The Ankler moves to Passport for tighter audience control

The Ankler, a Hollywood-focused media startup led by Janice Min and Richard Rushfield, is migrating its publishing from Substack to Passport—a new subscription platform created by Ben Thompson and built with Automattic. Passport will give The Ankler more ownership of its audience and data, enabling personalized marketing and bundled subscriptions (including podcasts and events) while the outlet continues to publish on an owned site backed by Passport. Substack will still host a weekly newsletter and Rushfield’s live video product. The move exemplifies publishers shifting toward durable, customizable business models; The Ankler remains profitable with tens of thousands of paid subscribers and did not disclose new funding.