Verithiathe honest score on any app
Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

The Athletic vs Bleacher Report

The Athletic 4.8★ · Free + IAP 75
Winner The Athletic
Bleacher Report 4.6★ · Free to download 55

The Athletic offers superior in-depth journalism and a more focused content experience, while Bleacher Report struggles with excessive ads and a decline in app quality after recent updates.

Full reviews: The Athletic · Bleacher Report

The Athletic provides high-quality, in-depth sports journalism for subscribers, though some users report app stability issues and unwanted ads. Bleacher Report, a free app, is praised for its broad coverage but is heavily criticized for intrusive ads, frequent glitches, and a perceived decline in content quality and app functionality after recent updates.

Head to head

Content Quality & Focus edge: The AthleticR4R7R11R16
The Athletic The Athletic is highly praised for its in-depth, high-quality sports journalism and insightful reporting, particularly for soccer and Premier League coverage R11R17R23R26. However, some users criticize it for including too much political content or 'hot takes' over deep analysis R4R7R16.
Bleacher Report Bleacher Report is valued for its broad coverage across many sports and up-to-date scores . However, many users feel the content quality has declined, with a shift from written articles to more videos and 'clickbait' opinions .
Ads & Monetization edge: The AthleticR10R12R28R39
The Athletic Despite being a paid subscription service, The Athletic users are frustrated by the presence of ads, including video ads that autoplay R10R12R28R39. Some feel this contradicts the expectation of an ad-free experience for paying customers.
Bleacher Report Bleacher Report, a free app, is heavily criticized for an overwhelming number of intrusive ads, including pop-ups and redirects to third-party sites, making the app difficult to navigate and feeling unsafe R61.
App Performance & Reliability tieR5R8R33R43
The Athletic The Athletic users report issues with the app crashing or freezing R8R33, slow loading times R43, and glitches with audio/podcast playback . Some also note problems with live activities and dynamic island features R5.
Bleacher Report Bleacher Report users frequently complain about the app being slow to open R79, general glitchiness , and issues with updates causing content not to refresh . Many feel the app's performance has significantly declined after recent updates R64.
Notifications & Alerts tieR1R13R18R24
The Athletic The Athletic users experience issues with notifications, including constant unwanted push notifications despite settings R1R13R49, unreliable score and team alerts R18, and difficulties clearing app icon badges R24.
Bleacher Report Bleacher Report users frequently report not receiving notifications at all, even with settings enabled R73. Some also mention an overwhelming number of notifications that are difficult to clear .
User Interface & Features edge: The AthleticR6R15R20R21
The Athletic The Athletic is generally seen as easy to use R20. However, users desire features like the ability to search by columnist R21, add events to calendars , and better management of subscriber-only content R6. There are also issues with commenting functionality R15R24 and missing specific stats in standings .
Bleacher Report Bleacher Report users lament the loss of previous features and a preferred old layout . Specific complaints include a ruined comment section R64R75, missing widgets , and difficulty navigating league tables .
Coverage Scope edge: The AthleticR2R23R26R42
The Athletic The Athletic is praised for its extensive coverage of world soccer R23R26. However, some international users wish for more coverage of sports like rugby and less North American focus R42, while others note a lack of tennis coverage for major events R2.
Bleacher Report Bleacher Report is generally seen as covering a wide variety of sports . However, users specifically report missing UFL game day scores and tennis scores .
Customer Support tieR34R40R49R73
The Athletic The Athletic users report difficulty accessing customer support, encountering errors when trying to find a help center R34R40 and being directed to AI chatbots that fail to resolve issues R49.
Bleacher Report Bleacher Report users describe customer service as unresponsive, with issues like receiving generic troubleshooting advice and then silence after follow-up R73.
Pick The Athletic if

You prioritize in-depth, high-quality sports journalism and are willing to pay for a subscription, even if it means encountering some ads R29. You want comprehensive coverage, especially for soccer, and appreciate strong writing R23R26.

Pick Bleacher Report if

You are looking for a free app to get broad sports news and quick score updates across many leagues, and you are tolerant of a high volume of ads and potential app instability .

