The owner of Sports Illustrated said it had chosen a new company to publish the magazine, a deal that could settle some of the recent friction at the storied publication and continue the print edition.
Authentic Brands Group, which owns the intellectual property rights to Sports Illustrated as well as to celebrities like Marilyn Monroe and Muhammad Ali, said it had struck a long-term deal to license Sports Illustrated’s publishing rights to Minute Media, a digital-media company focused on sports.
Minute Media’s license with Sports Illustrated will stretch for 10 years with an option to extend for up to 30 years total, into the magazine’s centenary.
The companies declined to disclose financial terms but said that Authentic Brands Group was taking a stake in Minute Media as part of the deal.
The deal is a significant expansion for Minute Media, a New York-based company founded in 2011 whose holdings — which include the sports websites The Players’ Tribune and Fansided — generate more than $400 million in revenue annually.
Persons:
Marilyn Monroe, Muhammad Ali
Organizations:
Sports Illustrated, Authentic Brands, Sports, Minute Media, Authentic, Media, ’ Tribune, Fansided
Locations:
New York