A popular event during the Super Bowl LVI celebrations in February was a party hosted by Sports Illustrated at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. Guests had the chance to meet celebrities like Justin Bieber, Kevin Hart, and Travis Kelce.
The magazine featured its logo and models from its newest swimsuit issue at a pre-game party held at the three-Michelin-star restaurant, Quince.
Journalists at Sports Illustrated were suddenly receiving requests from other media professionals hoping to get invited to the magazine’s events. This surge in popularity showed how much the 72-year-old publication had recovered, especially considering that just two years prior, many of its writers had faced layoffs.
Authentic Brands Group, which bought Sports Illustrated in 2019 for $110 million, reports the magazine is now doing well. They’ve made it more profitable by depending less on advertising and subscription sales. While the company doesn’t publicly share detailed financial information for each of its brands, they state that Sports Illustrated is now highly profitable after facing difficulties. Less than half of Sports Illustrated’s income actually comes from its traditional media operations, with the company projecting $38 billion in global retail sales this year, an increase from $35 billion in 2025.
In a recent interview from his New York office, Authentic’s executive vice chairman, Daniel W. Dienst, explained that things didn’t happen immediately and they faced some challenges. Behind him on the wall was a famous photo of baseball player Hank Aaron, taken by photographer Neil Leifer for Sports Illustrated.
Sports Illustrated was long considered the dream job for sports writers, who hoped to follow in the footsteps of legends like Frank DeFord and Gary Smith, who spent 32 years with the magazine and is still highly respected. The magazine’s iconic cover photos of stars like Muhammad Ali and Michael Jordan are unforgettable for fans who used to eagerly anticipate each weekly issue. Even today, appearing on the cover is a major achievement for athletes and sports organizations.
According to Dienst, LeBron James’ office in Akron displays all 30 of his magazine covers, and USC prominently features 21 covers showcasing their athletes and coaches throughout their athletic facilities.
Sports Illustrated magazine, once the go-to source for sports news and athlete profiles, isn’t as popular as it used to be. Athletes now often share their stories and connect with fans directly through social media and podcasts, giving them more control over their public image.
Similar to other print magazines, Sports Illustrated’s circulation has dropped significantly, now at 400,000 copies compared to 3 million in 2010. However, Authentic, the company behind SI, reports 52 million monthly website visitors and 21 million followers across social media platforms. For comparison, ESPN reached 229 million digital users in November.
The Sports Illustrated name remains well-known among many people, and Authentic Brands Group has been finding ways to profit from that recognition. They’ve done this by selling copies of classic covers and even opening Sports Illustrated-themed hotels in cities like Chicago and Nashville. The magazine has also expanded internationally, with editions now available in Germany, China, and Mexico, and plans to launch in France and the United Kingdom.
I was so excited to see Sports Illustrated launch SITV earlier this year! It’s a free streaming channel, and I love that they’re showing live programs with their writers and reporters. Plus, they’ve got an amazing archive of classic documentaries and, of course, all those iconic swimsuit issue specials from years past – it’s a real trip down memory lane!
New York-based Minute Media manages this channel, along with other sports properties. It will feature live sports, including college basketball. Minute Media hasn’t shared initial viewer numbers, but reports the channel’s audience has increased by 60% since it began.
This new streaming channel is a significant move for the brand, which has recently been more focused on other areas of its business.
Authentic Brands Group relaunched a struggling ticket marketplace in 2023 under the Sports Illustrated Tickets name. The company now has advertising agreements with 13 venues globally, including the New York Red Bulls’ stadium in New Jersey, and projects $500 million in revenue for the current year.
Television
In 1974, Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier sat down with Howard Cosell on ABC’s “Wide World of Sports” to discuss their highly anticipated rematch for the heavyweight championship.
Authentic leverages Sports Illustrated events – like those at the Super Bowl – to entertain clients and offer public access. This week, Sports Illustrated is hosting an event for Authentic at the Masters golf tournament, and they also maintain a luxury hospitality area called Club SI at Churchill Downs in Kentucky.
