Sports Illustrated For Women - History

History

Sports Illustrated for Women, renamed Sports Illustrated Women (SI Women) in 2001, launched under the leadership of Cleary Simpson, Group Publisher and Sandy Bailey, Editor in Chief. SI Women initially ran test publications as Sports Illustrated Women/Sport, in 1997. The test magazine was published in two issues, followed by four special issues in 1999, under the title Sports Illustrated Women. The March 2000 launch of the ongoing product, slated for six issues per year, included a website, siforwomen.com . Circulation base rate was estimated at 300,000. By 2002 it had reached 400,000. Its newsstand price was $3.50. Publishers Information Bureau statistics showed that SI Women's ad pages jumped 26.51 percent from 2000 to 2001 and its revenues increased 73.28 percent, from $5,499,509 to $9,529,281.

The magazine went through a makeover and name change (to SI Women) in September 2001, after Susan Casey, former Editor of Outside, took over from Sandy Bailey, as Editor in Chief. Research showed that, "women are more interested in sports as participants than fans, unlike men." That year, the magazine expanded, planning 10 issues per year and revamping its content to, "a wider range of activities pursued by today's modern, active women," including participatory sports with sections on training and adventure travel. In 2002, SI Women received a nomination for General Excellence from the National Magazine Awards.