SI to continue print edition, rehire staff, under deal with Minute Media

The Sports Illustrated print edition, and at least some of the magazine’s laid-off staffers, have received a reprieve from new licensee Minute Media.

Authentic Brands Group, which owns the Sports Illustrated brand, has agreed to license SI publishing rights to Minute Media under a deal that will last at least ten years and as many as 30, The New York Times was first to report Monday. Minute Media, which owns The Players Tribune and Fansided, plans to both continue the print edition of SI and rehire at least some of the staffers who were laid off in January by previous SI operator The Arena Group.

SI has been in flux since its acquisition by ABG in 2019. ABG initially intended to allow SI’s previous owner Meredith Corporation to continue publishing the magazine, but instead licensed those rights to The Arena Group (named Maven at the time). Under Maven/Arena, SI cut back on the print edition, endured waves of layoffs, and diluted its brand with fan-generated content and — more recently — what appeared to be AI-generated articles penned by fictitious authors.

Arena Group had its license revoked after missing a scheduled payment to ABG in December, which triggered mass layoffs and put the venerable brand on the brink of extinction. SI had still been publishing content under Arena management in the months since, but per the Times, the new deal immediately ends Arena’s association with the publication.