The Arena platform failed to pay licensing fees to brand owner Authentic Brands Group (ABG), which terminated its agreement with Arena, resulting in layoff notices being sent.
“Earlier today, Sports Illustrated workers were notified that the Arena Group plans to lay off a significant number, possibly all, of the workers represented by the union at SI (Sports Illustrated), as a result of ABG revoking the license of Arena to publish YES,” the union said in a statement.
“This is another difficult day in what has been a difficult four years for Sports Illustrated under Arena Group management.”
“We ask ABG to ensure the continued publication of SI and allow it to serve our audience the way it has for almost 70 years,” he added.
Authentic purchased the publishing rights to Sports Illustrated for $110 million from American media conglomerate Meredith in 2019.
A notice sent to employees by Arena said it would “lay off staff working on the SI brand.”
“Some employees will be dismissed immediately (…) Other employees will be required to work until the end of the notice period and will receive additional information shortly.”
On Thursday, Arena announced it was laying off 100 employees after incurring substantial debt on its path to a more streamlined business model.
It was unknown what Authentic’s plans were for the Sports Illustrated brand.
The magazine, which had already suffered previous rounds of layoffs, struggled with the transition to the digital era from print, where appearing on its cover was considered a historic achievement for athletes.
Among the athletes who have appeared on the covers of Sports Illustrated the most times are retired NBA legend Michael Jordan and former heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali.
Source: with information from AFP
