Arena Group threatens to kill SI's print edition

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   Solarasposted 10 months ago

   Sports Illustrated’s erstwhile publisher yesterday "threatened to kill the print edition of the famed magazine" after reports surfaced that the company that owns the license is "leaning toward awarding it to a rival." The Arena Group, which had its license revoked in January by Authentic Brands, held a meeting to tell the "already shaken staff" that the May issue "would be its last," according to multiple sources.
   
   The move comes as Manoj Bhargava, the 5-hour Energy founder and Arena’s largest shareholder, "seeks to renegotiate" the three years left on the original 10-year, $150M deal with Authentic owner Jamie Salter. But a source close to Salter steadfastly said, "Authentic will ensure print publication." Arena has been publishing the magazine and the SI website while seeking to strike a new deal with Authentic (N.Y. POST, 3/14). Friction between SI's owner and its operator has "led to disarray at the venerable magazine" in recent months, and that dysfunction "again came to the fore" yesterday (N.Y. TIMES, 3/14).
   
   https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/A … nt-edition

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      Kenna McHughposted 10 months agoin reply to this

      It's so obvious, spin, spin and spin.

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   PaulGoodman67posted 10 months ago

   I never felt good about the SI purchase to be honest. It seemed to shift TAG's focus in a way that wasn't good for us.
   
   Also, to a publishing business layman like myself, SI seemed most famous historically for its glossy magazine photos and not particularly suited to the online world. I couldn't help but be reminded of the Murdoch empire buying MySpace for an exorbitant price when it was already clear that Facebook had taken over.
   
   SI has name/brand recognition, especially with older readers, but I'm not sure how well that translates into commercial value in the contemporary world.
   
   That's why Bhargava's trying to renegotiate the deal, I guess.

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   Solarasposted 10 months ago

   Meanwhile, over at Pethelpful, views are off 23% from the previous month.  Glad to hear Dengarden has been having a surge, but after a week of blue arrows, I have to wonder if anything can be done to right  this ship.
   
   Yesterday, I sent an article to someone from my Pethelpful portfolio, and I doubt they were able to read it.  So many ads and redundant sentences that I never put in there, plus pointless warnings, in the middle of the article,  "that the FDA does not guarantee efficacy of supplements."  I almost did not send it, since it has my name as the author.  I look like a crazy, greedy fool.
   
   I am sick of hearing that the powers that be know what they are doing, and we should like it or lump it. Obviously they don't know what they are doing, if the think they can strong arm  Authentic Brands into renegotiating the contract, when multiple publishers want SI, and can probably do a better job of running that property.
   
   Really, the AI debacle was not the first screw up over there.  They got busted for one of their crack reporters actually being a high school kid watching ESPN to report on big sporting events.
   
   How can they expect to run it properly now that they have everyone worth a penny looking for work elsewhere? If SI is the anchor to their biggest vertical market, as rebranding Maven to The Arena Group suggests, how do they intend to refocus all of the ancillary sites to Sports Illustrated.  It seems that there is no focus for any of the sites in support of a comprehensive organizational plan. 
   
   All efforts over here seem ad hoc.  People are already planting, Dengarden should have seen a big push 2 months ago. People get pets in the spring; Pethelpful should be getting a big push right now too. Instead efforts are focused on 7  or 8 News articles of fluff that must do something for TAG in the short run,  but after more than a year of that, they must far outweigh number legitimate articles with some sort of substance.  So they are moving low view articles off the site, while thousands of crappy "News" remains on the site? Are old News articles being archived?  They should be.
   
   UPDATE: As I type, no ads are appearing on Pethelpful.  It makes for a nice read, but I have to assume there will be no income while the ads are not appearing on the site.

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      PaulGoodman67posted 10 months agoin reply to this

      I'm far from convinced that there's been any sort of general surge at Dengarden with regard to search engine traffic, which is the only traffic that really matters.
      
      I tend to use stats places like SEMRush rather than anecdotal reports to assess overall traffic and both Dengarden and Pethelpful appear to have flatlined at low levels for some time.
      
      I personally had a brief surge of traffic from MSN but that's a different matter.

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         PaulGoodman67posted 10 months agoin reply to this

         What's particularly worrying about Dengarden is that views typically pick up in March and this year, that doesn't appear to have happened.

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            OldRosesposted 10 months agoin reply to this

            I second that!  My views generally start to pick up in January, peak in March, April, May, and then decline through the fall.  This year, my stats have been flat since last fall.