Authentic buys and invests in well-known retail brands that are struggling. They’ve purchased companies like Eddie Bauer, Brooks Brothers, and Reebok, and recently gained a majority stake (51%) in Guess.
ABG partners with external companies to manage its brands. These companies pay ABG a regular licensing fee and also share a portion of the revenue generated.
When Authentic acquired Sports Illustrated from Meredith Corporation—now called People Inc.—this was the intended strategy.
Following the acquisition, Authentic Brands Group signed a $15 million annual deal with Arena Group (then called Maven) to manage Sports Illustrated. Arena, a digital media company based in New York, also ran popular publications like Men’s Journal, Parade, and TheStreet. However, the arrangement fell apart after Arena used artificial intelligence to create sponsored articles on the Sports Illustrated website, raising concerns at the magazine.
The Arena Group admitted to commissioning a company to write product reviews using false author names. This came shortly after the company fired its CEO, Ross Levinsohn, who previously led the Los Angeles Times.
Things got worse with Authentic after Manoj Bhargava, the owner of Arena and founder of 5-Hour Energy, became the temporary CEO. He attempted to fire the unionized writers and editors at Sports Illustrated and tried to get Authentic to pay less for the license to use the Sports Illustrated name. He also used the magazine and its website to advertise his energy drink company.
Under previous leadership, the Sports Illustrated media company was losing money, and Arena failed to make a required payment to Authentic Brands Group for its licensing agreement. As a result, in March 2024, Arena announced it would stop publishing the print version of Sports Illustrated.
Shortly after that, Authentic contracted Minute Media, the company behind Fansided and The Players’ Tribune, to manage Sports Illustrated. However, Vivek Bhargava, the previous owner, reportedly resisted the change and, according to court documents, even threatened to erase Sports Illustrated’s valuable collection of content and trademarks.
As a big fan of Sports Illustrated, I was really glad to hear that Authentic and Arena resolved their legal issues over the licensing agreement. Even better, a lot of the talented journalists who were initially let go got their jobs back – that’s a huge relief and a win for quality sports reporting!
Authentic learned a tough lesson from its experience with Arena, as it was the company’s first time owning a media outlet.
I remember Dienst being really clear about one thing: the moment anyone – especially Bhargava – got the idea that Authentic was pulling the strings in the newsroom, we were finished. It was a line in the sand, and we knew we’d have to walk away if it was crossed. It was a pretty stark warning, honestly.
The team at Sports Illustrated has praised Minute Media for successfully fixing issues with their media operations.
Sports Illustrated’s editor in chief, Steve Cannella, explained that they haven’t had strong leadership and support focused on long-term growth for quite some time. He said they need guidance not just for daily operations, but also for envisioning the future of the magazine over the next decade.
The union for Sports Illustrated’s editorial staff has expressed approval of Minute Media’s acquisition and is nearing a new contract agreement with the company.
Minute Media is working to grow the Sports Illustrated brand’s presence on different platforms, hoping to recover ground lost in recent years.
Minute Media President Rich Routman explained that he recently asked his team what goals they hadn’t yet achieved. He believes that a company must constantly innovate or risk falling behind.
Many in the sports media think Sports Illustrated is now mainly appealing to people’s fond memories, as younger fans get their game highlights and commentary from places like YouTube and personalities like Pat McAfee. However, the magazine’s reach extends beyond just baby boomers and Gen Xers who grew up reading it.
Lisa Delpy Neirotti, head of the sports management program at George Washington University, recently studied how her students consume media. She was surprised to find that many Gen Z students still recognize Sports Illustrated, and believes the publication’s success with this generation is due to Sports Illustrated Kids, which began publishing in 1989.
People often recall receiving the catalog in the mail, and that’s what initially sparked their interest in sports, according to Neirotti. These good memories are a key reason the brand remains popular.
Dienst noted that Sports Illustrated is now reaching a younger audience since Authentic Brands Group took over. However, he still values the long-time readers who have followed the magazine for years.
“They’re very affluent and they’re super loyal,” he said.
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2026-04-05 13:32