Sports Illustrated publisher reportedly laying off most of its staff

Article content

Authentic, the group that owns the iconic Sports Illustrated, reportedly is laying off most of the staff of the publication, including both print and digital employees.

Article content

As first reported by Front Office Sports, an email sent to SI staff on Friday read: “We were notified by Authentic Brands Group (ABG) that the licence under which the Arena Group operates the Sports Illustrated (SI) brand and SI related properties has been officially revoked by ABG.

Article content

“As a result of this license revocation, we will be laying off staff that work on the SI brand.

“Some employees will be terminated immediately, and paid in lieu of the applicable notice period under (the union contract). Employees with a last working day of today will be contacted by the People team soon.

“Other employees will be expected to work through the end of the notice period, and will receive additional information shortly.”

Authentic purchased Sports Illustrated for $110 million US five years ago and, according to an email obtained by Front Office Sports, has terminated the agreement it holds with The Arena Group to publish SI in print and digital.

Article content

Three weeks ago, Arena missed a multi-million-dollar payment that breached the company’s SI licensing deal.

The union representing employees at the long-running magazine, Sports Illustrated Guild, replied with a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) saying:

“We have fought together as a union to maintain the standard of this storied publication that we love, and to make sure our workers are treated fairly for the value they bring to this company. It is a fight we will continue.”

The publication was recently involved in controversy involving the use of AI-generated stories, instead of actual authors.

More to come…

Check out our sports section for the latest news and analysis.

Article content