- The Athletic integrates more live blogs with video to keep audiences engaged and protect content from AI scraping.
- Human-led, in-the-moment coverage aims to provide a competitive edge over automated systems.
- The move coincides with major sporting events, testing the effectiveness of rapid multimedia storytelling.
The Athletic is expanding its use of live blogs enriched with video as part of a broader effort to keep audiences on its own sites and to blunt the impact of automated content collection by AI systems.
According to a report in Digiday, the move, timed to coincide with overlapping major sporting events this week, reflects a belief inside the publisher that real-time coverage and short-form video are harder for machine agents to replicate quickly and compellingly.
Publishers are under growing pressure from AI-powered aggregation that can siphon value from original reporting. By doubling down on formats that reward immediacy and personality, The Athletic is testing whether editorial distinctiveness can still translate into audience loyalty and commercial leverage.
“The one thing that AI isn’t as good at is the live experience. And so we can be that expert for you in the moment. Humans will always be faster,” said Sarah Goldstein, editorial director at The Athletic.
Laura Williamson, editor in chief of The Athletic UK, told Digiday the publisher only recently began adding video to its live feeds and that the aim is context and personality rather than verbatim play-by-play. “I’m mindful that in today’s AI world, the one thing [AI] can’t generate is [real-time] information. So that push to break news and nuggets of information, [such as] what you’re hearing, what you’re seeing, make it really vibrant. It comes alive,” Williamson said.
The Athletic has scaled staffing to support the approach. Digiday reports roughly 30 staff assigned to Winter Olympics coverage and 55 to Super Bowl reporting, with about 20 and roughly two dozen reporters respectively contributing video to those live blogs. The publisher is also distributing short clips via Instagram, X, Bluesky and Facebook to funnel readers back to its live pages, and is running a daily Olympics newsletter that launched on February 6. According to Similarweb, The Athletic recorded 16.9 million unique visitors in January 2026, a 59% increase year on year.
The Athletic’s investment in live, video-heavy coverage also forms part of a shift away from dependence on search referrals. The publisher says its newsletter subscriber base has grown to more than 10 million across 11 titles, up from five million in May 2025, and that flagship mailings attract large audiences. Sponsorships for Olympic coverage include Amazon, Deloitte and Jeep, the company said.
“The biggest thing is just trying to show everyone what it’s like to be here and be part of that moment,” Goldstein said. “Not everyone wants to sit and read a full story. Not everyone has time. But you do have time to become smarter in a 90-second video. Or as you’re watching the game, if you have a question about something, a live blog is going to help answer that.”
Source: Noah Wire Services
- https://digiday.com/media/the-athletic-invests-in-live-blogs-video-to-insulate-sports-coverage-from-ai-scraping/?utm_campaign=digidaydis&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=general-rss – Please view link – unable to able to access data
- https://digiday.com/media/the-athletic-invests-in-live-blogs-video-to-insulate-sports-coverage-from-ai-scraping/ – The Athletic, owned by The New York Times, is enhancing its live blogs and video content to protect its sports coverage from AI scraping. By integrating video into live blogs, The Athletic aims to provide real-time, human-driven updates that are more challenging for AI tools to replicate. This strategy is intended to keep audiences engaged on their platform and safeguard their reporting from being scraped and repurposed by AI technologies. ([digiday.com](https://digiday.com/media/the-athletic-invests-in-live-blogs-video-to-insulate-sports-coverage-from-ai-scraping/?utm_source=openai))
- https://www.yahoo.com/news/reddit-lawsuit-against-anthropic-ai-130000037.html – Reddit has filed a lawsuit against AI company Anthropic, alleging that its web crawler, ClaudeBot, illegally scraped Reddit users’ data, including posts from sports fans. The lawsuit claims that Anthropic violated Reddit’s user agreement by using the scraped content to train its AI tool, Claude, without user consent. This case highlights the ongoing concerns about AI companies accessing and utilizing user-generated content without proper authorization. ([yahoo.com](https://www.yahoo.com/news/reddit-lawsuit-against-anthropic-ai-130000037.html?utm_source=openai))
