'Sports Illustrated' Adds 10 Million Users Through Local Team Channels
- by Melynda Fuller , February 3, 2020
Sports Illustrated is reporting steep increases in audience numbers and more over the past few months, a trend that has gained steam since Maven took over operationsof the brand in October 2019.
According to the company, unique users across its website increased by 36% last month, compared to the same period a year ago.
The site claims 34 million unique users, including those visiting SI.com and audience collected through Sports Illustrated’s Apple news partnership.
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Website sessions increased by 41% year over year, topping 60 million.
One area driving audience is the network of 90 local team channels launched under Maven. In less than a year, the network has attracted nearly 10 million users and grew by 80% from December to January.
Sports Illustrated is also reporting a nearly eight-time increase in video views on SI.com. The brand credits this increase to a new focus from its editorial team and the creation of a breaking news desk that operates in real-time and across the East Coast and West Coast.
These numbers follow the recent relaunch of Sports Illustrated’s print magazine. The issue marked the brand’s first official print offering since its frequency was reduced to a monthly edition.
Sports Illustrated is also slated to publish 22 special issues each year, in addition to its monthly issue.
The local team view stats could present a challenge. They bolster audience in aggregate, and are affinity groups for ad targeting. But, how loyal will they be to SI when the team is not playing between seasons? There needs to be a reason for them to come back to the site or app and keep reading. Come to think of it, that's why the Time Inc. SI came up with the Swimsuit Issue in February, when major sports were not playing.