The Athletic's coverage of MUBB

[Uncle Rico]

The back and forth with the guy from The Athletic made Marquette fans look bad, not the other way around.

The same goes for guys who go to other team's boards and decide to speak for the entire fan base.

Mhm

[WarriorFan]

I subscribe to the Athletic and read it almost daily.  Their coverage of California and Texas teams I find excellent.  They have other "pockets" of excellence and a couple of great writers that remind me of Sports Illustrated in its heyday.  Their coverage of Wisconsin sports overall - including Bucks and Packers - sucks.  The articles are thin in content or not well written, and there just is not very much coverage at all. 

I'd like to see it improve.  I miss what Sports Illustrated used to be.  ESPN the magazine was (is?  I don't know if it still exists) was horrible with everything in 100 word (max) blurbs.  I enjoy the confluence of sports and good writing and appreciate where the Athletic has brought it back. 

[Uncle Rico]

I subscribe to the Athletic and read it almost daily.  Their coverage of California and Texas teams I find excellent.  They have other "pockets" of excellence and a couple of great writers that remind me of Sports Illustrated in its heyday.  Their coverage of Wisconsin sports overall - including Bucks and Packers - sucks.  The articles are thin in content or not well written, and there just is not very much coverage at all. 

I'd like to see it improve.  I miss what Sports Illustrated used to be.  ESPN the magazine was (is?  I don't know if it still exists) was horrible with everything in 100 word (max) blurbs.  I enjoy the confluence of sports and good writing and appreciate where the Athletic has brought it back.

I think Eric Nehm does a great job on the Bucks and Michael Cohen did great Packers work.  They just hired Jason Wilde, so it'll be all seashells and balloons and fluff.

The National folks spend far too much time trying to find tearjerkers instead of doing hard news.  The stroking of college coaches is gross

[The Sultan]

The assumption the audience isn't there is simply wrong. MU fans are the 17th largest fanbase among kenpom subscribers. Three podcasts, of which Scrambled Eggs alone draws over 10,000 downloads per episode. When followers mattered, we were always one of the top TBT fanbases.

Marquette is a small school, but we have a large online following and one willing to pay for quality content. The problem isn't the fanbase, it's the offerings from The Athletic.

I don't think you understand.  The Athletic isn't going to invest in dedicated articles for smaller fanbases.  That's really not their thing.  And arguing with a guy on Twitter and telling them it should be their thing isn't going to change that.

[Galway Eagle]

I don't think you understand.  The Athletic isn't going to invest in dedicated articles for smaller fanbases.  That's really not their thing.  And arguing with a guy on Twitter and telling them it should be their thing isn't going to change that.

But the post paint touches showed that they have invested in quite a few articles for smaller programs within our own conference

[The Sultan]

But the post paint touches showed that they have invested in quite a few articles for smaller programs within our own conference

Awesome.

Maybe I just get annoyed at the whole "people don't wrote enough about Marquette" line that I read on here.  Again, are people lacking enough Marquette content in their lives?  What would more Athletic content give you that you don't already have?

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

I don't think you understand.  The Athletic isn't going to invest in dedicated articles for smaller fanbases.  That's really not their thing.  And arguing with a guy on Twitter and telling them it should be their thing isn't going to change that.

But sports fans cross over to multiple teams.  I'm not just a Marquette fan, I'm a Packers, Brewers, and Bucks fan, too.

I was on the fence about subscribing to The Athletic.  Marquette coverage would have been the tipping point to get me to subscribe.   Now I know I won't be subscribing to them.

I understand the business side.  Resources cost money and Marquette fans aren't easy subscriptions.  But it is poor business to alienate customers and potential customers.

[Galway Eagle]

Awesome.

Maybe I just get annoyed at the whole "people don't wrote enough about Marquette" line that I read on here.  Again, are people lacking enough Marquette content in their lives?  What would more Athletic content give you that you don't already have?

I don't believe that MU is lacking coverage hence my post questioning whether the market was saturated. That being said if I was a subscriber and saw a major dip in coverage of my team during the off-season and saw similar or smaller programs not have a dip I do believe it would be worth a conversation.

[tower912]

Would you rather have a dip in coverage or a raft of negative stories?

[Galway Eagle]

Would you rather have a dip in coverage or a raft of negative stories?

Are these the only two options? Xavier has had 7 articles in July ranging from interview with NBA alumni, summer league talks with former X players, talking about freshman, and even recruiting.

If there's a choice number three that is similar to Xavier's coverage I'd be taking that one and happily subscribe.

[brewcity77]

I don't think you understand.  The Athletic isn't going to invest in dedicated articles for smaller fanbases.  That's really not their thing.  And arguing with a guy on Twitter and telling them it should be their thing isn't going to change that.

