Sports Illustrated’s future in print is in doubt

Frictions between Sports Illustrated’s owner and its operator have caused unrest at the venerable magazine in recent months. That dysfunction surfaced again on Thursday.

Employees were told at a meeting that the magazine would stop publishing its print edition after the May issue, said Steve Janisse, a spokesman for Manoj Bhargava, the businessman whose hand-picked leadership team effectively manages the publication. But that message flies in the face of what Sports Illustrated’s owner, Authentic Brands Group, has said about finding a way to ensure the magazine’s survival in print.

Authentic Brands, primarily a licensing company that acquires the rights to well-known brands, bought the publication in 2019 for brand recognition, but not with the intention of running a magazine. The Arena Group, a media company that publishes several news websites, subsequently reached an agreement to operate Sports Illustrated, under license from Authentic Brands.

Last year, Mr Bhargava, the founder of the 5-Hour Energy drinks company, agreed to buy a major stake in the Arena Group.

In January, Authentic Brands terminated its deal with Arena Group after Arena breached the licensing agreement failure to make a payment of $3.75 million. Shortly afterwards, much of the publication’s staff was told they would be laid off immediately or laid off within 90 days. Since then, Authentic Brands has been considering a deal with new licensees, which has led to the current uncertainty.

Sports Illustrated was once the crown jewel of sports journalism, and its weekly cover was some of the most coveted real estate in the industry. But the publication has been in decline for years – the magazine is now a monthly rather than a weekly – and the past few months have been particularly brutal.

In November, Sports Illustrated was embarrassed by a report that it had published product reviews under fake author names, apparently generated by artificial intelligence. The Arena Group blamed an external supplier.