Evidence note: Many of Bleacher Report's negative reviews stem from recent updates that users feel significantly degraded the app's quality and functionality, leading to a strong preference for older versions.

Frequently asked

Does The Athletic have ads despite being a paid app?
Yes, The Athletic, despite being a paid subscription app, includes ads, including autoplaying video ads, which frustrates many paying users R10R12R28R39.
Why are Bleacher Report users unhappy with recent updates?
Bleacher Report users are unhappy with recent updates because they have introduced an overwhelming number of ads, caused app instability and slow loading times, and removed or worsened beloved features like the old layout and comment section R61R64R75R79.
Which app is better for in-depth sports analysis?
The Athletic is better for in-depth sports analysis, with users consistently praising its high-quality journalism, insightful reporting, and comprehensive articles R11R17R23R29.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R4] The Athletic 1/5 · US Biased Reporting: Includes too much liberal leaning politics into sports stories. Useful only if you follow a few big city franchises.
  2. [R7] The Athletic 2/5 · US Great Idea Ruined By Laziness: The Athletic is a great idea. In depth sport journalism for the sports fanatic. Unfortunately now over two different subscriptions, it’d abundantly clear that all the NYT/The Athletic care about is low hanging fruit/clickbait “journalism.” This a subscriber based app, yet they still have a “one off” journalism/editorial strategy of focusing on hot takes over in depth
  3. [R11] The Athletic 5/5 · US Impressive Coverage: Consistent and always current, love them.
  4. [R16] The Athletic 1/5 · US Woke BS: Used to be my go-to now it’s just woke progressive BS.
  5. [R10] The Athletic 1/5 · US Videos autoplay regardless of settings: I turned off video autoplay and am constantly having video ads auto playing. Means the app is entirely unusable when not on WiFi for those of us without unlimited data.
  6. [R12] The Athletic 3/5 · US Fine: Love the content, but I should have ads in app behind a pay wall that I’ve already paid. They need to be taken out if I pay for a subscription. Or add a “no ad subscription”
  7. [R28] The Athletic 2/5 · US Now with invasive advertising: They added advertising after I paid for a subscription that they said was ad free. Will they lower the price now that ads are making the experience worse? I doubt it.
  8. [R39] The Athletic 3/5 · GB Too many ads: The app is perfect for football news and offers a refreshing switch up from what I was previously using (Twitter/X - filled with unwanted content). However very disappointed that despite paying for a membership there are still an awful lot of ads. At times taking up the whole screen! Close to being the perfect sport news app but slightly out of touch in that aspect.
  9. [R5] The Athletic 4/5 · US What happened to Live Activities on lock screen and dynamic island?: It was displaying Paraguay France World Cup live activities on the lock screen then stopped. what happened? how do you control this feature from within the app? it looked NICE. i want to turn it on but there’s no control that i can find in app. i have live activities both switched on for the app in system settings.
  10. [R8] The Athletic 4/5 · US Great app but crashes all the time: I like the app but I hate the fact that it often freezes when I’m in the middle of writing a comment.
  11. [R33] The Athletic 3/5 · US Crashes often: Increasingly this app seems to bog down loading content. Scrolling gets jerky, then app crash/quits. iOS 26.3/iPhone 13 mini.
  12. [R43] The Athletic 1/5 · US Slow: Come on, you’re in the prime time of digital age yet The Athletic apps is slow and not updating World Cup latest scores and standings. 👎👎
  13. [R1] The Athletic 1/5 · US Spam: Get off my phone
  14. [R13] The Athletic 1/5 · US Intrusive: Constantly trying to force new notifications on me, making me have to constantly turn them off.
  15. [R18] The Athletic 3/5 · US Live scores suck: The app is fast and works fine, but even when you choose your favorite leagues and teams, it fails to provide live updates.
  16. [R24] The Athletic 3/5 · US Notifications are the app’s main issue: This review is about the app notifications appears the writing and reporting. The app is fine except for notifications. 1. Comments. A user may enter comments and replies but it is impossible to find them and you aren’t notified if you have a direct tagged reply. 2. App icon badge. I frequently see numbers on the app icon but clicking on the app does not