No, I don't think you understand. The user base, content demand, and willingness to pay for said content is there. What The Athletic's thing is I would imagine is making money off a subscriber base. If they provided quality content, Marquette has a fanbase that has demonstrated they will pay.

The Xavier content is a good example. Similar city size, similar fanbase, there's no reason to supply content for X and not Marquette. Further, JSOnline proved you can grow and build a user base through Matt Velazquez and Ben Steele, and that started when Marquette was down as a program. Ignoring MU as a target is simply a bad business decision for The Athletic in the state of Wisconsin.

[Uncle Rico]

Would you rather have a dip in coverage or a raft of negative stories?

Based on the stuff being written by The Athletic writers, you'll be hard pressed to ever worry about negative stories. 

[The Sultan]

No, I don't think you understand. The user base, content demand, and willingness to pay for said content is there. What The Athletic's thing is I would imagine is making money off a subscriber base. If they provided quality content, Marquette has a fanbase that has demonstrated they will pay.

They have?  Based on what?

The Xavier content is a good example. Similar city size, similar fanbase, there's no reason to supply content for X and not Marquette. Further, JSOnline proved you can grow and build a user base through Matt Velazquez and Ben Steele, and that started when Marquette was down as a program. Ignoring MU as a target is simply a bad business decision for The Athletic in the state of Wisconsin.

Yes, I am sure you know more about their business model then they do.   

[The Lens]

Maillet was at the MJS for years.  He's seen the traffic count for MU every day for a decade.  He knows what gets clicks. 

[mu_hilltopper]

Why anyone would need anything beyond Scoop?  I'm not just saying that, I mean really.

Nearly every article on mubb gets posted here.   Even those behind paywalls .. someone will post a summary or the news tid-bit gets paraphrased and debated.  "The article said that blah blah blah."

It's hard to imagine any mubb news escapes notice in the Scoop universe. 

Even if it was, our infinite room full of infinite monkeys would eventually post it.

[WarriorInNYC]

They have?  Based on what?

MU fans are the 17th largest fanbase among kenpom subscribers. Three podcasts, of which Scrambled Eggs alone draws over 10,000 downloads per episode. When followers mattered, we were always one of the top TBT fanbases.

[Galway Eagle]

Why anyone would need anything beyond Scoop?  I'm not just saying that, I mean really.

Nearly every article on mubb gets posted here.   Even those behind paywalls .. someone will post a summary or the news tid-bit gets paraphrased and debated.  "The article said that blah blah blah."

It's hard to imagine any mubb news escapes notice in the Scoop universe. 

Even if it was, our infinite room full of infinite monkeys would eventually post it.

This. Especially back when the JS articles were automatically posted on here

[Herman Cain]

This. Especially back when the JS articles were automatically posted on here

I always try to post JS articles here so they can get page views . We have had excellent beat writers recently . 

[The Thing]

No, I don't think you understand. The user base, content demand, and willingness to pay for said content is there. What The Athletic's thing is I would imagine is making money off a subscriber base. If they provided quality content, Marquette has a fanbase that has demonstrated they will pay.

The Xavier content is a good example. Similar city size, similar fanbase, there's no reason to supply content for X and not Marquette. Further, JSOnline proved you can grow and build a user base through Matt Velazquez and Ben Steele, and that started when Marquette was down as a program. Ignoring MU as a target is simply a bad business decision for The Athletic in the state of Wisconsin.

I think the hard truth here is that Xavier has been a much better program recently than Marquette. They are more nationally relevant than we are right now.

[skianth16]

The Xavier content is a good example. Similar city size, similar fanbase, there's no reason to supply content for X and not Marquette. Further, JSOnline proved you can grow and build a user base through Matt Velazquez and Ben Steele, and that started when Marquette was down as a program. Ignoring MU as a target is simply a bad business decision for The Athletic in the state of Wisconsin.

I assume that in time, MU will get more coverage if/when 1) The Athletic continues to expand, and 2) MU maintains national relevancy.

When you look at the way the site is built, they have dedicated resources for what they have deemed to be key cities. Cincinnati is one of them, and Milwaukee isn't (yet). So I think that plays a role in the Xavier vs. MU coverage. Since Milwaukee isn't a primary city, that leaves MU to be covered by the Athletic WI group. So when you look at where MU falls on a priority basis for that team, MU hoops is probably #6 in the pecking order. Resources will go to all pro teams, then the major UW teams before they go to MU, especially in the offseason.

I'm guessing most people on this board are sports fans and not just MU basketball fans. The coverage for my other favorite teams has been great and well worth the subscription. Any time I can get an MU article, I just view it as icing on the cake.

