Company Overview
About The Ankler
The Ankler is an independent trade publication covering the entertainment industry — Hollywood studios, streaming platforms, talent agencies, production companies, and the business of entertainment — providing insider analysis, reported news, and commentary targeted at industry professionals. Founded in 2019 by Richard Rushfield, a veteran entertainment journalist previously at BuzzFeed and Variety, The Ankler operates on a subscription newsletter model that has built a loyal following among entertainment executives, agents, producers, and journalists who value its unfiltered perspective on industry dynamics.
Business Model & Competitive Advantage
The Ankler's content covers the strategic decisions of major studios (Disney, Warner Bros., Netflix, Amazon), the streaming wars and their economic sustainability, talent representation shifts, the impact of the 2023 writers' and actors' strikes, and the ongoing restructuring of Hollywood's business model. Rushfield's voice is distinctive — combining insider access, sharp analysis, and occasional irreverence that differentiates The Ankler from trade publications like Variety and The Hollywood Reporter that must maintain broad industry relationships.
Competitive Landscape 2025–2026
In 2025, The Ankler has expanded from Rushfield's solo newsletter to a multi-writer publication with contributors covering different industry beats, positioning itself as a premium subscription alternative to free trade publication content. The Hollywood trade publication market has seen significant disruption — parent companies of major trades have faced financial pressure, while independent newsletters with loyal paid subscribers have proven surprisingly resilient business models. The Ankler competes with Puck News, Deadline Hollywood, and the major trades for Hollywood insider readership and competes with all premium Substack newsletters for entertainment professional subscription dollars.
Open Positions
Reddit Discussions
Key Differentiators
Strong Challenger
The Ankler is an established challenger with significant market presence and competitive offerings in Media & Publishing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not So Random Others
Brightcove
Brightcove is a cloud video platform providing video hosting, streaming, publishing, and monetization infrastructure for media companies, publishers, enterprises, and marketers who need professional-g
Kevel
Kevel is an ad infrastructure platform that provides APIs and tools for publishers, marketplaces, and retailers to build and operate their own ad serving and monetization systems. The company serves d
Gigwell
Gigwell is a booking and management platform for live entertainment talent — musicians, DJs, comedians, and booking agents — streamlining the business processes of live events including contract gener
Chartbeat
Chartbeat is a real-time content analytics platform used by digital publishers, news organizations, and media companies to understand how audiences engage with content — tracking page views, time on p
Arc XP
Arc XP is a cloud-based digital experience platform developed and operated by The Washington Post — providing content management (headless CMS), video management, e-commerce, subscriptions, audience a
Cinapse
Cinapse is a Y Combinator-backed production management platform that digitizes the analog workflows of film and television production — providing Hollywood crews, studios, and production companies wit
Compare The Ankler with Competitors
Side-by-side AI visibility scores, platform breakdown, and market position.
Claim This Profile
Are you from The Ankler? Claim your profile to see full AI mention excerpts, get weekly visibility change alerts, and optimize how AI systems describe your brand.
Claim The Ankler Profile →Track AI Visibility in Real Time
Monitor how ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Claude mention The Ankler vs competitors. Get alerts when AI recommendations shift.
Start Free Tracking →