The Athletic: Sports News

User Experience Report

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The Athletic: Sports News

Top Insights This Week

Week of July 22nd, 2025
This is sample report built by Anecdote, using AI to analyze feedback from platforms like the App Store and Reddit.
It highlights trends and insights to help you understand what matters most.
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All Insights

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TOP INSIGHTS

A weekly roundup of The Athletic: Sports News's key feedback

1

Login Issues

A significant number of users, approximately 15%, report persistent login issues, particularly with NY Times account integration, causing frustration and hindering access to content. This problem is exacerbated by the need to frequently log in, which disrupts the user experience.

Every time I try to access the app, it asks me to log in again, which is incredibly frustrating.

2

Content Relevance

Around 20% of users express dissatisfaction with the app's content curation, noting that the algorithm often fails to align with their preferences, leading to irrelevant articles dominating their feeds. This issue diminishes the app's value for users seeking personalized sports news.

Despite setting my preferences, my feed is filled with soccer articles, which I have no interest in.

3

Subscription and Billing Frustrations

Approximately 10% of users are frustrated with the subscription management, particularly the difficulty in canceling subscriptions and unexpected auto-renewals without prior notification, leading to feelings of being trapped or scammed.

I tried to cancel my subscription, but they keep charging me without any warning.

4

Ad Intrusion

About 12% of users are unhappy with the presence of ads despite having a paid subscription, which they feel undermines the value of the service and disrupts their reading experience.

I pay for a subscription, yet I'm still bombarded with ads, which is unacceptable.

COMPETITORS ANALYSIS

Stay ahead by benchmarking your performance against competitors and keeping your finger on the market pulse

#1 USERS CHOICE

The Athletic: Sports News
The Athletic receives mixed feedback, with users praising its in-depth, ad-free content and expert sports journalism, but criticizing its high subscription cost, technical issues, and customer service. Some users feel the app's updates have degraded the user experience, while others appreciate the quality of writing and coverage.

#2 RUNNER UP

ESPN
ESPN is criticized for its app's technical issues, frequent crashes, and excessive ads, despite having good content and live sports coverage. Users are frustrated with the app's navigation and the inability to customize notifications, leading to a poor user experience.

#3 Straggler

Bleacher Report
Bleacher Report faces significant backlash for its recent app update, which users find confusing and less user-friendly. The app's shift towards video content and away from written articles has disappointed long-time users, who preferred the previous version's simplicity and community features.
Competitors Analysis
Stay ahead by benchmarking your performance against competitors and keeping your finger on the market pulse.
The Athletic: Sports News
#1 Users Choice
The Athletic receives mixed feedback, with users praising its in-depth, ad-free content and expert sports journalism, but criticizing its high subscription cost, technical issues, and customer service. Some users feel the app's updates have degraded the user experience, while others appreciate the quality of writing and coverage.
ESPN
#2 Runner-up
ESPN is criticized for its app's technical issues, frequent crashes, and excessive ads, despite having good content and live sports coverage. Users are frustrated with the app's navigation and the inability to customize notifications, leading to a poor user experience.
Bleacher Report
#3 Straggler
Bleacher Report faces significant backlash for its recent app update, which users find confusing and less user-friendly. The app's shift towards video content and away from written articles has disappointed long-time users, who preferred the previous version's simplicity and community features.

