Sports Illustrated models cash in on new tech – CNBC

“This year, everyone is talking about the three covers of the magazine,” Ripp said. “So we are a brand in transition, we are a company in transition, but print continues to be an important part of the franchise and really has directed the national dialogue.”

The Time Inc. publication announced over the holiday weekend it would have three separate cover models for its hallmark swimsuit issue for the first time ever. The goal was to showcase models whose beauty is not “cookie cutter,” Sports Illustrated’s assistant managing editor, MJ Day, said in the magazine’s announcement.

“Beauty is all around us and that became especially obvious to me while shooting and editing this year’s issue,” Day told Sports Illustrated.

One cover model, Ashley Graham, has already made history for the publication before—as the first plus-size model to appear in an ad in the swimsuit edition.