Apple News+ Subscription Now Includes 'The Athletic' Sports Coverage

Apple has announced that Apple News+ subscribers now have access to daily sports news from The Athletic, which delivers in-depth coverage of hundreds of professional and college teams across the major sports leagues globally.

apple news the athletic
Owned by The New York Times, The Athletic's coverage includes the English Premier League, NFL, NBA, WNBA, NHL, MLS, PGA, National Women’s Soccer League, NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, NCAA men’s college basketball, NCAA women’s college basketball, LaLiga, UEFA Champions League, and more.

"Like so many lifelong sports fans, I am a devoted reader of The Athletic and their fantastic sports reporting and local coverage," said Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Services. "We're so proud to now bring sports fans The Athletic in Apple News+ — which millions of News+ subscribers are going to love."

‌Apple News‌+ subscribers in the U.S., the U.K., Canada, and Australia can follow The Athletic in the Sports section of ‌Apple News‌ to find complete coverage. In addition, the NYT's Wirecutter product reviews will be available for free to all ‌Apple News‌ users beginning early next year.

The New York Times acquired The Athletic in January 2022 for $550 million. The newspaper then shut down its sports desk in July and said it would roll in some of The Athletic's content into its core publication.

Notably, The New York Times ended its partnership with ‌Apple News‌ in June 2020, claiming that the service did not "align with its strategy of building direct relationships with paying readers."

Apple in October increased the price of an ‌Apple News‌+ subscription, from $9.99 per month to $12.99 per month. In the U.S., it was the first-ever price increase for ‌Apple News‌+ since the service launched in November 2019. In a statement shared with MacRumors, Apple said it is "focused on delivering the best experiences possible for our customers by consistently adding high-quality entertainment, content, and innovative features to our services."

Popular Stories

apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

Apple Says iPhone Driver's Licenses Will Expand to These 8 U.S. States

Tuesday July 8, 2025 11:26 am PDT by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Unfortunately, this feature continues to roll out very slowly since it was announced in 2021, with only nine U.S. states, Puerto Rico,...
iphone 16 pro ghost hand

5 Reasons to Skip This Year's iPhone 17 Pro

Thursday July 10, 2025 4:54 am PDT by
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 series in two months, and the iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to get a new design for the rear casing and the camera area. But more significant changes to the lineup are not expected until next year, when the iPhone 18 models arrive. If you're thinking of trading in your iPhone for this year's latest, consider the following features rumored to be coming...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro to Reverse iPhone X Design Decision

Monday July 7, 2025 9:46 am PDT by
Since the iPhone X in 2017, all of Apple's highest-end iPhone models have featured either stainless steel or titanium frames, but it has now been rumored that this design decision will be coming to an end with the iPhone 17 Pro models later this year. In a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo today, the account Instant Digital said that the iPhone 17 Pro models will have an aluminum...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

Leaker Reveals Amount of RAM in iPhone 17 Through iPhone 17 Pro Max

Wednesday July 9, 2025 8:08 am PDT by
Three out of four iPhone 17 models will feature more RAM than the equivalent iPhone 16 models, according to a new leak that aligns with previous rumors. The all-new iPhone 17 Air, the iPhone 17 Pro, and the iPhone 17 Pro Max will each be equipped with 12GB of RAM, according to Fixed Focus Digital, an account with more than two million followers on Chinese social media platform Weibo. The...
apple account card feature

Apple Account Card Expanding to More Countries

Tuesday July 8, 2025 7:34 pm PDT by
Apple is expanding the ability to add an Apple Account Card to the Wallet app to more countries, according to backend Apple Pay changes. With iOS 15.5, Apple updated the Wallet app to allow users to add an Apple Account Card, which displays the Apple credit balance associated with an Apple ID. If you receive an Apple gift card, for example, it is added to an Apple Account that is also...
iOS 26 Feature

Everything New in iOS 26 Beta 3

Monday July 7, 2025 1:20 pm PDT by
Apple is continuing to refine and update iOS 26, and beta three features smaller changes than we saw in beta 2, plus further tweaks to the Liquid Glass design. Apple is gearing up for the next phase of beta testing, and the company has promised that a public beta is set to come out in July. Transparency In some apps like Apple Music, Podcasts, and the App Store, Apple has toned down the...
macbook pro blue green

M5 MacBook Pro No Longer Coming in 2025

Thursday July 10, 2025 12:38 pm PDT by
Apple does not plan to refresh any Macs with updated M5 chips in 2025, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Updated MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models are now planned for the first half of 2026. Gurman previously said that Apple would debut the M5 MacBook Pro models in late 2025, but his newest report suggests that Apple is "considering" pushing them back to 2026. Apple is now said to be...
iCloud General Feature Redux

iPhone Users Who Pay for iCloud Storage Receive These Five Perks

Wednesday July 9, 2025 9:20 am PDT by
If you pay for iCloud storage on your iPhone, did you know that Apple offers you five perks beyond the extra storage space, at no additional cost? Here are the perks included with all iCloud+ plans:Private Relay keeps your Safari browsing history entirely private from network providers, websites, and even Apple. Hide My Email generates unique, random email addresses whenever needed. Hom...

Top Rated Comments

toobravetosave Avatar
20 months ago

Unless I am missing something great with Apple News+.
U are not
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Godspeed8230 Avatar
21 months ago
Just FYI: The Athletic is also part of the full subscription package of the New York Times.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JohnAengus Avatar
20 months ago
So, this is like cable TV. I have to pay more so they can add sports content when I don't have any interest in it. You can google many of the News+ articles and read them elsewhere. I canceled with the price increase.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NMBob Avatar
20 months ago

More like streaming, which started out small with the channels you wanted, and then expanded to including "DIY 3 - Just tiny homes" and "ESPN 6 - Competitive knitting" that no one wants.
And ESPN 8, "The Ocho".
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macos9rules Avatar
20 months ago

If Apple News+ includes a subscription to NYT, I may reconsider joining Apple News+. The moment Apple started charging me 12.99, I dropped the News+ subscription. A jump from 9.99 to 12.99 is quite steep. I still have my NYT subscription.
Same! Whoever is in charge of these price changes is completely out of touch with reality.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NMBob Avatar
20 months ago
What about Obscure Sports Quarterly, so I can keep up with the international dodgeball news?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)