The New York Times disbands sports department and will rely on coverage from The Athletic

NYT Co. is disbanding its sports dept., relying on coverage from The Athletic. No layoffs planned; staff will move to other roles. NYT Co. plans to expand sports coverage, drawing from 150 stories/day from The Athletic. NYT sports writers have won Pulitzers. NYT Co. bought The Athletic to expand paying subscribers. NYT Co. diversifying coverage with lifestyle advice, games, recipes. May 2021 saw new contract with newsroom union incl. salary increases, hybrid work.

The New York Times is disbanding its sports department and will rely on coverage from The Athletic, a website it acquired last year for $550 million.

The decision impacts more than 35 people in the sports department, according to The New York Times. Journalists on the sports desk will move to other roles within the newsroom and no layoffs are planned.

“Though we know this decision will be disappointing to some, we believe it is the right one for readers and will allow us to maximize the respective strengths of The Times’s and The Athletic’s newsrooms,” The New York Times Co. Chairman A.G. Sulzberger and CEO Meredith Kopit Levien wrote on July 10 in a letter to staff.

They say sports coverage will be expanded under the shift.

“Under our plan, the digital homepage, newsletters, social feeds, sports landing page and print section will draw from even more of the approximately 150 stories The Athletic produces each day chronicling leagues, teams and players across the United States and around the globe,” they wrote.

Sports writers for The New York Times have won several Pulitzer Prizes over the years, including Arthur Daley in 1956 in the column, “Sports of the Times;” Walter Wellesley (Red) Smith in 1976 for commentary and Dave Anderson in 1981 for commentary.

The New York Times Co. announced early last year that it was buying The Athletic as part of a strategy to expand its audience of paying subscribers at a time when the newspaper print ads business continues to fade.