The Sports Illustrated publisher whose license was revoked last month has made a pitch to revive the enduring brand whilst he continues to gut its magazine — and his plan includes the creation of an SI-branded TV channel, The Post has learned.
Arena Group, led by Five-Hour Energy founder Manoj Bhargava, would cough up a bit greater than the $15 million a yr in licensing fees it had balked at paying Authentic Brand Group’s Jamie Salter to pull off the bizarre pivot, two sources close to the situation told The Post.
Arena sparked an uproar after announcing it is going to fire most of SI’s unionized staff — including the few remaining high-profile writers — after failing to make a $3.5 million quarterly payment to ABG. It gave the staff a compulsory 90-day notice of the mass layoffs and continues to update the SI website.
But Arena also owns Bridge Media Networks, which incorporates a 24/7 network called Sports News Highlights, a low-budget, mostly digital channel that plays a 30-minute loop in midsize and just a few major markets like Detroit and Los Angeles.
SNH currently plays on SI’s website, but Bhargava wants to rebrand the channel as SITV and hire on-air talent to improve the broadcasts, sources said. The goal can be to discover a home for SITV with cable operators as major sports networks like ESPN move toward a standalone app model, the insider added.
Salter has also been in talks about licensing the rights to Minute Media, owner of the Derek Jeter-founded blog Player’s Tribune — which is offering less money but would more likely maintain the 70-year-old magazine’s traditional model and plenty of of its writers, a source conversant in the negotiations said.
Salter is predicted to make a choice inside the following few weeks, the source added.
Arena Group declined comment, as did Authentic Brands and Minute Media.
There may be plenty off bad blood between Barghava and Salter after Arena reneged on the licensing fee. Authentic is owed $45 million on the present contract.
When Bhargava demanded a lower licensing fee, “I told him to f–k off,” Salter had told the Washington Post.
The feuding moguls have been going round for round since. Bhargava even admitted an illustration by The Post of the 2 in a boxing ring hit close to the mark during an interview with Arena-owned TheStreet this month.
“We went at one another for a little bit bit,” he said. “I’d say a few of that boxing stuff might need been a little bit accurate.”
Bhargava called Salter a “tough old guy,” but predicted he would accept Arena’s offer.
“The contract might be for various things,” Bhargava said within the Feb. 16 interview. “Jamie goes to come out higher than he was but however so will we.”
Bhargava hinted that he would retain a number of the 82 unionized employees which can be about to lose their jobs but that there isn’t enough money to keep marquee writers like Tom Verducci, Jon Wertheim, Chris Mannix, Greg Bishop and Pat Forde.
“We checked out a unique path and we checked out the associated fee structure. We just couldn’t afford these great journalists,” Bhargava told TheStreet.
“Those days when persons are paying for those [great articles] aren’t here anymore.”
SI union reps, nonetheless, fear for the longer term of the publication if Salter accepts Arena’s plans.
“It’s time for ABG to prove that it’s all in favour of greater than simply milking Sports Illustrated’s name for profit,” the union said.
“It must ensure a future for SI that respects not only the history of the institution but the employees who make the brand’s success possible.”
In in its heyday, SI had a circulation of three million per week, but has been reduced to 12 issues a yr — for an annual fee of $20. There are also about seven annual special issues.
Arena doesn’t break out what number of print subscribers remain.
Arena made a small cash in on SI’s print and digital versions and the brand generates greater than $100 million in annual revenue, sources said.
On Feb. 14, Bhargava invested a further $12 million in Arena to give his firm a 54.5% stake.