Sports Illustrated, which was a weekly publication as recently as '15, will "become a monthly" next year, according to Daniel Roberts of YAHOO FINANCE. The move comes after Authentic Brands Group sold the magazine's print and digital publishing rights to The Maven in June. SI in January '18 "reduced to twice per month," but now it will "cut again to one issue per month" in '20, plus four special issues and the Swimsuit Issue, for a total of 17 issues in a calendar year. Sources said that the "close time" for each issue will be three to four weeks, meaning "everything in every issue must be 'closed' more than three weeks before the magazine comes out." This will "meaningfully change the look and content" of each edition of SI. Issues also will be "printed on heavier paper stock and priced higher on newsstands" (FINANCE.YAHOO.com, 11/13). In N.Y., Keith Kelly notes SI has been "slowly dwindling in recent years." SI co-Editor-in-Chief Steve Cannella said, "The age of the weekly is over. But we're still committed to premium storytelling." He noted that there will be "27 print editions under the SI brand" next year when including SI Kids, SI Presents and special issues "tied to epic events such as the Super Bowl and World Series." Cannella said that there will be "no further staff cutbacks" following last month's layoffs (N.Y. POST, 11/14).
