.
MORE
5 simple steps to grow basketball revenue + engagement
It's now simpler than ever to create a basketball strategy to drive huge results.
MORE
The power of sports: Driving revenue, engaging audiences
The Mega-Conference will be held Feb. 26-28 in San Diego, Calif.
AP to name first preseason All-America football team, kick off 82nd year of Top 25 poll
The Associated Press All-America team, the longest-running annual honor roll of the nation's top college football players, will begin its 92nd year with its first preseason edition on Tuesday, Aug. 22. The preseason edition of the AP Top 25 football poll, entering its 82nd year, will be released a day earlier on Monday, Aug. 21.
MORE
The Canton Repository's FridayNightOhio.com to use My Team Scoop
The hometown newspaper of Presteligence will utilize the My Team Scoop platform to host Friday Night Ohio's website and mobile apps.
Coverage will focus on the 2017 high school football season for more than 50 schools in Stark and surrounding counties.
MORE
SNPA members are eligible for discounted, revenue-producing football pages
College football kickoff is just weeks ago, and SNPA members are eligible for special savings on top-quality, revenue-producing weekly conference preview pages that focus on the SEC, ACC and other conferences during the coming football season.
The pages are produced by GateHouse Media's Center for News and Design, a Strategic Partner for SNPA and its member newspapers.
MORE
Use Google Sheets for your online prep sports stats
It is imperative to have a plan for the fall sports season. What's wonderful about the prospect of a new school year is the potential to update not just the master plan, but also the processes you use to fill those plans.
Here's a prime example: Why not update the way you keep high school sports statistics?
MORE
We have a new website:
www.newspapers.org
America's Newspapers – the association formed from the merger of the Inland Press Association and Southern Newspaper Publishers Association – was ceremonially launched October 6 at its inaugural annual meeting in Chicago.
Dean Ridings will be its chief executive officer, effective Nov. 11.
America's Newspapers unites two of the oldest press associations to form one of the industry's largest advocates for newspapers and the many benefits to their communities, civil life, freedom of expression and democracy.
"Newspaper journalism provides a voice for the voiceless, challenges elected officials, shines a light on government, calls for change when change is needed, and exposes corruption and injustice," said Chris Reen, the president and publisher of The Gazette in Colorado Springs who will serve as the first president of America's Newspapers.
More
New association launches today;
SNPA-Inland merger is complete
A new association formed by the consolidation of SNPA and the Inland Press Association was officially launched today. The name of the new association will be announced on Oct. 6 at the association's first annual meeting in Chicago.
Edward VanHorn, SNPA's executive director, said that the merger unites two of the country's oldest press associations into a progressive new organization that will use its bigger and more powerful voice to be an unapologetic advocate for newspapers.
More