“The aim is not only to extend the partnership
past the two-year mark, but to expand the
relationship beyond the Sports Illustrated
brand,” Authentic spokeswoman Haley
Steinberg said. She said there was an
opportunity for Meredith to help develop
content for Authentic’s other brands.
Authentic’s portfolio includes Nine West,
Nautica, Juicy Couture and Frederick’s
of Hollywood.
Sports Illustrated, which began
publishing in 1954, covers sports and
has an annual swimsuit edition. It has
struggled as print advertisers flee for the
internet and digital sports outlets crop up.
The magazine’s circulation has dropped 8.6%
in the past five years, to 2.8 million, according
to the Alliance for Audited Media. Rival
publications have suffered, too. ESPN,
for example, said in April that it would shut
down its print magazine.
Meredith got Sports Illustrated as part
of its purchase of the Time Inc. magazine
company in January 2018. Meredith, the
publisher of lifestyle magazines and sites
like Martha Stewart Living and Allrecipes,
said shortly after buying Time Inc. that it
wanted to sell the publisher’s news and
sports magazines while keeping the titles
more aligned with its brand like People.
It has already offloaded Time magazine
and Fortune.
Meredith also wanted to sell Money, but
instead is shutting down the print version of
the magazine.