Sports Museum Curator Richard Johnson (right) stands near an exhibit displaying cover photos of the sports magazine Sports Illustrated at the museum's TD Garden in Boston.
Stephen Sene/Associated Press
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Stephen Sene/Associated Press
Sports Museum Curator Richard Johnson (right) stands near an exhibit displaying cover photos of the sports magazine Sports Illustrated at the museum's TD Garden in Boston.
Stephen Sene/Associated Press
Sports Illustrated will continue to operate after the company that owns the brand reaches an agreement with a new publisher for print and digital products.
Minute Media took over on Monday after reaching a licensing agreement with Authentic Brands Group. On January 19, Authentic announced that it was revoking Arena Group's publishing license after Arena failed to make quarterly payments.
Authentic has been in negotiations with Arena, Minute Media and other publishing organizations over the past two months.
Authentic will acquire a stake in Minute Media, which also publishes online sites The Players' Tribune, FanSided and 90min. Other terms, such as the contract period, have not been announced.
“Sports Illustrated has been the gold standard in sports journalism for nearly 70 years in both print and digital media. The weight and power of that difference cannot be underestimated. Minute Media , we'll focus on bringing that heritage into something new. SI teams thrive in a new era of media, while opening up new channels and increasing visibility, commercial viability and sustainable impact. “We want to make sure they're inspired and inspired,” Asaf Peled, founder and CEO of Minute Media, said in a statement.
What this means for the writers and others who produce Sports Illustrated remains to be seen. Minute Media plans to begin meeting with SI employees over the next few weeks to decide how many staff to keep, according to people familiar with the transition. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about them.
SI co-editor-in-chief Stephen Cannella told employees in a memo to continue business as usual for the time being.
“We've said from the beginning that our top priorities were to keep Sports Illustrated, preserve our association's traditions, and protect union jobs. We're working with Minute Media to help make that happen. I look forward to discussing the future,” said Emma Baccellieri. She is a staff writer for SI and vice president of the employee union represented by NewsGuild.
Arena Group acquired at least 10 years of publishing rights from Authentic in 2019, but there were many hurdles to overcome. In December, the magazine fired CEO Ross Levinson after the magazine sparked public backlash over its alleged use of AI-generated articles.
The six years at Sports Illustrated were tough. It was acquired by Meredith Publishing in 2018 as part of the acquisition of Time Inc., which launched the magazine in 1954.
Less than a year later, Meredith sold the magazine's intellectual property to Authentic for $110 million. Authentic owns the intellectual property of many brands and stars, including Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Muhammad Ali and Reebok.
Sports Illustrated used to be a weekly magazine, but in 2018 it was reduced to a biweekly magazine and became a monthly magazine in 2020.
“In Minute Media, we have found a partner who respects SI's admirable heritage and who will exceed our fans' expectations for the future, as Minute Media leads the SI brand across a rapidly evolving media landscape. , our priority at Authentic is, and always has been, to protect the integrity and longevity of our journalism,” said Daniel W. Dienst, executive vice chairman of tactical operations at Authentic, in a statement. Stated. “Minute Media has successfully proven that they are leading the way in a new era of sports storytelling, and we are excited about this partnership and the support of Sports Illustrated as a preeminent lens into sports. We are excited and optimistic about Ted’s future.”
