Sports Illustrated to continue operations with new publisher - ESPN

Sports Illustrated will continue operations after the company that owns the brand agreed with a new publisher for its print and digital products.

Minute Media took over on Monday after reaching a licensing agreement with Authentic Brands Group. On Jan. 19, Authentic announced that it was revoking The Arena Group's publishing license after Arena failed to make a quarterly payment.

Authentic had been in negotiations with Arena, Minute Media and other publishing entities over the past two months.

Authentic will acquire an equity stake in Minute Media, which also publishes the online sites The Players' Tribune, FanSided and 90min. Other terms, including the length of the deal, were not announced.

«Sports Illustrated is the gold standard for sports journalism and has been for nearly 70 years across both print and digital media. The weight and power of that distinction cannot be understated. At Minute Media, our focus will be to take that legacy into new, emerging channels, enhancing visibility, commercial viability, and sustainable impact, all while ensuring that the SI team is inspired to flourish in this new era of media,» Minute Media founder and CEO Asaf Peled said in a statement.

What this means for the writers and others who produce Sports Illustrated remains to be seen. Minute Media will begin meeting with SI employees over the next couple of weeks as it determines how much of the staff it will retain, according to a person with knowledge of the transition. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak publicly about them.

SI co-Editor in Chief Stephen Cannella told employees in a memo to continue operating as if it were business as usual for now.

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