Another publication is trying to fill the void left in Washington, D.C. sports coverage following the Washington Post‘s decision to shutter its sports desk earlier this year.
Marc Bluestein, a longtime D.C.-based sports marketer, is teaming up with Washington Commanders play-by-play voice Bram Weinstein to launch The District Standard, a subscription-based sports website that will feature written and multimedia coverage of D.C.-area sports, according to Sports Business Journal. The publication launched on Tuesday.
The District Standard already has several prominent D.C. sports reporters among its staff, including JP Finlay (NBC 4), David Harrison (Locked On Commanders), and Grant Mitchell, all of whom will cover the Commanders. Sammi Silber will cover the Capitals, Bijan Todd the Wizards, Andrew Lang the Nationals, and Alexander Dacy the Maryland Terrapins. In total, The Standard will employ 15 staffers at launch, including those on the business team.
A subscription to The Standard will run $7.99 per month or $79 for a year. In addition to subscription revenue, the publication will run advertisements and have an events division.
The Standard is the latest publication to try and make a play on D.C.-area sports coverage since the Post shut down its sports desk earlier this year. The Baltimore Banner, a nonprofit newspaper that has made major inroads in the Baltimore market since its launch in 2022, has expanded into D.C. sports. And The Washington Sun, formerly NOTUS, has also committed more resources into covering sports in D.C.
The District Standard, however, marks the first sports-specific effort to recapture D.C.-area sports fans since the Post‘s decision to ditch sports coverage entirely.
