Wade Wallace is hinting and starting another site. There is an interesting Twitter thread and discussion between John Bradley and Wade. It seems to show that there isn’t great money in cycling publishing (I met a guy who works for Outside when I was in Boulder - said they aced the printed magazines (velo, peloton) because they were losing gobs of money). Also we get some insight into how/why Wade sold CT in the first place. Worth a read

https://twitter.com/johnwbradley/status/1592900891429851137?s=46&t=VvgRCukJ0jR_L5FHF3YAww

I'm no fan of John Bradley nor Caley Fretz.  In my opinion, both were part of the problem.  I distinctly recall Bradley writing what was really a marketing piece for Rapha in the guise of journalism when he was at Outside.  And VeloNews, not sure if he was at the helm, and/or Fretz, participated in manufacturers marketing sessions that were disguised as product launches--you know, a big company flying out staffers from several mags out to a resort to ride bikes, resulting in a fun vacation for the staffers, decent images, lots of swag for the staffers, and nearly identical articles published in several outlets.  I've heard that Fretz did a brief spell where he was working at both Mavic and VeloNews at the same time.  I'm told that many a magazine staffer was, in years gone by, working for manufacturers on the side, doing freelance work.

Of course, one can say that they were symptoms.  And, that wouldn't be entirely unfair. 

Thurston made his wealth by selling Map My Ride to Under Armour.  I believe he is a small investor in the group that owns Outside.  I assume that several of the titles Outside has bundled together would have failed otherwise, but probably not all.  

I think that there's more to the story.  Namely I think something changed with the investors.  A year ago, Thurston had a vision that he claimed would happen over five years, transitioning to 70% of revenue being from subscriptions.  I think investors are pulling back, which is squeezing the company.  

https://pressgazette.co.uk/robin-thurston-interview/

Since VeloNews and CyclingTips were under the same roof, there have been signs that they were going to reduce duplication; it looked like CT was going to be reviews and flavor while VN was going to be Euro road racing, American gravel, and some training.  And with Daniel Benson switching from CyclingNews to VN, they were getting a guy who just churns out stuff.  I think the Peloton mag acquisition was because somehow Peloton won the TdF guide--I think Outside wanted to kill off their competition for this advertiser-friendly paper publication.

I also think that a guy named Steve Maxwell, who seems to be an investor who masquerades as an occasional writer for VeloNews, is an investor in the Outside venture.  I bring it up because he wrote something a few years ago that seems to foretell some of what Outside is doing.  I think some of his observations are spot on.  I don't think his solutions make for things I'd want to read.

https://theouterline.com/surviving-in-the-cycling-media-business/

I was thinking about the transcript on my Sunday ride.  The word "friction" got stuck in my head.  Thurston claimed he wanted to reduce it, but, in the context of Outside's properties, I don't think they've done much to change the amount of friction I experience.  Arguably, CyclingNews is doing a better job by linking reviews to affiliate links for product, though I don't like seeing those links.

And I found this article around Thurston and Outside in 2021.  Looking at teh vision he laid out then, it's hard to see how they were even following it for long.