On May 28, 2026, Minute Media laid off about 60 employees, roughly 12% of its workforce of around 500. The company tied the cuts to changes in the media market and the rise of artificial intelligence, and said it was reorganizing for more efficient and focused long-term growth. Minute Media is the publisher of Sports Illustrated and the owner of The Players' Tribune.
Front Office Sports reported that about 10 of the cuts hit The Players' Tribune, the athlete-driven storytelling brand Minute Media acquired in 2019. A spokesperson said the outlet is refocusing on written, long-form athlete narratives and pulling back on video production.
Alongside the layoffs, Minute Media terminated its contract to acquire VideoVerse, an Indian AI video startup it had agreed to buy for roughly $200 million in September. Minute Media said it found significant gaps in VideoVerse's presentations and other issues that led it to unwind the deal. The reversal undoes what would have been one of the company's largest acquisitions.
Minute Media operates a portfolio of sports and culture brands that includes Sports Illustrated, which it publishes under a 10-year license from Authentic Brands Group signed in 2024, along with The Players' Tribune, FanSided, The Big Lead, and 90min. The company has built much of its business on a content and technology platform that distributes sports media across its owned brands and third-party publishers.
The cuts add Minute Media to a run of 2026 media and sports-business layoffs. The Associated Press cut about 60 jobs in May, Penn Entertainment cut 75, and both the Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Lakers trimmed business-side staff in the same stretch. Across the sector, AI is being named in restructuring announcements even as several of the same companies pull back on their own AI bets.