Maven, the Seattle-based media company that publishes Sports Illustrated, is being sued by Meredith Corp., the former owner of the longstanding magazine.

The Hollywood Reporter’s Alex Weprin first spotted the lawsuit, which accuses Maven of unpaid fees related to the company’s takeover of SI.

Maven launched in 2017 and made headlines nationally after purchasing publishing rights to SI last year. Licensing firm Authentic Brands Group, which bought SI in May 2019 from Meredith, sold the magazine’s print and digital publishing rights to Maven.

Now Meredith is seeking about $1.1 million plus interest from Maven for failure to make payments per an “outsourcing agreement” and a “transition services agreement,” according to the complaint.

“It’s a simple matter,” a Meredith spokesperson said in a statement to GeekWire. “Meredith always honors the terms of our contracts and we expect the same from our partners, as any business would.”

When contacted by GeekWire, a Maven spokesperson accused Meredith of overstating website traffic numbers and print subscribers, and misrepresenting recurring revenue.

“Meredith’s complaint does not tell the whole story,” the spokesperson said. “Indeed, some weeks ago, Maven informed Meredith that Maven believes Meredith materially misrepresented financial, audience and subscription data, when transferring the Sports Illustrated business to Maven, leading to at least $10 million of costs that Maven would have never otherwise agreed to or incurred.”

Maven has had a tumultuous run as SI’s publisher. Layoffs at the venerable sports magazine in October drew criticism from employees and unions; the company did another round of job cuts in March. Maven was also in the spotlight earlier this year following the firing of longtime soccer journalist Grant Wahl after he criticized its handling of job cuts and salary reductions amid the COVID-19 crisis.

A publicly traded company, Maven has a coalition of more than 300 brands, including History, Maxim, Yoga Journal, SKI Magazine, and others. It purchased finance media company TheStreet in 2019. Maven launched in 2017 and is led by James Heckman, the Rivals.com founder and former Yahoo executive.

Maven raised $20 million in October. It landed a $5.7 million loan from the federal government as part of the Paycheck Protection Program.

See the full complaint below.

Editor’s note: Story updated with statement from Meredith. 

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