Sports Illustrated will proceed operations after the corporate that owns the model agreed with a brand new writer for its print and digital merchandise.

Minute Media took over on Monday after reaching a licensing settlement with Authentic Brands Group. On Jan. 19, Authentic introduced that it was revoking The Arena Group’s publishing license after Arena didn’t make a quarterly fee.

Authentic had been in negotiations with Arena, Minute Media and different publishing entities over the previous two months.

Authentic will purchase an fairness stake in Minute Media, which additionally publishes the web websites The Players’ Tribune, FanSided and 90min. Other phrases, together with the size of the deal, weren’t introduced.

“Sports Illustrated is the gold standard for sports journalism and has been for nearly 70 years across both print and digital media. The weight and power of that distinction cannot be understated. At Minute Media, our focus will be to take that legacy into new, emerging channels, enhancing visibility, commercial viability, and sustainable impact, all while ensuring that the SI team is inspired to flourish in this new era of media,” Minute Media founder and CEO Asaf Peled stated in an announcement.

What this implies for the writers and others who produce Sports Illustrated stays to be seen. Minute Media will start assembly with SI workers over the following couple of weeks because it determines how a lot of the workers it’s going to retain, in response to an individual with data of the transition. The individual spoke to The Associated Press on situation of anonymity as a result of the individual was not licensed to talk publicly about them.

SI co-Editor in Chief Stephen Cannella advised workers in a memo to proceed working as if it have been enterprise as standard for now.

“We have said from the start that our top priorities are to keep Sports Illustrated alive, uphold the legacy of the institution and protect our union jobs. We look forward to discussing a future with Minute Media that does that,” stated Emma Baccellieri, an SI workers author and vice chair of the worker union that the NewsGuild represents.

The Arena Group acquired publishing rights from Authentic in 2019 for not less than 10 years, nevertheless it had many hurdles. In December, it fired chief govt officer Ross Levinsohn when the journal’s alleged use of AI-generated tales drew public backlash.

Sports Illustrated has had a tough six years. It was acquired by Meredith Publishing in 2018 as a part of the acquisition of Time Inc., which began the journal in 1954.

Less than a yr later, Meredith bought the journal’s mental property to Authentic for $110 million. Authentic owns the mental property of many manufacturers and stars, together with Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Muhammad Ali and Reebok.

Once a weekly publication, Sports Illustrated was diminished to biweekly publishing in 2018 and have become a month-to-month in 2020.

“In Minute Media, we have found a partner that will honor SI’s lauded legacy and exceed fan expectations for the future. As Minute Media shepherds the SI brand across a rapidly evolving media landscape, our priority at Authentic is — and has always been — to protect its journalistic integrity and longevity,” Daniel W. Dienst, Authentic’s govt vice chairman, tactical ops, stated in an announcement. “Minute Media has successfully proven that they are leading the way in a new era of sports storytelling, and we are excited and optimistic about this partnership and the future of Sports Illustrated as the preeminent lens into sport.”