Sports Illustrated to continue print editions under reported 10-year deal with new publisher

Sports Illustrated will resume publishing after its owner reached a new rights deal with digital media company Minute Media, which will reportedly operate the magazine for at least 10 years.

Monday’s announcement comes nearly two months after owner Authentic Brands terminated its publishing deal with The Arena Group, which led to mass layoffs at the venerable sports magazine.

Minute Media, best known for its sports sites The Players’ Tribune and FanSided, said it reached a long-term partnership with Authentic Brands to “usher in the future of the [Sports Illustrated] brand.”

“Sports Illustrated is the gold standard for sports journalism and has been for nearly 70 years across both print and digital media. The weight and power of that distinction cannot be understated,” Minute Media founder and CEO Asaf Peled said in a statement.

“At Minute Media, our focus will be to take that legacy into new, emerging channels enhancing visibility, commercial viability and sustainable impact, all while ensuring that the [Sports Illustrated] team is inspired to flourish in this new era of media,” he said.

Unclear what deal means for writers

There are plans for the publication’s print edition to continue for at least a decade under its new ownership, according toThe New York Times, which first broke the story.

What this means for the writers and others who produce Sports Illustrated remains to be seen. Sports Illustrated co-editor-in-chief Stephen Cannella told employees in a memo to continue operating as though it were business as usual.

“We have said from the start that our top priorities are to keep Sports Illustrated alive, uphold the legacy of the institution and protect our union jobs. We look forward to discussing a future with Minute Media that does that,” said Emma Baccellieri, an SI staff writer and vice-chair of the employee union that the NewsGuild represents.

Authentic Brands split with The Arena Group in late January after the latter missed a $3.75 million US payment for licensing rights.

Sports Illustrated lays off most of its staff

The owner of Sports Illustrated delivered layoff notices to most of its staff on Friday after nearly 70 years in operation. While it may not mean the end for sure, the future of the magazine is uncertain.At the time, Authentic vowed that the Sports Illustrated brand would continue in some capacity.

“We are confident that going forward, the brand will continue to evolve and grow in a way that serves sports news readers, sports fans and consumers,” the statement said.

As part of the deal, Authentic will also acquire an equity stake in Minute Media.

A challenging period

Sports Illustrated has had a rough six years. It was acquired by Meredith Publishing in 2018 as part of the purchase of Time Inc., which started 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.

Once a weekly publication, Sports Illustrated was reduced to biweekly publishing in 2018 and became a monthly in 2020.

In December, it fired chief executive officer Ross Levinsohn when the magazine’s alleged use of AI-generated stories drew a public backlash.