Sports Illustrated Owner Sues Former Publisher Arena Group for $48 Million Over Unpaid Fees and Licensing Issues

• The owner of Sports Illustrated, Authentic Brands Group, is suing former publisher Arena Group for $48 million over unpaid licensing fees.

• Arena Group's majority shareholder, billionaire Manoj Bhargava, allegedly threatened to "sabotage" SI and "hold it hostage" during fee negotiations.

• Authentic Brands revoked Arena's license, invoked a $45 million contract termination fee, and sold SI's licensing rights to Minute Media.

• The lawsuit accuses Arena and Bhargava of trying to force Authentic Brands to accept unreasonable demands by refusing to pay fees.

• Authentic Brands alleges Arena continued using SI trademarks without a license and failed to transfer subscriber data and content to Minute Media.