Sports Illustrated is shutting down, firing its entire staff. The newspaper failed to generate enough revenue to pay its fees, and will likely sell the brand to recoup some money.
Sports Illustrated was once a major published magazine with wide readership. The magazine survived the internet and continued to be distributed where magazines are sold. The New York Post reports:
The future of iconic magazine Sports Illustrated looked dire Friday after the publisher announced mass layoffs.
The Arena Group — which had been roiled by reports that the fabled magazine published AI-generated content — admitted to failing to make a $3.75 million quarterly licensing payment to Authentic Brands Group due this week.
A large problem that hurt the brand was when the writers decided to insert politics into sports. Overwhelmingly liberal writers alienated their audience when they released trans women on their swimsuit issue. The New York Times says:
Reporters and editors for Sports Illustrated were asked on Friday to attend a Zoom call at 2 p.m. Eastern time. It lasted just seven minutes. On the call, Jay Frankl, the Arena Group’s newly hired chief business transformation officer, said, “We will continue to produce the Sports Illustrated brand and online content until the situation is fully resolved,” according to a recording of the meeting heard by The New York Times. No questions were taken.
Some Sports Illustrated staff members received emails with immediate layoff notices, while others were told in further Zoom meetings that they would keep their jobs for at least 90 days. (Roughly 100 journalists work for Sports Illustrated.) Arena Group’s executives told Sports Illustrated staff members they planned on continuing to publish the magazine and website, despite having their license to operate the publication revoked. But it was not immediately clear how that would work. It was also unclear whether the magazine’s owner, Authentic Brands Group, would strike a new agreement with the Arena Group or find a new company to operate it.
Just like Disney and Bud Light, this is another case of a company imposing left wing values on a product that should appeal to a wide variety of Americans. Whether companies learn this lesson or not is uncertain.
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