Sports Illustrated Gets Second Life as New Publisher Takes Over

Days after staffers at Sports Illustrated were told its print edition would cease publishing in May, the venerable magazine got a second life on Monday when a new publisher took over, The New York Times first reported. Authentic Brands Group, the celebrity brand licensing company that owns SI, reached a 10-year publishing rights deal with Minute Media, a digital sports media group that also owns The Players’ Tribune and FanSided. Minute Media CEO Asaf Peled told the Times that he plans to keep SI’s print edition. “In the current era of digital, it’s still not trivial and quite difficult to build your own brand and get people to know and admire it. So once you get the opportunity to work with and grow an iconic brand like Sports Illustrated, you take it,” he added. Peled also said wants to expand the magazine’s global publication operations and will be hiring back some of the employees who were let go during the outlet’s mass layoffs in January. Arena Group, the sports mag’s previous publisher, breached its licensing agreement by failing to make its $3.75 million annual payment, sparking massive cuts and uncertainty about Sports Illustrated’s future.