Sports Illustrated KIDS

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Sports Illustrated KIDS (SI KIDS) is a spin-off of the popular weekly American sports magazine Sports Illustrated, and was first launched in January 1989. It is targeted towards kids and pre-teens up to 17 years old. It prices at USD$3.99 per issue.

There are many features to SI KIDS, which include action photos, easy-to-read stories about star athletes and helpful instructional tips from the pros. It also features humor pieces, comics (Buzz Beamer is the lead character of the back-page comic strip) and interactive contests/activities. Some of the humor includes comic cards -- kids can send in their trading cards with funny captions about the athlete on the card. Michael Jordan has been on the cover the most times. One of the magazine's core values is to promote positive values, good sportsmanship and the fun of reading. There is also a website. The website is www.sikids.com

As a bonus, each issue comes with a two-sided, pull-out poster of two superstar athletes, plus a full-page stub featuring nine sports cards. There is also a section inside the magazine called Sports Illustrated TEEN, which is for older kids who are too old for SI KIDS, but too young for Sports Illustrated.

A recent innovation for the magazine has included alternate covers. In May 2006, the magazine featured three different alternate covers to cover the NFL Draft.
*The first cover was "Just Imagine Reggie Bush as a Houston Texan."
*The second cover was "Just Imagine Vince Young as a Tennessee Titan."
*The third cover was "Just Imagine Matt Leinart as a New York Jet."

The magazine has won the highest honors from the Association of Educational Publishers and the Parents' Choice Awards. [ http://www.sikids.com/about_us/subscribe/index.html)]

ports Illustrated KIDS 2007 Editorial Calendar

In the December 2006/January 2007 Double Issue, special 3D cards and 3D glasses were included.

In the February 2007 issue, future sports stars were featured as the issue's trading cards.

Tiger Woods SI KIDS Card Nets $125,000

In 2001, the euphoria over Tiger Woods success spilled into the collectibles market. The first Tiger Woods card featured in Sports Illustrated KIDS from 1996 netted $125,000 in an online auction. [http://espn.go.com/golfonline/masters01/s/2001/0409/1170680.html ESPN.com - Golf Online - Masters 2001 - Woods' SI for Kids card went for $125,000 ] ] The card was graded gem-mint, hence the high amount. The seller of the card was Mike Souza and the publicity over this card led to many other collectors trying to get Tiger Woods graded cards from Sports Illustrated KIDS.

Beckett Grading Services was one of many card grading companies that received a letter from Sports Illustrated KIDS asking that these companies cease the grading of the card. The letter stated that SI claimed their cards were never meant to be circulated as collectibles. The thin paper stock and the bleeding of the other surrounding yellow cards onto the blue Woods card also make a card in gem-mint tough to find. The Souza-sold card is believed to have been the highest price ever paid for a card produced since 1952; more than a mint-graded 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card, which sold for $121,000 and more than a 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth card, hocked for $100,050, according to Pro Sports Authenticator (PSA), which graded the cards.

Partnership with Topps

In March 2006, the Topps Company and Sports Illustrated KIDS magazine announced a marketing alliance to increase the overall awareness of trading card collecting among kids. [http://www.topps.com/sports/news/toppsNews.aspx?news_id=91 ::TOPPS::. Sports Home ] ] One element of the alliance includes the SI KIDS Topps Card Club, a multimedia program designed for young sports fans. This includes a special section in the monthly magazine and a dedicated website (http://www.toppscardclub.com/welcome/index.html). The website provides information on new cards, cool ways to collect, sports trivia and games and the inside scoop on kids' favorite players.

The second aspect of the partnership included Topps Opening Day Baseball Cards featuring an SI KIDS trading card in every .99 cent pack (released March 22, 2006). The SI KIDS cards are modeled after popular features in the magazine, including "Max Action" and "Funny Photos". Every pack will also include a stick of bubble gum.

Advertisements

The advertisements were mostly targeted at getting kids to read. However, the magazine actually mostly contains sports news and games targeted at kids ages 7-12.

References

ee also

* Sports Illustrated magazine
* Sports Illustrated Almanac
* Sports Illustrated On Campus
* Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue
* Sports Illustrated Women
* Faces in the Crowd

External links

* [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/ SI.com]
* [http://www.sikids.com/ Sports Illustrated KIDS]
* [https://subs.timeinc.net/SK/GSP/index.jhtml/ Sports Illustrated KIDS Teacher's web-site]
* [http://espn.go.com/golfonline/masters01/s/2001/0409/1170680.html/ Tiger Woods SI KIDS Card nets $125,000]
* [http://www.topps.com/sports/news/toppsNews.aspx?news_id=91/ Topps and SI KIDS announce a partnership]
* [http://www.toppscardclub.com/welcome/index.html/ Topps and SI KIDS Trading Card Club]