Sports Illustrated is owned by the licensing and brand management company Authentic Brands Group (ABG) , which holds the Sports Illustrated intellectual property and brand rights.

Who “owns” Sports Illustrated?

  • Authentic Brands Group owns the Sports Illustrated brand, trademarks, and overall intellectual property.
  • ABG does not run the day‑to‑day newsroom; instead, it licenses publishing rights to media companies.

Who actually publishes it now?

  • Since March 2024, ABG has licensed Sports Illustrated’s print and digital publishing rights to Minute Media under a long‑term deal (initially 10 years with an option to extend up to 30 years).
  • Minute Media is a sports‑focused digital media company that also operates brands like The Players’ Tribune and FanSided.

Quick timeline of ownership

  • Until 2018: Owned by Time Inc., then passed through Meredith in the broader Time Inc. sale.
  • 2019: Authentic Brands Group purchases Sports Illustrated for about 100 million dollars and shifts it to a licensing model.
  • 2019–early 2024: Publishing operated under license by Maven/The Arena Group, which later lost the license after missing a payment.
  • From 2024 onward: ABG remains the owner; Minute Media is the current publishing licensee.

Why the structure seems confusing

  • There is a split between brand ownership (ABG) and content operations (Minute Media), so “who owns Sports Illustrated” can mean either the IP owner or the current publisher.
  • This model has led to turbulence, including layoffs and editorial uncertainty, which keeps Sports Illustrated a frequent topic in media‑industry and forum discussions.

TL;DR: The Sports Illustrated brand is owned by Authentic Brands Group, while Minute Media currently runs the magazine and website under a long‑term publishing license.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.