Ski Racing Media: Together With You in 2018

By Published On: January 8th, 2018Comments Off on Ski Racing Media: Together With You in 2018

The fresh start of a new year is a good time to take stock of where you are, and where you are going.  It’s also a good time to have close conversations with the people who are most important to you. For us at Ski Racing Media, it’s you, our readers who are most important to us. 

Our relationship with you is a deep partnership. We are devoted to bringing you the best of our sport and we are also very dependent upon your support.

In 2018, Ski Racing is entering its 50th year of operation. It’s mind boggling to think of all the experiences, adventures, miles and hours our staff has logged over that time covering the world’s greatest sport. We think it’s equally exciting to envision what’s ahead.

2018 is also an Olympic year – a time when our sport and our stars are recognized on a big, bright world stage. Our goal for the Games is the same as our goal in all our race coverage from the World Cup to the NCAA: to bring you the best insights and tell the best stories that ski racing inspires.

The late Gary Black instilled in us a commitment to the community and to producing quality journalism. We are, at our core, a community publication.

We’re also a small team, we wear many different hats, we work hard and we work together. We are like a family and we are passionate about the community we live in and serve. Most importantly, we are dedicated to keeping a pulse on skiing and informing you about our sport – from breaking news, in-depth features, to personalities and politics.   

I wish you could see the dedication and hard work I see day and night from our small staff of five to provide global coverage of our sport. We work hard to report and illuminate the issues of our sport and provide a platform for conversation.   

Every successful major sport enjoys the support of in-depth, quality media coverage. But the truth is, the hard economics for news publications in the digital age is a tough one. People who get their news via the internet tend to think it all should be free.  The truth is, that news is a big investment to produce. 

Last fall, Ski Racing Media (SRM) underwent yet another large shift in its business model to adapt to the changing economic landscape. In its latest iteration, SRM is a hybrid model, relying mainly on subscribers. While our audience enjoys excellent demographics sought by advertisers, an advertising-based model on its own is not enough to support niche publications in today’s digital world.

We are dependent upon a partnership with our readers. We urge you, in fact need you to, take advantage of becoming a Premium subscriber for the cost of $2.99 per month. Your involvement is critical to our continued presence in the world of ski racing. Subscribing to Ski Racing Premium is a small investment that will go a long way to helping us provide premium news and analysis of our sport for you.  If you are a current subscriber, we thank you ten-fold.

As we enter a new year, we are closer to our audience than ever before.  We’re up in subscriptions and increasing with every compelling Premium feature we publish.  We’re off to a great start this season but we have a way to go.   With your support, the future can be bright as our team has a wealth of exciting plans.

What to expect in 2018

  • 50th year of operation- We plan to dig in to our archives and re-run features to celebrate our 50 years.
  • On the ground World Cup coverage- You might hear our editors on NBC’s broadcasts, Digital Content Editor Gabbi Hall and Senior Editor Sean Higgins will be embedded on the circuit, reporting at men’s and women’s World Cup races all over Europe.
  • More domestic coverage- In addition to NorAm and NCAA coverage, through working with US Ski and Snowboard’s regional staff, we plan to bring you more junior coverage.
  • Video features- More cinematic video features and visual storytelling, like American Downhiller.
  • Mobile app- Download the U.S. Ski Team powered by Ski Racing mobile app today available for free on both IOS and Android.  The mobile application delivers users unparalleled access to breaking news from both SkiRacing.com and the USST and also includes live timing, race results, season standings, athlete profiles, photo galleries, and action videos from the alpine, freestyle, and nordic disciplines.
  • Presenting content in new and interactive ways- New this season are two informative and entertaining podcasts, both The Inside Line by Gabbi Hall and Tips and Tales by Steve Porino and Scott Lyons.  Also keep an eye out for live and behind the scenes social media content (Instagram and Facebook).
  • Website enhancements- Lastly, but most importantly, we’re committed to improving the user experience on skiracing.com. We’ve recently launched the mobile version of our site and are improving daily to better serve our Premium subscribers.

Our operation relies on your support.
On behalf of all of us at Ski Racing Media, we want to thank you for your support.  We are here for you and because of you and we rely on your support in a new subscriber-based model. In order for us to sustain this work, deepen our story telling and maintain quality journalism, we are asking for the support of our readers.

We hope you’ll get behind us and sustain our operations by becoming a Premium subscriber.

On behalf of all of us at SRM, thank you for the privilege of serving you.    

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About the Author: Claire Abbe Brown

A Minnesota native, Claire Brown grew up bashing gates under the lights at Buck Hill before joining the University of Denver Pioneers where she earned NCAA All-American honors and helped her team win two National Championships. After graduating with a degree in finance and marketing, she relocated to Park City and now enters her eighth season at Ski Racing.