It was a dark day for sports journalism.
Arena Group on Friday warned all Sports Illustrated staff that their positions would be eliminated.
Richard Deitsch, a sports media reporter who moved from Sports Illustrated to The Athletic, posted an email to the X that all employees received.
“Some employees will be terminated with immediate effect and will receive pay in lieu of any applicable notice period. [the union contract]” the notice said. “Employees whose last day of work today will be contacted by our HR team immediately. Other employees are expected to work until the end of their notice period and will receive further information shortly. ”
The decision comes after licensing group Authentic Brands Group acquired Sports Illustrated from Meredith for $110 million five years ago. Terminated contract with Arena Group According to Front Office Sports, publishing the magazine in print and digitally.
In a statement after the announcement, the Sports Illustrated Union said it was asking Authentic to “guarantee the continued publication of SI.”
“As a union, we have fought together to maintain the standards of this prestigious publication we love and to ensure that our employees are treated fairly and commensurate with the value they bring to this company. This is a fight we will continue to fight,'' said Mitch Goldich, NFL editor and union unit chairman. I have written.
Arena Group defaulted on a $2.8 million payment three weeks ago that violated the company's licensing agreement with Sports Illustrated.
It is unclear whether ABG will form a new operating company or allow The Arena Group to renegotiate the current contract.
“So sad for our friends at Sports Illustrated today and for all of us who loved everything back then,” Rachel Nichols said. I wrote it in X's post.
“For decades, Sports Illustrated covers have produced some of the No. 1 stars in sports,” says ESPN. Kevin Clark added to post. “It was what Carson was to comedians, or SNL was to bands. *Sports* is worse without them. It's unfathomable and completely avoidable that things would deteriorate so quickly.
The magazine came under fire in November for scrubbing the site for AI-generated content, including bylines and photos of fake authors. According to a report from Futurism.
Just weeks later, Arena Group fired CEO Ross Levinson, who had held the position since 2020.
A spokesperson for Manoj Bhargava, founder of the 5-Hour Energy caffeine brand and majority investor in Arena Group, who joined the company as chairman and interim CEO in December, said Levinson's firing was He told the Post he had nothing to do with the AI fiasco. in November.
A spokesperson said The Arena Group is “taking steps to ensure that” SI removes AI-generated content on its website.
“We are very mindful of the importance of this issue,” a spokesperson told the Post.
