The Athletic: Sports News Ratings and Reviews

Back To Normal

Everything is back to normal with the technical aspects of the app! HALLELUJAH! The app goes back to 5 Stars because, after the latest fix, The Athletic has the best sports content with the best writers around. Thank you for all the app fixes in recent weeks! Please don't do that again!
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You've recovered much after you blew up the usefulness of your app a month or two ago, but there is still a few glaring item you continue to overlook with your many updates to recover: the app still no longer syncs read articles in My Feed across devices and the website like it used to do. And, you still can't swipe left or right across articles in My Feed using an iPad though you can again do so with an iPhone. A thing I loved about how the app was previously set up was that articles you read on, say, the iPad also showed up as read on my iPhone and the website. Please fix these remaining problems you introduced to what previously was one of the best sports subscription apps available and I'll go back to a 5-star rating.

Developer Response ,

Hi. Please be sure to update your app to the newest version. If you are still encountering issues with these features, please contact support@theathletic.com and mention your review name "Granville00".

I love the Athletic... but not the app

Let me start by saying that The Athletic is one of my favorite sites as both a sportswriter and a fan. There’s a lot of quality content on the site that I have no problem paying for.

The problem I have is with the experience that comes with the app. For the recurring cost, I’d expect something that works more smoothly and loads articles properly. Ever since the most recent redesign of the app, it has been freezing on the intro screen at least half of the times that I open it. After getting through those freezes, the app will kick me back to the home page whenever I switch to one of my team filters. When loaded, the stories themselves are generally slow and unresponsive, which further hurts the experience.

There are other minor complaints, such as not having articles load in the app after being clicked on from newsletters or social media feeds, as well as not being taken to the comment that’s made on your thread when you get a notification, leading you to try to figure out which story you commented on in the first place, which typically doesn’t have the response to your comment anyways. (Desktop is always ahead of the app in terms of comment threads being updated). Overall, the quality of this app is nowhere near the value of free sports apps, which is a shame, because the writing is great.

Developer Response ,

We have released an update for this issue. Please update your app and if you encounter any further issues contact theathletic.com/contact-support and please select issue type "App Review Feedback" so we may assist you directly.

Good at first, now trash

Seemed interesting when this first launched, but now it’s just as bad as a decade or two ago at ESPN. It really is just an updated version, now that their plan is to hire big names, not talented writers or columnists. Don’t waste your money. Speaking of ESPN, Keith Law literally had my account (comment portion, anyway) for the most banal critique I’ve ever written; verbatim: “Lol Keith’s analysis of these ‘prospects’ is silly, but to each their own.” Oh, the humanity! It’s so lame. No need for it. Thought it’d be more legitimate when the Times bought it. Not so. Shame. Used to be solid. Addendum: Don’t wanna sound like a right-winger decrying the lack of free speech! Not at all. But in the first couple years, it really was interesting and fun to comment and engage right below the stories. Now? It’s SLIGHTLY-better ESPN with comments that need to be banal as heck to even make it on the platform. Shame. Thought when the Times acquired TA, there’d be a bit more liberal takes. Nah. We all love the Times, but they’re a corporate entity first and foremost. Really is a shame because TA used to be very good. Oh, and they promote white supremacy in the comments AND articles like it’s going out of style. Especially NHL related stories. A but with MLB, but I must say their “big name” MLB reporters are the best they have or the four major sports. Buy at your own risk/peril. Take care.

Subscription renewal

Imagine my shock when after turning off the auto-renewal option for my subscription, my credit card was still billed. Realizing this must have been some sort of technical glitch, I reached out to support for assistance. The automated response was what you would typically expect for this type of issue.
Having now paid for another year’s subscription, I figured I’d read some fine journalism this morning. I perused the content of the Athletic and settled on a fine article. Imagine the shock when after the first paragraph receiving the “ subscribe to continue reading” message. So I’ve paid but don’t get access to the content, PERFECT!
I followed the steps which direct me to the settings page. The message clearly shows the iOS subscription cancellation on Feb 10,2024, the program has blocked my access( acknowledging the cancellation of the subscription)yet the billing department didn’t get the memo. It shouldn’t be this difficult.
It’s disappointing to have to write a review to get someone to actually pay attention. Maybe this will help get the issue resolved but I doubt it. I’m sure there will just be another lazy attempt at customer “service”.

Amazing publication, App needs a small adjustment

I love the Athletic and have been a subscriber for over a year now. The content is incredible and I am consistently amazed by the interactivity of the readers and the columnists. Unlike the comment sections in other sites like ESPN, or Bleacher Report, the thread underneath articles or in the “Discussion” section of the app is almost always intelligent and on topic - a throughly refreshing atmosphere.

The recent update I like a lot in terms of aesthetics, though as a alumnus of the University of Virginia, as well as a fan of Cleveland sports, I wish there was still a way to look at all the teams you follow in a grid, as swiping between the three “Cavaliers” streams (NCAAF, NCAABB, NBA) is frustrating. All three teams share the same name and there is nothing to distinguish which is which.

