Dear Reader – After so many years I feel I can speak honestly with you: RR needs your support to stay alive.
In an attempt to continue providing elite Raptors content, RR will move to a two-tiered content system beginning October 18 with some types of articles moving behind a subscription.
What: About half our content will remain free, and the rest will be behind a $6 CAD/month (tax inclusive) subscription. Excluding readers who cannot afford this was the most difficult part of this decision, so if you absolutely can’t afford this, Sam up on Discord (Discord ID: @northyorker#4037) and we’ll work something out. Obviously, making such an offer can be abused, but we trust our readers.
Why: It is the only way RR can survive while maintaining the volume and quality of content that you are accustomed to.
When: Everything is free until October 18, at which point you’ll need a subscription to access certain types of content. Subscribe here and it’ll kick in then.
Our promise to you: We’ll create the highest quality Raptors content, with revenue going to the writers that create that content. By supporting RR you are supporting independent journalism.
Why now?
There are three major reasons we’re going down this route:
- Our mission when we started RR 14 years ago was to provide in-depth, honest, and informed analysis of the Raptors. That has not changed. We love running the site and want to continue to do so while delivering the best Raptors content available. To do so, we need a predictable cash flow which advertising dollars can no longer provide, despite us having better-than-ever traffic.
- We would like RR to be a place where our writers can earn what their work is worth and have a predictable income. This is a basic human need which any employer should aim to satisfy. The vast majority of our revenue will go to our writers.
- We want to grow in the community. We’re talking basketball leagues, watch parties, more 3-on-3 tournaments, live shows and more. We need capital for that.
We have expanded on these points including how the state of the industry informed this decision in our Discord post which you can read after you sign up to our Discord (or just click here to read it in your browser). Check it out if you’d like greater detail on why we went this direction.
What stays free?
We have kept much of the content free because we are a community website which should be accessible to everyone. We don’t want to change that. Our community has made us what we are today, and our readers are everything to us. So, here’s the stuff that anyone can access anytime without a login or subscription:
- Morning Coffee
- Quick Reaction
- Pre-Game / Gameday
- Podcasts
- Some Raptors 905 coverage
- Some CanBall coverage
- All YouTube shows including Rap Up
Here’s what’s offered under Premium:
- In-depth Raptors post-game reports
- Editorials of unsurpassed quality
- Breaking It Down analysis
- The best Raptors 905 coverage out there
- The best Canada Basketball coverage available
- Draft coverage
- Much more
Our Promise of Value to You
We intend on ramping up coverage on all fronts this year: Raptors, Raptors 905 and Canada Basketball. Here’s some things we have planned.
Behind the Scenes Access: Louis Zatzman and Samson Folk have full credentials with the Raptors and will be providing in-depth analysis and stories from the locker room, all with the quality levels that you expect from them and from RR.
Game Analysis and Editorials: RR welcomes back Joshua Howe whose editorial musings long-time readers will recognize and love. RR’s long-standing commitment to giving fresh talent the platform they deserve continues with new writers including Brett Huestis, Mikai Bruce, Simon Broder, Kristian Cuaresma, Sai Pirapakaran, and more creating best-in-class Raptors content.
905 Coverage: Andrew Damelin and Teru Ikeda have full credentials and will be providing Raptors 905 coverage to give a look at what’s in the Raptors talent pipeline. No one has ever covered the 905 with the detail and consistency you know RR provides.
Canada Basketball: Oren Weisfeld, Jonathan Chen and Teru Ikeda will continue our strong coverage of Canada Basketball, including Canadians in the NBA. You have seen their recent coverage and know it’s going to be on point.
Xs and Os: Samson Folk will be leading our Breaking It Down coverage, giving you tactical and strategic insights into not just what Nick Nurse is thinking but how opposing teams view the Raptors.
Culture & Humour: Adon Moss will be breaking down 10 Things every week in his excellent weekly column that so many have come to love.
Draft content: Brendan Stewart is one of the best draft minds around and will be adding intermittent, Raptors-focused coverage throughout the season rather than just during the offseason.
Podcasts & YouTube: Sahal Abdi, Adon Moss, Oren Weisfeld and Kyle Brickman will be live after every game on YouTube with Rap Up Live, a fun show that gives you that cathartic release; a great counterweight to the sober analysis of Samson Folk in the Reaction Podcast. In addition, our stellar podcast lineup features:
- The Interview with Andrew Damelin focusing on Raptors 905
- Raptors Weekly with Samson Folk recapping the week that was
- Confederacy of Dunks with Freddie Rivas and Matt Duncan
- Runnin’ Off the Screen wth Mac Cunningham
- Buckets & Tea with Cathryn Naiker
Morning Coffee: The classic daily by Sam Holako needs no introduction.
Social Media: Keyane Haddad will be creating live highlights as they happen on Twitter so you can follow the game along. Zahra Gabajiwala, Zach Hirshberg and Drew Yang will be creating content for Instagram and TikTok.
—
This is our promise to you. To fulfill it, we need your support. Keep RR and independent journalism alive – subscribe today.
