"It gives us a way to optimize what people most value about Sports Illustrated: deep storytelling and journalism that matters," Sports Illustrated Group editor in chief Chris Stone told The Wall Street Journal. "Our stories will translate very well to a streaming platform, and we're approaching stories from both perspectives."

But the new service also reflects the media group's move away from print. As The Wall Street Journal pointed out, the magazine cut down its projected issue count down to 27 in 2018, down from 38 in 2017.

Sports Illustrated TV will get some competition next spring ESPN's on-demand streaming service goes live. But it's important to note that the latter will provide a different, gameday-focused slate of content than SI's in-depth journalism. Whether fans want to pay for a streaming service that won't give access to their favorite team's games is another story.