si com
Sports Illustrated (SI.com): What It Is, How It Works, and Why It Still Matters
Sports Illustrated—better known online as SI.com—is one of the oldest sports media brands still running today. It’s not just a magazine anymore. It’s a digital platform that covers everything from NFL stats to NBA trades, from college football chaos to the annual Swimsuit Issue that still gets millions of clicks. The site has changed a lot in the last decade, and not everyone’s been happy about that. But it’s still a serious player in sports news.
The basics: What SI.com actually does
SI.com is the main online hub for Sports Illustrated. It runs around-the-clock coverage of sports news, stats, highlights, and analysis. The site is structured like a live newsroom—multiple verticals for each major league (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL), plus dedicated areas for college football, fantasy sports, soccer, and more.
The goal isn’t complicated: provide fast, reliable sports information while keeping the Sports Illustrated tone intact. The website publishes dozens of stories a day. Some are quick game recaps. Others are multi-thousand-word features or investigative reports.
SI.com also leans on its history. It owns a massive digital archive—known as the Sports Illustrated Vault—where every old issue and photo can be searched by year, athlete, or topic. That archive matters because Sports Illustrated’s photojournalism was once unmatched. The site repackages some of that content for anniversaries or historical context pieces.
The shift from print to digital
Sports Illustrated was founded in 1954. Back then, it was a weekly print magazine under the Time Inc. umbrella. For decades, it was the most respected sports magazine in America. That dominance started to slip once digital media became the default.
By 2015, the print magazine had gone from weekly to biweekly. Then monthly. Eventually, print became more symbolic than functional. The real traffic was on SI.com.
The online version started as a simple extension of the magazine. Over time, it evolved into its own operation—faster-paced, SEO-driven, and optimized for breaking news. In 2019, ownership shifted to Authentic Brands Group (ABG). The publishing rights were licensed to The Arena Group. That partnership has been rocky. Missed payments, layoffs, and internal restructuring have made headlines. But despite the turbulence, SI.com continues publishing daily.
This transition illustrates a bigger reality: legacy media rarely survives unchanged. The print edition once hit over 3 million subscribers. Today, the website pulls its audience mainly from search engines, social media, and mobile users.
What you’ll find on SI.com
There’s no single way to read Sports Illustrated anymore. The homepage gives you the top headlines, but each sport has its own mini-site.
NFL section — Includes breaking trades, weekly power rankings, fantasy football updates, and draft projections. Game analysis tends to focus on quarterback performance, injury reports, and playoff math.
NBA coverage — Features live updates, player interviews, and off-court stories like contracts or locker-room issues.
MLB — Regular updates on standings, trades, and postseason coverage. Longtime baseball writers like Tom Verducci continue to produce in-depth commentary.
College football and basketball — Focused heavily on rankings, playoff scenarios, and recruiting. During the season, you’ll see multiple updates per day.
Fantasy and betting — A growing segment that covers player rankings, projections, and matchup advice.
Swimsuit and lifestyle — Still one of the site’s biggest traffic drivers. The Swimsuit Issue now lives online year-round, mixing photo galleries with interviews and brand partnerships.
The site also integrates video. Clips are pulled from partner networks or SI’s YouTube channel. These short videos usually accompany breaking stories, giving a quick visual recap.
Strengths that keep SI.com relevant
Despite its age and business turmoil, SI.com still holds several advantages.
First, brand trust. Sports Illustrated spent decades building credibility through quality journalism. Even in the digital era, that name recognition counts. When readers see “SI” in a headline, they assume a certain standard.
Second, archives. The Sports Illustrated Vault offers over half a century of sports history. You can read early features on Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, or Serena Williams. That archive sets SI apart from newer sports sites that only date back a few years.
Third, depth. SI writers often approach sports from broader angles—culture, politics, business, and science. For example, they’ve covered concussion research, NIL deals in college sports, and doping investigations long before they became mainstream topics.
