Sports Illustrated Hit With Mass Layoffs After Missed Licensing Payment

Sports Illustrated staffers learned of job cuts Friday in the wake of a missed $2.8-million payment by Arena Group Holdings Inc AREN to Authentic Brands Group, the owner of the nearly 70-year-old publication.

Authentic has terminated the licensing agreement that allows The Arena Group to publish Sports Illustrated, Front Office Sports reported Friday, citing an email it obtained. Authentic purchased Sports Illustrated from the Meredith Group in 2019 for $110 million.

The layoffs could include all Sports Illustrated staff, according to a Friday statement issued by the Sports Illustrated Union and the NewsGuild of New York.

“We have fought together as a union to maintain the standard of this storied publication that we love, and to make sure our workers are treated fairly for the value they bring to this company. It is a fight we will continue,” Mitch Goldich, the NFL editor at Sports Illustrated and unit chair for the union, said in the statement.

The union called on Authentic to continue publishing Sports Illustrated and described the publication’s time under Arena Group’s management as “a difficult four years.”

An email from Arena to Sports Illustrated staff said some employees will be cut immediately and paid in lieu of the union contract’s notice period, according to the Front Office Sports report.

AREN Price Action: Arena shares were plunging 18.08% to $1.06 Friday afternoon.

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