It is a dark day for sports journalism.
The Arena Group alerted all Sports Illustrated staffers on Friday that their positions were being eliminated.
Richard Deitsch, a sports media reporter who left for Sports Illustrated for the Athletic, posted the email that all employees received on X.
It noted, in part, that some employees would be “terminated immediately.”
The decision comes after the Authentic Brands Group, the licensing group that bought Sports Illustrated for $110 million from Meredith five years ago, terminated the agreement it holds with The Arena Group to publish the magazine in print and digital, per Front Office Sports.
“Some employees will be terminated immediately, and paid in lieu of the applicable notice period under the [the union contract],” the notice read. “Employees with a last working day of today will be contacted by the People team soon. Other employees will be expected to work through the end of the notice period, and will receive additional information shortly.”
The Arena Group missed a $2.8 million payment that breached the company’s Sports Illustrated licensing deal three weeks ago.
It is unclear whether Authentic will establish a new operator or allow Arena to renegotiate its current deal.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