Otherwise a truly excellent app and publication. I rave about it to my friends ceaselessly. Keep up the good work! (A special shoutout to the Cleveland writers, your work is phenomenal)

“The Athletic” approach

Why doesn’t The Athletic have any of their affiliated writers actually cover the actual play of the most recent game?? Yesterday’s Giants game vs St. Louis had no articles that I could find that actually talked about the game itself. To me, the benefit of having writers at the games is to provide some insight on what happened and to offer opinions on how well or poorly the team performed. We can’t always watch or listen to the game. So why don’t you tell us about it?

The other issue I have with the writers is their approach to writing about sports in general. I’m assuming they’re all professional sports journalists. Why do they all write their “columns” like they’re writing an episode script for a low budget sitcom. The lame and juvenile “jokes” that seem to be more important to them than whatever topic they’re trying to cover! This style of writing seems to permeate all aspects of sports whether it’s the Giants’ hideous new uniforms , the “A’s” phantom stadium
plans, or the 49ers quarterback competition. A little humor is often appropriate and/or enlightening to a particular topic, but it shouldn’t be a template that dominates the article, with a few facts or opinions thrown in to fill out the script.
The Athletic is supposed to be a sports forum. Leave the comedy to Hollywood.

Great for Fans of out of State teams

I am a die hard Colts fan living in Texas, and as you could imagine finding good content for my team outside of Twitter was consistently a challenge. I’ve been following Holder on Twitter for years and he remains my favorite writer, so when he moved to the Athletic I was ecstatic. The subscription was a no brainer for me. He and Zak Keefer provide great insight, and I love their podcast. I know with print losing some steam people get annoyed with pay walls and premium content, but it’s just a sign of the items. I am very grateful for the content I get as a Colts fan living in Cowboy country. As long as Holder and Keefer are with the Athletic you can count on my subscription. If you are a fan who follows a team that is out of your market, the Athletic is essential to get the kind of content you would otherwise miss. My only qualm would be these discounts only new subscribers get, I get the business model but spread the love and reward current subscribers every now and then.

Developer Response ,

Thank you so much for the great review! We look forward to bringing you even more great content in the years to come. Thank you for being a part of The Athletic!

Good for articles, not much else

I enjoy several columnists on here but navigating otherwise is not great. I like a single overall front page with the top stories in all sports, regardless if I follow that sport or league. Still haven’t found a place to see that.

With help from support a while back, I found where the standings are but it is annoying how far deep you have to dig to get to them. First you have to go to scores, then scroll over among your favorites to pick your league, then choose standings. Also, here in baseball playoff time there is no indication of where a series is and who is leading, it only shows the scores. I’m basically done with baseball for the year because i hate all teams that remain but I like to see who has the series lead while I’m on here looking at other stuff. I have to leave and go elsewhere so if it is on here, it’s too hard to find. After this trial is over I’ll have to justify if it’s worth full price for the few people I really like but as a paid total sports source, there are other free choices I’ll lean on.

Can’t post comments (I’ve paid the last 2 yrs)!!!

Really like the articles (NFL & MLB) but, it seems their quality is way down from 2+ yrs ago. Also, we finally got an Astros writer & now we have no Texans main writer. But what’s even worse, is that I think I got “banned/flagged” for a comment I made 2+ yrs ago (it wasn’t terrible) because since then, I’ve been blocked out. The absolute WORST thing is that I’ve emailed The Athletic 5+ times & never even got a single response. I’m a paying customer, which should either allow me to post comments or at very least, tell me via email/phone/text, why I can’t. I rank the: Writing & article quality in the 7.5-9 range (out of 10). Customer service is 0/10. Not having a dedicated writer for my local NFL team is 1/10. And as Houston is the 4th largest city in the USA (& diehard about football), not having a Texans’ writer is either inexcusable negligence or deliberately being done (ex: since the NY Times owns The Athletic & NYC sports fans HATE the Houston Teams, we get minimal coverage). Please email me & help me get my “ability to post comments” problem fixed.

Ads are annoying

A pop-up that is asking for me to rate the app while I’m in the middle of reading an article is annoying enough, but at least it could potentially lead to an improved experience. What was far more annoying was accidentally clicking on an ad as I was scrolling through the article I was reading. Or the very fact that these ads that are filling my article have no relevance to me whatsoever. The Athletic is a paid subscription site, which I pay for to get away from the copious amounts of ads experienced on other platforms. What does it say about The Athletic that my review hasn’t even touched on the actual product that the app is a vehicle of?
Do I enjoy the content and writing on The Athletic? Yes. But ESPN has some great writers, and I am able to access their content for free or through a subscription that affords me the ability to watch more content than I could ever want.
While the actual product that The Athletic is delivering is good, there is room for improvement on the platform overall. The primary culprits for the lessened user experience are the ads