Paul Fichtenbaum Named as Time Inc. Sports Group Editor

Paul Fichtenbaum, who for eight years ran Sports Illustrated's Web site, was named the editor of the Time Inc. Sports Group on Thursday, replacing Terry McDonell.

Mr. Fichtenbaum's appointment comes a few months after the sports group, which also includes Golf Magazine and about two dozen other print, digital and mobile products, began to integrate the magazine and online properties. In the process, three employees were laid off and 16 accepted buyouts. In July, Mr. Fichtenbaum was named editorial director for the sports group.

“Everything going forward has to have a digital overlay to it because that's where the industry is going,” Mr. Fichtenbaum said in a telephone interview. “We have a really strong print product, a lot of subscribers - more than three million who love the magazine - and what we need to do is make sure they love SI in whatever form the world takes us. Our magazine is rock solid.”

Sports Illu strated has circulation of 3 million. In the third quarter of 2012, it had advertising revenue of $412.4 million, up 0.7 from last year, the Publishers Information Bureau said. ESPN the Magazine, which is published every two weeks, had the second-most ad revenue in the quarter, with $182.4 million, down 13.7 percent.

Mr. Fichtenbaum said that the print magazine would further extend its efforts in enterprise journalism, while letting SI.com handle daily sports news. “That's one of the things we can do to differentiate ourselves from our competitors,” he said. “The magazine can do those interesting, unique stories that are hard to come by.”

He added, “We have a different audience from ESPN the Magazine. We're on a different schedule. They're locked into the thematic approach.”

On the digital side, Sports Illustrated's Web sites had just over 10 million unique visitors in September compared with ESPN.com's 47 million, according to comScore.

M r. McDonell - who joined Sports Illustrated in 2002 after a diverse career as a top editor at Esquire, Rolling Stone, Outside, Men's Journal and Us - will be a senior advisor to Time Inc.