  17. [R6] The Athletic 3/5 · US Can’t exclude articles that are subscriber only & free article links don’t return an open article: Wish I could exclude articles that are subscriber only instead of having to click and be disappointed. Also, articles that come through in notification emails as available for free aren’t available when I click on the link. Another waste of time.
  18. [R15] The Athletic 3/5 · US Cannot comment: The content is good but I’m unable to comment on anything
  19. [R20] The Athletic 5/5 · US Love this App: It’s an all in one, so I even keep up with sports I don’t think I like. At age 84 it makes things easier😊.
  20. [R21] The Athletic 3/5 · US Need a way to search by columnist: The Athletic has so many incredible writers yet, it appears there is no way to search for them (or get alerted) when they write a new piece.
  21. [R2] The Athletic 4/5 · US Wimbledon: Great app but shocked there’s no Wimbledon coverage. It’s not even listened in scores. Went to check when some of the matches were and couldn’t find it. I would suggest adding tennis for the 4 major events. Otherwise great overall coverage.
  22. [R23] The Athletic 5/5 · US Awesome Soccer Reports: Amazing insight into world soccer news from all regions, leagues, and cups.
  23. [R26] The Athletic 5/5 · US Best Premier League coverage anywhere: My trial subscription to the NY Times netted me access to The Athletic which I have enjoyed since day one. I gift articles to my sports fan sons-in-law about their favorite teams and I plan to include them in a family membership next.
  24. [R42] The Athletic 3/5 · GB Why no rugby?: Great football coverage but in the UK I don’t want to read about Baseball, Cricket and American football. I want to read about Football, Rugby and Cricket. Please start thinking about expanding your coverage…
  25. [R34] The Athletic 1/5 · US Help Center doesn’t exist?: So I’m having a problem with the app where it won’t show any comments and I went to contact support and got an error saying that help center doesn’t exist. How does one get help?
  26. [R40] The Athletic 1/5 · US Customer Support: Can’t find anyway to access customer support #
  27. [R49] The Athletic 1/5 · US Endless Push Notifications: I have turned off all push notifications other than the 3 teams I follow. Regardless, the app continues to send constant push notifications about the World Cup, nba draft, any random story, etc. I attempted to reach out to customer service and was directed to an AI chatbot for the New York Times. It failed to ever connect me to a real human and shockingly failed to un
  28. [R73] Bleacher Report 1/5 · US Awful: This app is awful simply because I never get notifications. The reason for this app is B/R is the fastest around when it comes to breaking news. I contacted customer service last week, told them the issue. They replied with a screenshot with how notifications should be set up. Like duh, acting I don’t know what I am doing. Sent a message back and it’s been crickets ever since. 🤦🏻‍♂️
  29. [R61] Bleacher Report 2/5 · US Ads: I’ve used this app for years but recently I can’t even use it anymore because I’m not getting so many ads on it that I can’t navigate the app. It’s filled with pop-ups and anytime I try to read anything or just navigate the app it’s redirecting me to a third party site. It’s giving off the feel of an unsafe website that will lead to viruses. It’s a shame that the app has gotten to this point.
  30. [R64] Bleacher Report 1/5 · US 11 FEB Update: Today’s update is straight trash. I don’t know what the developers were thinking. Then had the nerve to have the new BR icon in the sideline of the game. Focus less on the marketing and more on the actual app. Update 30 Jun they still need to update notifications and the comment section.
  31. [R75] Bleacher Report 3/5 · US Comment section: Why did you ruin this?
  32. [R79] Bleacher Report 1/5 · US Load Times to Open App Ridiculous: Wtf happen to this it take 60+ second to open every time anytime anywhere.
  33. [R17] The Athletic 5/5 · US Amazing: So much pro insight easy access to so many games well actually all games 5 stars love it
  34. [R29] The Athletic 5/5 · US Best content: Love following all my sports teams. The writing and insight is top notch.

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store