The Arena Group Hires Chris Pirrone as SVP, GM of Sports Illustrated Media Group

The Arena Group announced today that Chris Pirrone would be joining the team as the SVP and GM of the Sports Illustrated Media Group. The position was created specifically for Pirrone, who was most recently part of USA Today as their own Sports Media Group general manager. Rob Barrett, President of Media for The Arena Group, is very optimistic in regards to how Pirrone can elevate Sports Illustrated and the other properties under the umbrella.

“Chris Pirrone is a welcome addition with a phenomenal track record at USA Today Sports Media including sixfold audience growth, constant revenue innovations, and the growth of dozens of successful sports properties such as For The Win and Golfweek,” said Barrett in a press release announcing the news. “We are thrilled to have Chris lead the next wave of innovation at Sports Illustrated and The Arena Group’s sports vertical.”

According to The Arena Group, Pirrone played a part in helping launch 75 sports verticals while at USA Today and grew audiences by 50 million unique viewers, as defined by Comscore. They clearly expect him to help the Sports Illustrated Media Group continue to grow after the sites in the group posted huge improvements in audience in terms of year-over-year numbers.

Per the release, Pirrone will begin at The Arena Group in June and report directly to Barrett.