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixellot – Pixellot is an Israeli software development company specializing in automated video and analytics solutions for the sports industry. Founded in 2013, Pixellot partners with various sports organizations, including Major League Baseball (MLB), colleges, and high schools, to provide automated video capture and analysis. Their technology aims to enhance sports broadcasting and fan engagement by offering comprehensive video coverage without the need for traditional camera crews. ([en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixellot?utm_source=openai))
- https://wsc-sports.com/blog/industry-insights/from-the-locker-room-to-the-livestream-this-is-how-ai-supplements-the-modern-sports-industry/ – WSC Sports offers AI-powered video automation that ingests live feeds and archives, analyzing and tagging events in real time. Their platform enables the rapid creation of personalized sports content, such as match highlights and social media videos, enhancing fan engagement and streamlining content production for sports organizations. This technology has been adopted by major sports leagues and broadcasters to deliver timely and relevant content to audiences. ([wsc-sports.com](https://wsc-sports.com/blog/industry-insights/from-the-locker-room-to-the-livestream-this-is-how-ai-supplements-the-modern-sports-industry/?utm_source=openai))
- https://apify.com/yearning_aspect/sports-news-scraper – Apify provides a sports news scraper tool designed to extract data from various sports news websites. The tool includes features like automatic retries for network errors and partial result saving, ensuring reliable data extraction. It also offers guidance on handling anti-scraping protections implemented by many sports news sites, which may block direct requests. Users are advised to deploy the scraper on the Apify platform for optimal performance. ([apify.com](https://apify.com/yearning_aspect/sports-news-scraper?utm_source=openai))
- https://www.zentag.ai/solutions/video/media – Zentag AI offers AI-driven solutions for media companies, focusing on automated sports highlights and intelligent live recaps. Their technology aims to accelerate news cycles and engage global audiences by providing rapid highlight curation for breaking stories. Zentag’s tools are designed to enhance sports journalism and digital storytelling, addressing the challenges of manual highlight creation and distribution. ([zentag.ai](https://www.zentag.ai/solutions/video/media?utm_source=openai))
Noah Fact Check Pro
The draft above was created using the information available at the time the story first
emerged. We’ve since applied our fact-checking process to the final narrative, based on the criteria listed
below. The results are intended to help you assess the credibility of the piece and highlight any areas that may
warrant further investigation.
Freshness check
Score:
10
Notes:
The article was published on February 9, 2026, and reports on recent developments at The Athletic, including the addition of video to live blogs and the hiring of a global head of video. No evidence of recycled or outdated content was found.
Quotes check
Score:
8
Notes:
The quotes from Sarah Goldstein and Laura Williamson are attributed to the Digiday article. While the quotes are specific and relevant, they cannot be independently verified through other sources. This lack of independent verification slightly reduces the score.
Source reliability
Score:
9
Notes:
Digiday is a reputable publication known for its coverage of media and technology. The article is authored by Sara Guaglione, a journalist with a history of reporting on media industry trends. However, the article relies heavily on information from The Athletic’s representatives, which may introduce bias.
Plausibility check
Score:
9
Notes:
The claims about The Athletic’s strategic focus on live blogs and video to combat AI scraping are plausible and align with industry trends. The hiring of a global head of video and the addition of video to live blogs are consistent with efforts to enhance content engagement and protect against AI content scraping. However, the effectiveness of these measures in preventing AI scraping remains uncertain.
Overall assessment
Verdict (FAIL, OPEN, PASS): PASS
Confidence (LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH): MEDIUM
Summary:
The article provides timely and relevant information about The Athletic’s strategic initiatives to combat AI content scraping. While the content is original and sourced from a reputable publication, the reliance on internal sources without independent verification introduces some uncertainty. The effectiveness of the measures discussed remains to be seen, and the potential impact of AI scraping on The Athletic’s content is an ongoing concern.
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