No, Sports Illustrated did not completely go out of business. The brand went through a major business crisis in 2024, including the loss of its previous publishing operator, widespread layoffs, and the shutdown of its traditional print operation under that operator. However, the Sports Illustrated brand continued under new management and remains active today.
The confusion comes from the fact that a company called The Arena Group stopped operating the Sports Illustrated media business in March 2024 after Authentic Brands Group terminated its licensing agreement with the company. The Sports Illustrated brand itself was not permanently shut down.
What happened to Sports Illustrated?
Sports Illustrated experienced a major transition in 2024.
Authentic Brands Group, which owns the Sports Illustrated brand, had licensed the magazine and website to The Arena Group. In January 2024, Authentic terminated that licensing agreement after Arena failed to make a required payment. Arena subsequently discontinued its Sports Illustrated media business on March 18, 2024.
That led to significant uncertainty about whether the famous sports publication would survive.
Instead of permanently closing the brand, Authentic found a new publishing partner. Associated Press reported that Sports Illustrated would continue operations under Minute Media, which took over after Authentic revoked Arena’s license.
Did Sports Illustrated stop publishing?
Sports Illustrated’s publishing operation changed substantially, but the brand did not disappear.
The biggest change involved its traditional print magazine. The previous operator, Arena Group, announced the shutdown of its print edition during the 2024 transition. The Sports Illustrated brand subsequently continued through a new operating arrangement.
This is why someone searching for old Sports Illustrated issues may get the impression that the magazine went out of business.
The publication’s business model has changed significantly from the era when Sports Illustrated was primarily known as a widely circulated weekly print magazine.
Who owns Sports Illustrated now?
Authentic Brands Group owns the Sports Illustrated brand.
Authentic acquired Sports Illustrated from Meredith Corporation in 2019. Rather than directly operating the entire media publication itself, Authentic has used licensing arrangements with other companies to operate parts of the Sports Illustrated business.
This distinction is important:
- Authentic Brands Group: Owns the Sports Illustrated brand.
- The Arena Group: Previously operated the Sports Illustrated media business under license.
- Minute Media: Took over operation after Arena’s licensing agreement ended.
- Sports Illustrated: The brand itself continued after the change in operators.
The Arena Group’s own regulatory filings confirm that it discontinued its Sports Illustrated media business in March 2024. That was the end of Arena’s operation of SI, not the end of the Sports Illustrated brand itself.
Why did Sports Illustrated nearly disappear?
Several problems contributed to the 2024 crisis.
One major issue was the relationship between Arena Group and Authentic Brands Group.
Arena was required to make licensing payments to Authentic. According to Arena’s SEC filing, it failed to make a quarterly payment of approximately $3.75 million, after which Authentic notified Arena on January 18, 2024, that it was terminating the licensing agreement.
The termination created an immediate problem because Arena was the company operating the Sports Illustrated media business.
Arena subsequently discontinued that business.
The situation also involved significant staff reductions and uncertainty about the future of Sports Illustrated’s journalism operation. The publication’s unionized staff publicly expressed concern about whether the magazine would continue and who would operate it.
Did Sports Illustrated fire all its employees?
The 2024 crisis resulted in substantial layoffs.
After Authentic terminated Arena’s license, Sports Illustrated employees received layoff notices. The situation was particularly disruptive because the publication had a long-established editorial staff, photographers, writers and other media professionals.
However, the staff situation did not mean that Sports Illustrated itself permanently ceased operating.
After Minute Media became the new operator, some former Sports Illustrated journalists were rehired. More recent reporting indicates that the publication continued rebuilding its media operation following the transition.
Is Sports Illustrated still active in 2026?
Yes.
Sports Illustrated remains an active brand in 2026, with ongoing media and other business activities.
Authentic Brands Group’s current Sports Illustrated-related announcements include projects involving Sports Illustrated Resorts, Sports Illustrated experiences and other brand partnerships.
Sports Illustrated has also expanded beyond the traditional magazine model.
For example, Sports Illustrated is connected to live events, licensing, hospitality and other consumer-facing businesses. The Sports Illustrated Stadium partnership with the New York Red Bulls is one example of how the brand now extends beyond conventional sports journalism.
A 2026 Los Angeles Times report also described Sports Illustrated as continuing to operate, although its business model is substantially different from the publication’s traditional magazine-era structure.
What happened to the Sports Illustrated magazine?
The magazine’s role has changed considerably.
For decades, Sports Illustrated was primarily recognized as a major American sports magazine delivered regularly to subscribers and sold through newsstands.