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               PaulGoodman67posted 10 months agoin reply to this

               Yes, I noticed the flatlining when I looked up Dengarden.com on SEMRush, so it's likely to be the same for the majority who write here.
               
               I don't think any niche is doing well but I could be wrong, I've not checked them all.

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               eugbugposted 10 months agoin reply to this

               Mine too, which means in reality, ranking has probably dropped more. Views are 50% of last year's and 25% of 2022 levels.

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                  theraggededgeposted 10 months agoin reply to this

                  I think I'm done. There may be a few who have a rewarding niche, but on the whole, the rewards are not worth the effort. My last 20 articles barely garner any traffic at all. Overall traffic (and earnings) is a tenth of what it was in 2019. Disheartening after 14 years.

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                     Glenn Stokposted 9 months agoin reply to this

                     I have the same results with only a tenth of what I earned before Maven/TAG took over. I wish they would be willing to at least try an experiment on one niche site — going back to the standards HubPages had when profits were huge.
                     
                     In the meantime, I hesitate to give up. Especially since I have so many drafts for articles I’ve been slowly adding to. It would be a waste not to eventually publish them. If for nothing else, just to see what happens.

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                     FatFreddysCatposted 9 months agoin reply to this

                     I hate to say it, but I think I'm done too.
                     
                     I've been on a self-imposed hiatus since last Fall, hoping that there'd eventually be signs of some sort of turn around, but so far I've seen no evidence of that happening. Therefore I see no point in posting anything new.

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                        Miebakagh57posted 9 months agoin reply to this

                        Same here. But I'll think about quarterly posting of new articles. Hubpages will rise again?

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                        FatFreddysCatposted 9 months agoin reply to this

                        ...aaaaand yet, now I'm actually thinking about writing something new.
                        
                        I just received a promotional e-mail for the new musical project featuring former Iron Maiden vocalist Paul DiAnno, and I don't think I'll be able to resist the urge to write somethin' about ole Paul. Dude is a legend after all!
                        
                        (ala Al Pacino in "Godfather III") "Every time I think I'm out... they PULL ME BACK IN!"

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   Miebakagh57posted 10 months ago

   I'm here for over 5 years. I've heard about  SI in a time like this, when HubPages, is in a sort of mess.                                                I've not see nor felt the print version. But I thought SI was a public circulation, own by the Government.

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      Solarasposted 10 months agoin reply to this

      In this instance SI refers to Sports Illustrated, which was the sports Mecca before ESPN, with 24/7 sports news.  It was a print publication, famous for the Swimsuit Edition, that showcased beautiful models in tiny swimsuits, every boy had a copy when I was a kid.
      
      Fast forward 30 years and the print publication was in trouble with subscriptions dwindling, but still had well respected writers and editors.
      
      Since the Maven takeover, they reduced the staff by getting rid of highly paid and respected writers, introduced AI in their stead, as well as local kids for local pieces. 
      
      There is apparently a market for Sports Illustrated swimwear, and other apparel. Also, tickets to sporting events are being sold off the SI site. TAG has built a series of supporting sites around SI, and if that goes, the center falls out of the vertical, leaving a bunch of 3rd rate sites with nothing to draw readers (SI fed these subservient verticals). So TAG will have put a lot of resources into SI in order to be left with the bag. Bag of what you might ask...
      
      It seems no one with a vision is in a position of power to set a realistic 1, 5, 7, 30 year plan. Vision seems pillar to post to me.

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         PaulGoodman67posted 10 months agoin reply to this

         The vision thing is difficult, I believe. Any 30 year plan wouldn't be worth the paper it's written on. AI is going to be the biggest revolution yet, according to all the gurus, and it's going to be quick and unpredictable.
         
         Bhargava's solution seems to be to move into videos, according to the TAG press release.

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            Solarasposted 10 months agoin reply to this

            The future is never a straight line.  I remember when "Ginger" was going to revolutionize the way we built cities. lol Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were believers among other visionaries.  Ginger was a flop; but some tourists and cops use them. 
            
            Searching for Hollywood stars the other day, obviously wrong photos were matched up with the bios, when they had correct images before.  I assumed AI was at work.  AI may not ever have the capacity to tell truth from conspiracy theory. 
            
            It may work well in scientific applications, but getting the truth out of consensus on the Internet is a fool's errand.  I rely on people wearing tin foil hats to make a clubbed foot for AI.

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               PaulGoodman67posted 10 months agoin reply to this

               AI has already had a major impact on online publishing and it's still in its infancy.
               
