Programming Associate, The Athletic
Subscription-based sports content publisher
Job no longer available
Subscription-based sports content publisher
501-1000 employees
Job no longer available
501-1000 employees
Company mission
To produce smarter coverage for die-hard fans and redefine the way fans get access to sports content by flipping the normal model for sports journalism.
Role
Who you are
- 1-3 years experience in journalism/media, content programming, digital marketing, social media or similar (sports media preferred)
- Experience writing headlines and homepage packaging with a strong eye for detail
- Data-driven and analytical; ability to think critically around metrics
- Extensive knowledge of football both in the UK and abroad
- Strong understanding of The Athletic, its subscribers and the larger sports media space
- High-quality news judgment with the ability to identify the biggest stories of the day and how they relate to the larger news cycle
- Clear communicator and can disseminate information concisely to various stakeholder groups
- Knowledge of U.S professional / collegiate sports (NFL, CFB, NBA, WNBA, MLB, NHL, CBB) is preferred
What the job involves
- The Athletic is looking for passionate sports fan with copywriting proficiency and an eye for great content to join our team as a Programming Associate
- In this fast-paced role, you’ll be responsible for curation, packaging and distribution of original content across various channels including, but not limited to, The Athletic web home page, app feeds, push alerts, newsletters and The New York Times
- The Programming Associate will be an expert on content produced by our staff of 400+ UK and U.S. journalists, be able to flourish in a fast-paced environment, and be expected to assist on high-level projects around our content distribution strategies
- Execute content programming and distribution strategy, including curation and distribution of articles, podcasts, and video
- Identify highly engaging content from across our newsroom to broaden The Athletic’s reach to subscriber and potential subscriber audiences
- Serve as the curation expert across the The Athletic homepage, league pages and app in real-time
- Write and send daily push alert notifications for team and league followers
- Develop copy that advances The Athletic’s voice and targets relevant audiences based on the platform and its user experience
- Monitor real-time analytics to inform curation and homepage strategy
- Assist in planning and strategizing multi-channel campaigns around priority content and key events
- Communicate with editors from across the newsroom to proactively identify high-performing content, plan programming strategy across channels, and provide quantitative and qualitative feedback on content performance
- Collaborate with social, marketing, design and our newsroom to align voice across all platforms
Salary benchmarks
Our take
The Athletic provides authentic, in-depth coverage written by journalists who know the teams they write about inside out. Its model bucks the trend of traditional sports journalism outfits by asking for a subscription rather than relying on ad-revenue.
Despite initial doubts that users would be willing to pay for sports journalistic content, The Athletic has found significant success and was acquired by the New York Times in 2022. Despite it operating at a loss directly after the takeover, it was clear that the New York Times perceived this as a long-term investment.
In 2025, it was reported that The Athletic was now profitable, which aligns well with its parent's prediction of profitability within 4 years. This has been aided by accelerated customer growth alongside the rising trend of subscription-based sports news.
Kirsty
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
Company
Funding (last 2 of 7 rounds)
Jan 2020
$50m
SERIES D
May 2019
$21.8m
SERIES C
Total funding: $139.7m
Company benefits
- Paid Time Off
- Paid Sick Leave
- Paid Parental Leave
- 401 (k)
- Short & Long Term Disability
- Free Subscription
- Competitive Health Care
- HSA & FSA
- Commuter Benefits
Company HQ
Financial District, San Francisco, CA
Leadership
Adam Hansmann
(President & Co-Founder)Previously a McKinsey Business Analyst and then Associate at Calera Capital.
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