The modern Sports Illustrated business is more diversified and has a stronger digital and licensing component.
The 2024 crisis accelerated this transformation.
That means someone asking whether Sports Illustrated “went out of business” may actually be asking one of several different questions:
- Did the Sports Illustrated brand disappear?
- Did the old publishing company stop operating it?
- Did the traditional magazine format change?
- Is Sports Illustrated still publishing sports journalism?
- Can people still access Sports Illustrated content?
The answer to these questions is different.
The Arena Group’s operation of Sports Illustrated ended, but the Sports Illustrated brand continued under a new publishing arrangement.
Sports Illustrated before and after 2024
| Period | What happened |
|---|---|
| Before 2024 | Arena Group operated Sports Illustrated under a licensing agreement |
| January 2024 | Authentic terminated Arena’s licensing agreement |
| March 2024 | Arena discontinued its Sports Illustrated media business |
| 2024 | Minute Media took over as the new publisher/operator |
| 2025 | Legal disputes related to the former licensing arrangement were settled |
| 2026 | Sports Illustrated continues as an active brand |
Arena’s later SEC filings confirm that its Sports Illustrated operation remained classified as a discontinued operation after the 2024 transition. The company also reported that its legal dispute with Authentic was resolved through a settlement in April 2025.
Is Sports Illustrated still a sports magazine?
It remains a sports-media brand, but it is no longer best understood solely as the traditional weekly magazine that many older readers remember.
The modern Sports Illustrated operation includes digital sports coverage and a broader collection of licensed businesses and experiences.
This is part of a larger change across the magazine industry, where established publications have increasingly moved toward digital media, licensing, events and other forms of revenue.
Sports Illustrated has retained its name and brand identity while changing how the business operates.
Why do people think Sports Illustrated went out of business?
There are several reasons for the confusion.
The Arena Group stopped operating SI
This was a real corporate change. Arena’s Sports Illustrated media business was discontinued in March 2024.
There were major layoffs
The 2024 licensing crisis resulted in significant staff reductions, making the future of the publication uncertain.
The print business changed
The traditional magazine business was affected significantly, making Sports Illustrated look very different from its earlier decades.
The brand changed operators
When one company stops publishing a famous magazine, readers can easily interpret that as the magazine itself shutting down. In Sports Illustrated’s case, the brand continued under a new operator.
Is Sports Illustrated still relevant?
Sports Illustrated remains an established sports-media brand with a long history, but its current business is different from its peak print era.
Its continued use in media, partnerships, events and other ventures shows that the Sports Illustrated name remains commercially active. Authentic Brands Group continues to announce new Sports Illustrated-related projects, while the publication’s media operation continues under its newer structure.
The important distinction is between the brand, the magazine, and the company operating the publication.
Those are not necessarily the same entity.
FAQ
Did Sports Illustrated go out of business?
No. Sports Illustrated did not completely go out of business. Its previous operator, The Arena Group, discontinued its Sports Illustrated media business in March 2024, but the brand continued under a new publishing arrangement.
Who owns Sports Illustrated?
Authentic Brands Group owns the Sports Illustrated brand.
What happened to The Arena Group and Sports Illustrated?
Authentic terminated Arena’s Sports Illustrated licensing agreement in January 2024 after Arena failed to make a required payment. Arena discontinued its SI media business in March 2024.
Is Sports Illustrated still operating in 2026?
Yes. Sports Illustrated remains an active brand in 2026, with ongoing media activities and other business ventures.
Did Sports Illustrated stop being a magazine?
The traditional magazine business changed significantly during the 2024 transition. The brand continued, but its modern operation is broader than the traditional print-focused model.
Who publishes Sports Illustrated now?
Minute Media took over the Sports Illustrated media operation after Authentic ended Arena Group’s license.
Why did Sports Illustrated have layoffs?
The layoffs followed the 2024 licensing crisis between Authentic Brands Group and Arena Group. The loss of Arena’s license created major uncertainty and resulted in substantial staff reductions.
Conclusion
So, did Sports Illustrated go out of business? No—not completely.
The major event was the end of The Arena Group’s operation of Sports Illustrated in 2024. Authentic Brands Group terminated Arena’s license after a missed payment, and Arena subsequently discontinued its Sports Illustrated media business.
But the Sports Illustrated brand survived. Minute Media took over the publishing operation, and the brand has continued into 2026 through sports media, digital content, partnerships, events and other ventures.
In short, Sports Illustrated changed operators and underwent a major business transformation—it did not simply disappear.
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