Fourth, diversity of coverage. SI.com doesn’t just focus on the big four American leagues. It covers women’s sports, international soccer, and Olympic-level competition. That variety attracts readers from outside the U.S.
Where SI.com struggles
There’s no denying it: the last few years have been rough.
The layoffs under The Arena Group drew public criticism. Former staff accused management of undermining editorial quality for speed and ad revenue. Reports surfaced of content being outsourced or produced by AI without proper oversight. Those stories hurt credibility.
Traffic also fluctuates. While SI.com still gets millions of visitors per month, competitors like ESPN, Bleacher Report, and The Athletic dominate the same space. Each of those sites benefits from either strong network backing or a subscription model that stabilizes revenue. SI.com relies mainly on ad impressions and sponsored content.
Another challenge is identity. In print, Sports Illustrated stood for thoughtful sports writing. Online, it competes with hundreds of sites chasing clicks. That pressure sometimes leads to thin rewrites of trending stories instead of original reporting. The brand risks becoming just another aggregator if it can’t preserve its distinctive editorial tone.
Why SI.com still matters
It matters because it connects the past and present of sports journalism. Few outlets today have both deep archives and active daily coverage. SI.com gives readers context—they can read today’s World Series recap and immediately jump to a 1975 feature on Carlton Fisk.
It also serves as a record of how sports storytelling evolved. The site still publishes investigative work and long-form essays, even if they appear less frequently than before. Those stories give depth to an industry increasingly built on highlights and short clips.
For athletes and fans, Sports Illustrated coverage carries weight. Landing on the SI homepage—or even better, on a digital “cover story”—still means something. It signals recognition from one of the longest-running sports media institutions.
Common mistakes and misconceptions
People often assume SI.com is just another sports blog. It isn’t. It’s a structured editorial operation, though smaller than it used to be. Every piece goes through multiple editors. Most content is written by named journalists or contributors, not anonymous posts.
Another misconception: that SI is gone because the print edition isn’t weekly anymore. The print magazine exists, but the online presence is the main focus now. If you only read print, you’re missing 90% of what Sports Illustrated produces.
A more technical mistake—especially for new readers—is treating SI.com like a live stats site. It’s not. It’s a journalism outlet, not a real-time scoreboard. If you want raw numbers, you’ll need a league or ESPN feed.
What happens if SI.com fades out
If the brand disappeared, sports journalism would lose one of its longest-standing archives. Thousands of in-depth interviews, cover stories, and historical photos could vanish behind paywalls or licensing restrictions.
It would also mark another loss for independent sports reporting. Many current sports media companies are either owned by leagues or backed by gambling sponsors. Sports Illustrated—despite its licensing deals—still operates as a separate editorial entity. Losing that independence would narrow the field of trustworthy sports coverage.
FAQ
Is Sports Illustrated still publishing a magazine?
Yes, but only a few print issues per year. Most coverage lives online at SI.com.
Who owns SI.com now?
Authentic Brands Group owns the Sports Illustrated brand. The Arena Group manages publication and the website under a licensing agreement.
Can you read old Sports Illustrated articles online?
Yes. The Sports Illustrated Vault archives every past issue and photo. It’s fully searchable.
Does SI.com use AI-generated articles?
Reports surfaced in 2023 claiming some content was AI-written without clear labeling. Management later said the articles were removed and editorial guidelines were updated.
What sports does SI.com cover?
Almost every major sport—NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, college football, basketball, soccer, MMA, and more.
Why do people still read SI.com instead of ESPN or The Athletic?
Mostly for its historical credibility, feature writing, and coverage style. SI still aims for storytelling depth, not just stats or quick takes.
Final thought: SI.com isn’t perfect. It’s smaller, faster, and sometimes inconsistent. But it still represents something rare—a long-standing sports media brand that’s managed to survive massive change without completely losing its identity. Whether you’re checking a playoff bracket or reading a 20-year-old feature about Tiger Woods, the site keeps the Sports Illustrated name alive in the digital age.
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