Mass layoffs at Sports Illustrated cast doubt on future of storied magazine
CBC
First published in 1954, Sports Illustrated could be characterized as a part of sports history.
But word of mass layoffs at the magazine on Friday had employees and observers worried for its future.
The planned cuts at Sports Illustrated include possibly all of its union-represented workers, the union said in a social media post Friday.
In an email to employees Friday morning, the Arena Group, which operates Sports Illustrated and related properties, said that its parent company, Authentic Brands Group (ABG), had revoked the marketing licence that allowed it to publish the magazine.
"As a result of this licence revocation, we will be laying off staff that work on the SI brand," the email said.
Arena Group said in a filing earlier this month it failed to make a $3.75 million US payment to ABG, effectively ending its licensing deal.
Innovative for its full-colour photography covering the week's major sports events, and for nationalizing conversations around multiple major sports leagues, Sports Illustrated has been called the "gold standard" by some sports journalists. The award-winning magazine helped launch the careers of sportswriting greats like Gary Smith and Frank Deford.
Michael Farber was a senior writer at the magazine from 1994 until 2014, when he retired. He continued to work as a special contributor, a role he says he still has, as far as he knows.
"It's like people who went to Harvard are always proud that they went to Harvard," Farber said. "If you worked for Sports Illustrated for a reasonable length of time, you're proud of your alma mater."
He describes the planned layoffs as "death by 1,000 cuts."
In a statement Friday, ABG said that "Sports Illustrated will continue."
"Authentic is here to ensure that the brand of Sports Illustrated, which includes its editorial arm, continues to thrive as it has for the past nearly 70 years," the statement said. "We are confident that going forward, the brand will continue to evolve and grow in a way that serves sports news readers, sports fans and consumers."
Sports Illustrated has struggled in recent years.
After being acquired by Meredith publishing in 2018, the magazine laid off much of its staff the following year when Meredith sold the magazine's intellectual property to ABG for $110 million US.
