The publisher of Sports Illustrated has notified employees it is planning to lay off a significant portion B次元官网网址� possibly all B次元官网网址� of the outletB次元官网网址檚 staff after its license to use the iconic brandB次元官网网址檚 name in print and digital was revoked.
In an email to employees Friday morning, the Arena Group, which operates Sports Illustrated and related properties, said that Authentic Brands Group has revoked its marketing license.
B次元官网网址淎s a result of this license revocation, we will be laying off staff that work on the SI brand,B次元官网网址� the email said.
Authentic said in a statement it intends to keep the Sports Illustrated brand going, but itB次元官网网址檚 unclear if current staff will be part of whatever is next.
Sports IllustratedB次元官网网址檚 employee union said in a statement that the layoffs would be a significant number and possibly all, of the B次元官网网址Guild workers represented.
B次元官网网址淲e 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,B次元官网网址� Mitch Goldich, NFL editor and unit chair, said in a statement.
The guildB次元官网网址檚 statement also called for Authentic Brands Group to B次元官网网址渆nsure the continued publication of SI and allow it to serve our audience in the way it has for nearly 70 years.B次元官网网址�
Authentic said in a statement it is B次元官网网址渉ere to ensure that the brand of Sports Illustrated, which includes its editorial arm, continues to thrive as it has for the past nearly 70 years. 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. We are committed to ensuring that the traditional ad-supported Sports Illustrated media pillar has best in class stewardship to preserve the complete integrity of the brandB次元官网网址檚 legacy.B次元官网网址�
In a statement on Friday, the Arena Group said it was negotiating with Authentic about the license, B次元官网网址渨ith plans to sustain our commitment to delivering quality content throughout the ongoing discussions.B次元官网网址�
Arena admitted that it had failed to make a quarterly payment of $3.75 million and Authentic had put it on notice that it intended to end the licensing agreement. As a result, Arena announced Thursday it would make a B次元官网网址渟ignificant reductionB次元官网网址� in its workforce of more than 100 people.
The Arena Group acquired publishing rights from Authentic in 2019 for at least 10 years. The groupB次元官网网址檚 stewardship of Sports Illustrated has had many hurdles since then. In December, it fired chief executive officer Ross Levinsohn when the magazineB次元官网网址檚 alleged use of AI-generated stories drew public backlash.
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 magazineB次元官网网址檚 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.
