Authentic Brands Group, which purchased the storied magazine for $110 million last May, has partnered with 101 Studios to form Sports Illustrated Studios, a vehicle to develop, produce and distribute long-form film, television and audio content.
101 Studios will manage and oversee all production, distribution and marketing of the content in collaboration with ABG. Salter has said in the past that Disney is one of the companies that he most admires for its ability to blend entertainment and merchandising. He also believes there are “plenty of merchandise opportunities” to capitalize on from SI Studios. “Think of anything Disney does,” he said. “If they make a fictional movie or a documentary or scripted TV show, they create merchandise to go along with that.
“At the core of 101 Studios, we seek to tell stories that create cultural conversations, which is the same pillar behind the stories that have been told and continue to be told by Sports Illustrated,” said Glasser.