When Authentic Brands Group terminated the licensing agreement with The Arena Group that allowed the company to publish Sports Illustrated in print and digital form, there was subsequent fallout that resulted in staff members losing their jobs. The Arena Group, after it received a notice of termination including a $45 million fee, told Sports Illustrated employees that it would be laying off staff members working on the brand.
Some employees lost their jobs immediately and others were given 90 days’ notice, but both scenarios concerned the Sports Illustrated Guild. The entity reaffirmed its commitment to fighting for fair treatment of its members and to maintain the standard the publication has established over the years.
While the future of the publication is somewhat ambiguous, there is an ostensible consensus that the publication is on a precipitous decline. The news has elicited discussions on various sports talk programs of late with broadcasters providing their opinions on the matter and sharing their memories of the venerated sports magazine. Chad Finn, sports media columnist for the Boston Globe, penned an article about the changing nature of the outlet, the title of which was articulated on Wednesday morning by 98.5 The Sports Hub co-host Fred Toucher. From there, the discussion began on the relevance of Sports Illustrated in the 21st-century media ecosystem.
“I don’t even know what Sports Illustrated does anymore,” co-host Rob ‘Hardy’ Poole said. “We were talking about this the other day – the day of the layoffs. Do they print anything anymore?”
Toucher used to work for CNN/SI, the ephemeral 24-hour sports news network created by Time Warner through combining two of its brands. As a result, he has collected many editions of Sports Illustrated with iconic covers spanning different athletes and sports leagues.
“We got free Sports Illustrateds on Thursdays,” Toucher reminisced. “It was awesome. They just had a big-ass pile of Sports Illustrateds; you could take one. I remember thinking it was cool.”
Thinking back on his time with the company, Toucher feels that he can name the covers off the top of his head. At the same time, he offered a pragmatic sentiment when discussing the resolution of what has occurred with the publication over the ensuing years. Just what will happen to Sports Illustrated remains to be seen, and it indeed serves as a sense of nostalgia for many previous readers. There are people who want the publication to persist through the changing state of media while others are indifferent towards the ultimate outcome.
“…I don’t care at all that they’re not making it anymore, and I don’t think I’m being cool,” Toucher said. “That faded away so grandly. When was the last time – outside of an airport, literally – that you bought a Sports Illustrated; that you had a Sports Illustrated? They stopped delivering it to my house; I don’t even think I had a conversation with them. It just was something that ended up happening.”
“I mean, picking up and looking at a Sports Illustrated, no,” Poole added. “I stopped long before they stopped publishing them.”
