In other words, the publisher likely isn't bringing in enough profit to maintain the brand.  Under contract, Arena Group is required to pay another $45 million to ABG because of the loss of the license.  As a result, Sports Illustrated has been forced to layoff their entire staff while discussions are underway to salvage the arrangement. 

In a statement, Sports Illustrated Union and The NewsGuild of New York vowed to "fight for every one of our colleagues."   But how could this have happened?  One of the oldest and best known names in sports commentary is now essentially defunct.

The signs were all there.

The shutdown takes place only thee years after the company committed to major layoffs in 2020 back when they were run by Maven, shaving $27 million from their costs compared to 2018.  Apparently, this wasn't enough and ownership was acquired by Arena Group.  In November of 2023, SI was caught using fake journalists and AI generated content, further indicating that they were on the verge of going broke. 

The true cause will be conveniently ignored by the corporate media, but the woes of Sports Illustrated began directly after they tied the publication to woke messaging.  For example, the magazine began parading plus-sized (fat positivity) models in their sponsored runway shows and swimsuit additions in 2017.  For a publication that is supposed to be focused on athletic excellence, the idea of fat positivity is an obvious anathema for their core readership.  People who are incapable of athleticism in most arenas should not be used as representatives of the sporting world (or the pinnacle of beauty, for that matter).  

The company then latched onto the feminist "equal pay" movement for women's sports, arguing that female athletes and clubs should be offered pay equal to male sports.  The movement completely ignored the key factors of audience interest; male athletes tend to make more money because far more people are interested in watching men's sports.