The famous Sports Illustrated magazine, an institution of American journalism, received a saving breath thanks to a “long-term partnership” agreement with a new publisher, the parties involved announced Monday.
“Minute Media, a global sports and technology content specialist, and Authentic Brands Group (ABG), the global platform that owns Sports Illustrated, today announce a long-term agreement to support the future of the SI brand,” they said in a statement. set.
According to an ABG spokesperson, the partnership is for a period of 10 years, with the option of two extensions of an additional ten years each.
The American press union, the NewsGuild, reported on January 19 that the majority of the magazine’s editorial staff would be laid off by The Arena Group, the magazine’s publishing house, in the midst of a restructuring.
This decision was a consequence of the revocation of a licensing agreement between Arena Group and ABG, after the Sports Illustrated publishing house failed to make a payment that was due in December.
Sports Illustrated passed from hand to hand in recent years as its business record deteriorated.
Sports Illustrated and its parent company, Time Inc, were separated from the Time Warner empire in 2014, and then bought by the Meredith Corporation press group in 2018. It was then sold to Authentic Brands in 2019 for $110 million.
Launched in 1954, it was the first magazine to reach one million copies sold in one week. Then it reached 3.5 million in the early 90s. It currently publishes one million copies.
