Sports Illustrated, a renowned sports magazine that has been a staple in the industry for decades, recently made headlines for all the wrong reasons. The company announced a mass layoff of its employees, sending shockwaves throughout the sports journalism community. This unfortunate event highlights the challenges faced by traditional media outlets in an increasingly digital world.
The layoffs at Sports Illustrated are not just about losing jobs; they represent a significant loss for sports journalism as a whole. For years, Sports Illustrated has been synonymous with quality reporting and captivating storytelling. Its writers and photographers have covered some of the most iconic moments in sports history, leaving an indelible mark on the industry.
Authentic Brands Group, the magazine's owner, said in a statement that it ended its licensing agreement with The Arena Group, the magazine's publisher, to publish Sports Illustrated, but that it remained committed to the 70-year-old magazine's continued publication.
"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," it added in the statement
According to FOS, Sports Illustrated’s parent company, Authentic Brands Group, has sought to revoke Arena’s license to publish SI after Arena missed a payment.
Richard Deitsch of The Athletic separately tweeted Friday an image of an email sent out to workers that said “staff” who worked for the Sports Illustrated brand were being laid off.
The union representing SI’s staff said in a tweeted statement that it had been notified of Arena’s intention to “lay off a significant number, possibly all” of its union-represented staff.
“This is another difficult day in what has been a difficult four years for Sports Illustrated under Arena Group (previously The Maven) stewardship,” the union said in a statement. “We are calling on ABG to ensure the continued publication of SI and allow it to serve our audience in the way it has for nearly 70 years,” the statement read, using an acronym for Authentic Brands Group.
Sports Illustrated moved from weekly to biweekly publication in 2018 and in 2020 it was reduced to monthly issues.
"This is a sad event for sports journalism because SI was a breeding ground for some of the finest long-form writers (sports and otherwise) found in American journalism," Conrad continued. "It has devolved from this point for many years, but at a time when sports reporting has seen its share of cutbacks in major daily papers, it is one more step in that process."
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