Sports Illustrated Brand Score: 93/100 - Iconic tier

Your Home for Sports Coverage

Sports Illustrated (si.com) earns a Brand Analyzer score of 93 out of 100, placing it in the Iconic tier among Media & Entertainment brands, Sports & Fitness brands. Among 4317 Media & Entertainment brands analyzed, Sports Illustrated ranks in the 97th percentile (category average 75, leader 97). The score combines seven dimensions - name quality, digital presence, visual identity, messaging clarity, trust foundation, AI discoverability, and brand authority - into a single objective benchmark. Dimension scores: Name Quality 73/100, Digital Presence 100/100, Visual Identity 96/100, Messaging Clarity 95/100, Trust Foundation 94/100, AI Discoverability 90/100, Brand Authority 84/100.

AI Snapshot

Sports Illustrated (SI.com) is an American sports media brand founded in 1954 and headquartered in New York City. It provides sports news, expert analysis, highlights, statistics, and scores covering major leagues such as the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and college sports, as well as fantasy and gambling content. Known historically as a trusted sports journalism outlet, it aims to offer comprehensive storytelling beyond scores. The brand is owned by WarnerMedia and targets sports fans and enthusiasts seeking in-depth coverage across professional and college sports.

Key facts about Sports Illustrated
Brand NameSports Illustrated
Domainsi.com
IndustryMedia & Entertainment, Sports & Fitness
Founded1954
HeadquartersNew York City
Parent Company / OwnerWarnerMedia
Main CompetitorsESPN (88/100), Bleacher Report (85/100), CBS Sports (93/100), Yahoo Sports, NBC Sports, The Athletic (94/100), Fox Sports

Evidence

Moz Domain Authority 92/100 vs category average 51 / leader 100 - a strong backlink profile, so AI systems frequently encounter mentions of the brand.

Ranked #3,142 on the Tranco list of most-visited sites - strong traffic reinforces the brand's prominence to AI models.

Sports Illustrated has a dedicated Wikipedia entity - a top-weighted signal AI models rely on to identify and describe the brand.

The homepage meta description reads "Sports Illustrated, SI.com provides sports news, expert analysis, highlights, stats and scores for the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, college football, soccer, fantasy, gambling and more" (Meta description: 25 words (ideal length). OG description present and descriptive) - this is the summary AI engines are most likely to quote.

Structured data on the homepage: 103 JSON-LD block(s), Organization schema, Breadcrumb/Website schema, Product/Article schema, og:title, og:description, og:image, og:type, Twitter cards, canonical. Adding FAQ schema would further help AI crawlers parse the brand's identity.

AI-crawler access: robots.txt mentions GPTBot, ChatGPT-User, ClaudeBot, Google-Extended, PerplexityBot - all allowed - robots.txt controls whether engines like GPTBot and ClaudeBot can read the site at all.

Social footprint: verified profiles on X (Twitter), LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, GitHub; no detected presence on Facebook - consistent profiles reinforce the brand's identity across the web.

0 Reddit mentions - community discussion signals real-world reputation to AI models.

Score breakdown - 7 dimensions

AI visibility

Sports Illustrated scores 73/100 for AI visibility - how well ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews can discover, identify and cite the brand.

Sports Illustrated has a moderate AI-visibility profile at 73/100 - a proxy for how readily ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google's AI Overviews can recognise and cite it. Its strongest area is recommendation likelihood (76/100) and its weakest is visibility (72/100). It benefits from a recognised Wikipedia company entity, a Wikidata knowledge-graph entry and a global traffic rank of #3,142 (Tranco). In a live check, Claude could already identify Sports Illustrated from memory (August 2026) - a sign these signals are paying off.

Visibility - 72/100

Trust - 73/100

Recommendation likelihood - 76/100

Does AI know Sports Illustrated?

Live results from asking a general-purpose AI assistant about the brand, checked August 2026.

When asked "What is Sports Illustrated?", Claude could identify the brand as of August 2026. Sports Illustrated is an American sports media brand founded in 1954, historically known for its in-depth sports journalism, photography, and iconic weekly print magazine, now operating primarily as a digital publication at si.com. Best known for Its legendary sports journalism and photography, plus the annual Swimsuit Issue.