               Whether Bhargava's plan to move into video works out or not, it seems unlikely to have a positive impact on our fate here at HP.

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         Miebakagh57posted 10 months agoin reply to this

         Thamk you very much for the information.

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   jansharesposted 10 months ago

   Breaking News: Sports Illustrated will continue in print with a new licensing deal with Minute Media. Good for them. Hope they rehire the staff.

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   FatFreddysCatposted 10 months ago

   So S.I. will live on, but it's no longer part of the Arena Group's catalog of properties..

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   Jodahposted 10 months ago

   So glad to hear that, Jan. I hope so too.

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   PaulGoodman67posted 10 months ago

   Yes, as a name and a publication it will continue in print, difficult to know what that means for the SI staff who were laid off recently. I think it's hard for anyone to feel secure in print publishing nowadays, even if they have a job.
   
   Meanwhile, TAG has lost its most recognizable brand in traditional publishing, for better or for worse. Maybe it will mean there'll be more money in the TAG pot and more resources come our way but that's likely just wishful thinking.

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      PaulGoodman67posted 10 months agoin reply to this

      My interpretation is that there were already problems but the AI scandal brought things to a head. It certainly sullied SI's reputation. I think TAG were employing AI to save some money but it backfired terribly. What’s happened is the net result of all that.

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         Solarasposted 10 months agoin reply to this

         I think a lack of money triggered the default on the agreement.  The AI thing got  Ross Levinson fired, and perhaps that revealed the level of financial distress the company was under.  Levinson probably had a "its so cool to publish SI" thing going on that clouded his judgement regarding financial decisions of his adopted baby.
         
         The licensing agreement cost them $45 million up front, plus $15 million a year for licensing the name. This does not include the cost of tech staff, writers and their travel expenses, photographers/photography (they no longer have staff photographers), models and editors etc.
         
         I assume TAG is still on the hook for the debt incurred in purchasing the initial $45 million right to publish SI. Now they save $15 million a year on the continuing right to publish. It is hateful to have to service a debt for something you no longer have. It's like paying the mortgage on a home the bank repossessed and sold to someone else.

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            Miebakagh57posted 10 months agoin reply to this

            It's terrible and awful.

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   Jodahposted 10 months ago

   It just seems like a waste of time writing here anymore. Any financial incentive is long gone.

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    Miebakagh57posted 10 months ago

    We're all DOOMED.

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    PaulGoodman67posted 9 months ago

    I still get paid for previous work, which is good, but the amount keeps dwindling and there is little to no incentive to publish new material.
    
    I don't feel like I can do a great deal about it personally. I did a lot of editing last year and the HP editors also did a lot of work. Nothing's seems to have been gained so far, though. Whatever the recovery plan, it's not working.

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       chef-de-jourposted 9 months agoin reply to this

       The TAG era is proving to be a right old ****show so far for HP writers and earners. We've fallen down the rabbit hole again and again. I wonder where all this madness will end?
       
       Meanwhile in the HP Weekly news which I rarely read I'm taken by the false optimism of this piece - unbelievable tripe when you consider how our writing is totally undermined by the crap ad regime and layout.....
       
       
       
       EEAT With Notability and Transparency
       We often cover the importance of high levels of EEAT in order for Google to recognize articles as high-quality and bring them up higher in search results. Still, there's more to a great piece than having experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. This is why HubPages follows a thorough set of standards to boost article quality, like having high-quality landscape images at the top and following APA case in titles, among other things.
       
       Now, think of notability and transparency as addendums to EEAT, further increasing the quality of your articles. But what are notability and transparency?
       
       Notability is a bit vague, having to do with establishing a notable reputation for providing information and having influence within the niche topic or website's focus. Boosting the notability may be difficult within one article, but making edits to individual pieces to boost the notability of the network site overall will help. By having so many network sites focusing on specific topics (film, music, tech) should help HubPages' notability level!
       
       Transparency has more to do with who is behind the information being provided. That goes for both the author and the company publishing their words. Therefore, we recommend you take the time to craft thorough and up-to-date profile bios to reflect your expertise on the topics you write about. If you haven't ever read through the About Us and Editorial Policy pages on each network site, do so! This is where HubPages is able to give readers an overview of who is creating and editing the words they're consuming.

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    FatFreddysCatposted 9 months ago

    

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       chef-de-jourposted 9 months agoin reply to this

       I won't be reading it again not if I can help it....I think I know that face.