[Cheeks]

Maillet was at the MJS for years.  He's seen the traffic count for MU every day for a decade.  He knows what gets clicks.

Chicken and Egg.


The state of Wisconsin is also massively provincial in nature...and even though MU is in Milwaukee, it will be treated differently than Wisconsin or any public entity.  Just the way it goes.  We had MJS editors tell us straight to our faces when I worked at MU.  Nothing will change their minds, so as an outcropping, other media fills the void which is fine by me.  User generated.  It is happening all over and if bigger media wants to pick and choose as they have, then others will respond to the call.

[Herman Cain]

Chicken and Egg.


The state of Wisconsin is also massively provincial in nature...and even though MU is in Milwaukee, it will be treated differently than Wisconsin or any public entity.  Just the way it goes.  We had MJS editors tell us straight to our faces when I worked at MU.  Nothing will change their minds, so as an outcropping, other media fills the void which is fine by me.  User generated.  It is happening all over and if bigger media wants to pick and choose as they have, then others will respond to the call.

Athletic is behind a pay wall that is limited to their subscribers. Mass media attention more important to MU. I remember back in Al's time MU could do no wrong in the eyes of the local media and there was a constant flow of coverage. All we have to do is win and that will come back again.

Also if Markus goes off this year the way I think he will ( 28 ppg type season) there will be plenty of feature articles on him.

[brewcity77]

They have?  Based on what?

What I posted above. The Twitter discussion included all of that, as well as Ben Steele, the JS beat writer, weighing in about the online fanbase growth during Matt Velazquez's tenure even as Marquette was in the midst of three consecutive years without a NCAA bid.

Yes, I am sure you know more about their business model then they do.   

I'm basing it strictly off what Maillet himself said:

Another interesting business model, devote resources and money to a team that generates no views or subs.

Clearly Pomeroy proves that Marquette does indeed generate views and subscriptions. And Pomeroy does that without Marquette specific content. Cracked Sidewalks, Scrambled Eggs, Paint Touches, Anonymous Eagle, MU Wire, Real Chilly, all of those are generating views. BCB and Dodds' site both generate revenue and traffic through a subscription model. To assert that this fanbase won't provide traffic or subscriptions when there are three other sites generating both from this fanbase and thousands willing to at least devote time to quality content when it is provided is simple ignorance.

If he wanted to leave it at "I don't have a writer" that would be a fine defense. Say you don't have someone to do the job. But to say this fanbase doesn't provide traffic flies in the face of what numerous other sites have proven there is a market for.

[dw3dw3dw3]

There's different sizes of markets. A 10k (free) market size is probably not attractive to a business who has raised 100 million dollars and is looking to become a multi billion dollar business. I'm sure they will take some loss leaders to maintain their authority, but they can easily throw in a few articles as needed per year to say they support MU. 17th in kenpom subs doesn't really mean anything. There's no context to that. Even at 1000 subscriptions you only generate 20k in revenue. I'd assume that number is closer to 100 subscriptions too. A company that investors value at over 100m is not going to focus on anything this small when there is a clear opportunity cost to chasing small fish. Free clicks and downloads  with some ads are a much different game than subs.

Tldr MU might be a good opportunity for a solopreneur looking to make a few bucks, but not for a 100M company looking to turn a profit and become a billion dollar company.

[skianth16]

Clearly Pomeroy proves that Marquette does indeed generate views and subscriptions. And Pomeroy does that without Marquette specific content. Cracked Sidewalks, Scrambled Eggs, Paint Touches, Anonymous Eagle, MU Wire, Real Chilly, all of those are generating views. BCB and Dodds' site both generate revenue and traffic through a subscription model. To assert that this fanbase won't provide traffic or subscriptions when there are three other sites generating both from this fanbase and thousands willing to at least devote time to quality content when it is provided is simple ignorance.

If he wanted to leave it at "I don't have a writer" that would be a fine defense. Say you don't have someone to do the job. But to say this fanbase doesn't provide traffic flies in the face of what numerous other sites have proven there is a market for.

Comparing kenpom to The Athletic is apples and oranges, though. Everyone I know that subscribes to kenpom is a stats nerd and loves digging into the numbers on their own. That is a pretty unique set of fans, and I doubt Athletic editors would view it as a barometer for their own site.

The bigger picture in all this, though, is that even though there is a decent chunk of MU fans that might subscribe, we're going to be much lower on the totem pole than every pro team, individual professional sports (ie- golf, MMA) most college football teams, and a lot of other college basketball teams. So these guys would probably rather get another 2% of Packers fans or another 3% of PGA fans to subscribe before going after MU fans.