When asked "Best brands similar to Sports Illustrated?", Claude would recommend Sports Illustrated as of August 2026. It's one of the most iconic and historically significant names in sports media, so it would naturally come up in a discussion of top sports brands.

People Also Ask About Sports Illustrated

Common questions people ask in Google, ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, and other AI search engines.

Who are Sports Illustrated's main competitors?

Sports Illustrated's main competitors include ESPN (88/100), Bleacher Report (85/100), CBS Sports (93/100), Yahoo Sports, NBC Sports. These companies compete in the Media & Entertainment space for similar customers, offering comparable products or services.

Sources: Brand Analyzer scan

Sports Illustrated vs CBS Sports: how do they compare?

Sports Illustrated and CBS Sports are competitors in Media & Entertainment. Brand Analyzer scores Sports Illustrated at 93/100 and CBS Sports at 93/100. They target overlapping audiences; the right choice depends on your specific needs and priorities.

Sources: Brand Analyzer scan

What are the best alternatives to Sports Illustrated?

Popular alternatives to Sports Illustrated include ESPN (88/100), Bleacher Report (85/100), CBS Sports (93/100), Yahoo Sports, NBC Sports. Each is an established option in the Media & Entertainment space; the best fit depends on your specific needs, budget, and required features.

Sources: Brand Analyzer scan

When was Sports Illustrated founded?

Sports Illustrated was founded in 1954. Sports Illustrated operates in the Media & Entertainment category. It is analyzed by Brand Analyzer across seven brand dimensions and AI-search visibility.

Sources: Wikidata

Where is Sports Illustrated headquartered?

Sports Illustrated is headquartered in New York City. Sports Illustrated operates in the Media & Entertainment category.

Sources: Wikidata

What products or services does Sports Illustrated offer?

Sports Illustrated offers sports news, expert analysis, in-depth storytelling, game highlights, statistics, and scores for major leagues including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, college football, and soccer. It also provides content related to fantasy sports and sports gambling.

Sources: Sports Illustrated official site

Does ChatGPT recommend Sports Illustrated?

Sports Illustrated scores 76/100 on Brand Analyzer's AI recommendation signal, indicating it is reasonably likely to be surfaced when AI assistants like ChatGPT suggest Media & Entertainment options. Recommendation depends on crawlability, structured data, and category authority; a Wikipedia presence helps.

Sources: Sports Illustrated official site

What is Sports Illustrated?

Sports Illustrated is an American sports magazine and media brand, founded in 1954 and headquartered in New York City. Its website, SI.com, provides sports news, analysis, and coverage of major leagues and events. It is owned by WarnerMedia.

Sources: Sports Illustrated official site

What does Sports Illustrated do?

Sports Illustrated delivers sports news, expert analysis, in-depth storytelling, highlights, statistics, and scores across major leagues and competitions, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, college football, and soccer. It also covers fantasy sports and sports gambling, aiming to provide a single authoritative source for sports coverage.

Sources: Sports Illustrated official site

How can Sports Illustrated improve its AI discoverability?

Sports Illustrated can improve AI discoverability by strengthening structured data (Organization and FAQ schema), maintaining an accurate Wikipedia/Wikidata entity, earning authoritative citations, and keeping content crawlable for AI bots. Brand Analyzer measures these as visibility, trust, and recommendation signals.

Sources: Sports Illustrated official site

Who owns Sports Illustrated?

Sports Illustrated is owned by or part of WarnerMedia. Sports Illustrated operates in the Media & Entertainment category.

Sources: Wikidata

Who uses Sports Illustrated?

Sports Illustrated is used by sports fans and enthusiasts seeking news, analysis, and insights across professional and college sports, including those interested in fantasy sports and sports gambling.

Sources: Sports Illustrated official site

What is Sports Illustrated known for?

Sports Illustrated is known for its long history of sports journalism dating back to 1954, offering credible, in-depth analysis and storytelling across professional and college sports. It has built a reputation as an authoritative voice in sports media, covering major leagues and events beyond just scores and stats.

Sources: Sports Illustrated official site

Recommendations

Peer brands

Ranked closest to Sports Illustrated: Serious Eats (93/100), South China Morning Post (93/100), Slashdot (93/100), Spotify (93/100), Runway (93/100), Austin American-Statesman (93/100).

Category leader: Complex (97/100).