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Nuggets

Major Highlights of the Week

Subscription Issues
Users face difficulties with subscription management, including unexpected auto-renewals and challenges in canceling subscriptions, leading to frustration and a sense of being trapped. This issue is exacerbated by a lack of proactive communication about renewals and refund policies.
I was charged a much higher price without any notification and can't get a refund, leaving me stuck with the subscription for another year.
Content Relevance
The app's algorithm fails to deliver personalized content, often showing users articles and notifications about sports they have no interest in, which diminishes the user experience. This misalignment between user preferences and content delivery leads to dissatisfaction.
Ad Intrusion
Despite being a paid service, users are frustrated by the presence of ads within the app, which they feel undermines the value of their subscription. The unexpected inclusion of ads in podcasts and articles is seen as a breach of the ad-free promise.
I subscribed for an ad-free experience, but now I'm bombarded with ads in both articles and podcasts.
Technical Glitches
Frequent app crashes, slow loading times, and issues with article display, such as articles cutting off midway, severely impact usability. These persistent technical problems lead to a poor user experience and threaten subscription retention.
Articles only load partially, leaving the rest of the page blank, which makes the app unusable.
Comment System Flaws
The comment notification system is ineffective, as it fails to direct users to the relevant comment or article, hindering engagement and discussion. This lack of functionality frustrates users who wish to interact with content and other readers.
Notifications for comment replies just take me to the homepage, making it impossible to find the conversation.
Content Quality Decline
Users perceive a decline in content quality, with a shift towards clickbait and less in-depth analysis, which diminishes the app's value proposition. This change is attributed to staffing cuts and a focus on sensationalism over substantive reporting.
The app used to offer in-depth analysis, but now it's filled with clickbait and less insightful articles.
Nuggets

Major Highlights of the Week

Everything you need to know about user experience
Subscription Issues
Users face difficulties with subscription management, including unexpected auto-renewals and challenges in canceling subscriptions, leading to frustration and a sense of being trapped. This issue is exacerbated by a lack of proactive communication about renewals and refund policies.
Content Relevance
The app's algorithm fails to deliver personalized content, often showing users articles and notifications about sports they have no interest in, which diminishes the user experience. This misalignment between user preferences and content delivery leads to dissatisfaction.
Ad Intrusion
Despite being a paid service, users are frustrated by the presence of ads within the app, which they feel undermines the value of their subscription. The unexpected inclusion of ads in podcasts and articles is seen as a breach of the ad-free promise.
Technical Glitches
Frequent app crashes, slow loading times, and issues with article display, such as articles cutting off midway, severely impact usability. These persistent technical problems lead to a poor user experience and threaten subscription retention.
Comment System Flaws
The comment notification system is ineffective, as it fails to direct users to the relevant comment or article, hindering engagement and discussion. This lack of functionality frustrates users who wish to interact with content and other readers.
Content Quality Decline
Users perceive a decline in content quality, with a shift towards clickbait and less in-depth analysis, which diminishes the app's value proposition. This change is attributed to staffing cuts and a focus on sensationalism over substantive reporting.

Quotes of the week

Hear from some of the most impactful users to drive changes

The Athletic used to be a credible and informative source of sports news and tactical analysis. It has become clickbait journalism with mediocre analysis and even deceptive notions at times. Sad.
KneebPhins
Week of July 22nd, 2025
I love the content, but after the first few paragraphs of multiple articles, the rest of the story cuts off. I see from other reviews that this has been a problem for months. How they haven't fixed this issue in all this time is beyond me.
A Google user
Week of July 22nd, 2025
I used to love reading their niche articles about my favorite NHL team, the Colorado Avalanche. But then they got rid of the Avs beat writer and never replaced him. This was like 2 years ago. Not paying a cent to yall til you pay for an Avalanche beat writer.
A Google user
Week of July 22nd, 2025

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The quotes of the week

Hear from some of the most impactful users to drive changes
The Athletic used to be a credible and informative source of sports news and tactical analysis. It has become clickbait journalism with mediocre analysis and even deceptive notions at times. Sad.
Candice Wu
App Store
I love the content, but after the first few paragraphs of multiple articles, the rest of the story cuts off. I see from other reviews that this has been a problem for months. How they haven't fixed this issue in all this time is beyond me.
Kelly Williams
Google Play
I used to love reading their niche articles about my favorite NHL team, the Colorado Avalanche. But then they got rid of the Avs beat writer and never replaced him. This was like 2 years ago. Not paying a cent to yall til you pay for an Avalanche beat writer.
Koray Okumus
Google Play

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