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          PaulGoodman67posted 9 months agoin reply to this

          I don't think that the EEAT advice is generally aimed at us, the people who've created convincing bios and done lots of editing. I've done my best to conform to the advice.
          
          The problem is that many writers here have published and effectively flown, or they just don't care anymore. I don't think those people will be persuaded to work on their profiles and articles by newsletters.
          
          I was expecting the nuclear option to be deployed at some point, where HP get very draconian about such things. The problem is that it would p*ss people off and might not work anyway.
          
          The site was designed for everyday folk (non-professional writers) to impart their knowledge but that model has been put under increasing duress by constant Google changes.

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    eugbugposted 9 months ago

    I haven't posted anything either for six months. Google it seems only likes original content and hates content farms. I published a Blogger blog three months ago and it has 30 articles, and they haven't even indexed the domain or any of the articles. Meanwhile Facebook blocked it, but Facebook is a program, seemingly with no human support.

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    Venkatachari Mposted 9 months ago

    Facebook blocked my Economics blog recently when I shared a link to the newly restructured blog (with Pages for each subject like Accounts, Economics, Finance, etc.). I can't break what could be the reason.

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       eugbugposted 9 months agoin reply to this

       Apparently if you post links to a website too frequently from Facebook, it triggers a spam blocker. I think that happened to me when I moved content from a group to my blog and posted lots of links in the same day to it. But it's impossible to contact Facebook. Like Twitter and Google, they're a closed shop as regards support. Some of their component services are good at replying, e.g. Google Maps. They were very helpful when I've contacted them to report errors on the map.

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          Solarasposted 9 months agoin reply to this

          Just a few of the reasons I hope the US Justice Department goes after Google and FB for Antitrust.

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    Rupert Taylorposted 9 months ago

    Surely, not writing new articles and not sprucing up old ones contributes to the failure of the platform that is so often predicted. A self-fulfilling prophecy?
    
    HubPages is like any other business, and it is a business, it needs product to sell; the newer the better. If all it's got on offer in its store window is old stock it's not going to do well.

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       theraggededgeposted 9 months agoin reply to this

       I write articles that would 'normally' do well in my topics but no one is going to see them, let alone read them. It's demoralising and, frankly, a waste of time. The old articles continue to attract some traffic but new ones... nothing.
       
       Incidentally, all my articles go straight to niche sites within days so it's not about quality.

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       Kenna McHughposted 9 months agoin reply to this

       Rupert, you have a point. What used to trend is not trending today. I have old articles that do well, and there's a solid upswing with each new article I post.

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    eugbugposted 9 months ago

    The concept of evergreen articles is obsolete because of Google's stupid fickleness.

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       PaulGoodman67posted 9 months agoin reply to this

       My experience is like Bev’s, while my older articles now do badly, newer ones do even worse.

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    Miebakagh57posted 9 months ago

    The concept of evergreen is now a laughable thing.

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    Rupert Taylorposted 9 months ago

    Paul DiAnno. Didn't he write The Rutabaga Rhumba, made famous by the group Death Vomit?

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       FatFreddysCatposted 9 months agoin reply to this

       No, that was his cousin, Tralphaz Q. Hufnagle.

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    Glenn Stokposted 9 months ago

    In reference to the theme of this thread, here is a latest news article:
    
    https://www.americanbazaaronline.com/20 … ed-456405/
    
    (From MT Newswires) -- Arena Group (AREN) and former Interim Chief Executive Manoj Bhargava have been sued over $48.8 million in missed payments by Sports Illustrated owner Authentic Brands Group, according to court documents Monday.

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       chef-de-jourposted 9 months agoin reply to this

       Glenn, what a mess, a megamess. Mr Bhargava, reputedly a billionaire ++ seems happy enough to play devil's advocate perhaps hoping to stir up publicity of a positive nature for SI once the dust settles and he is hopefully declared winner?   
       
       But hellfire, these sharks are stirring up the waters and lil ole HP might yet get swamped. It's a crazy situation.
       
       I'm so far gone with this nightmarish farce I don't know which way to turn. Meanwhile I'm still writing fresh articles, despite hope draining away.
       
       See you on the other side of the courtroom!!

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          Kenna McHughposted 9 months agoin reply to this

          Well said!

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          Glenn Stokposted 9 months agoin reply to this

          Absolutely!  It sure looks like a mess, Andrew. I hope things get worked out since I still consider HubPages the place for professional writers. Keep your hopes up and keep writing new articles. That's what I'm trying to do.

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             Kenna McHughposted 9 months agoin reply to this

             Same here!

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