This issue was wrapped in an announcement that if I did not call a nine-digit phone number – yes I know that is a number short I guess it got cut off – phone number in the next two weeks, I would automatically renew my subscription for the next two years.  The rate was not the best I have ever seen and SI has begun to disappoint me, so I did not want an auto-renew.

So I went to the Web site to get a number where I could get human contact.

The guy on the other end of the line was outsourced to another country. After going back and forth to where I could find my account number we were in business and we agreed to cancel my subscription at the end of my current contract no questions asked.

With the state of the dwindling hard-copy media industry, I expected a question or a couple of them and was ready for a 5-10 minute cancellation conversation.

What I got was kind of interesting – no questions, concerns or follow-ups as to why I was cancelling my subscription.

This left me puzzled as we never get off easy when we cancel anything. In the past when I was cancelling anything from cable to a cell phone and magazines, the person at the other end offer something to keep me on the hook. Whether it was an extension on a promotion, discounted rate on the magazine or something else.

Not that I wanted to keep getting SI, but I would be less likely to stay after getting simply let go as easily as I was.

I am not sure if a traditional employee of the company would not allow something like this to happen. Unfortunately, outsourced help doesn’t usually have the company’s best interest in mind.

Image SICovers.com

There was a time not so long ago that Sports Illustrated was known for putting curses on its cover boys, Life of Riley and a swimsuit issue. However after Riley jumped ship, there was no reason to read the back page and the cover jinx seemed to fade away (here and here).

While the magazine did add Dan Patrick, yes the former ESPN stalwart, that wasn’t the real story — Sports Illustrated turned into a first-class marketer for their authors’ books, even gracing the most recent cover.

First it was Tom Verducci and Joe Torre telling all about his Yankee years. The book excerpt shed some light into the behind the scenes drama. First there was the fallout with the GM and then the hoopla with Alex Rodriguez being a Jeter-junkie and A-Fraud. Then in the most recent issue, the aforementioned A-Rod graces the cover. However, its not for any heroic deed, but rather being exposed as yet another dirty player of the steroid era.

In the case of Verducci, the plug propelled his book to the top of the NY Times Best Seller list, prompting a book tour that would be more fitting for J.K. Rowling. As for Selena Roberts’ piece/excerpt, her book has been pushed up for an April publication.

No question as a timely sale for Opening Day. While I have no qualms with anyone making money, I do wonder where the line is with being a journalistic outlet and becoming a self-promoting platform. There is no doubt that having a best-selling author and scooping all major news outlets with bringing down baseball’s golden boy latest * will help sell magazines. However, why is a propaganda piece gracing the pages of a magazine that costs subscribers $54 a year?

I doubt that I will ever have an answer to the question. The stories may have peaked my interest, but I would rather wait for the paperback and I am kind of frustrated that two issues were filed with excerpts of three books – last I checked it was a sports magazine, not Readers’ Digest.

On the other side of the coin I think that it is a pure marketing genius by offering a product to your audience while promoting your writers. SI has managed to monetize their customers in every way possible.