Top Sports Media Leaders Changing the Landscape: Amazon, Apple, ESPN – Business Insider
- Insider is highlighting the most influential sports-media figures transforming the industry in 2022.
- The list includes execs from media staples like ESPN and studios driving the explosion of original sports content.
- It also features leaders from key startups like Overtime, Meadowlark Media, and Just Women’s Sports.
In the rapidly evolving media landscape, sports programming and the athletes who drive it all are becoming more powerful than ever before.
Live sports are a bridge between traditional TV and the new wave of streaming platforms.
“Live sports content is no longer just playing a key strategic role in the linear pay-TV bundle but also a growing role in the streaming ecosystem as sports rights become an increasingly important driver of subscriber acquisition and retention for streaming services,” Chris Vollmer, managing director at consulting firm MediaLink, told Insider over email.
But sports don’t end at the final score. The coverage around sports has moved with the digital age through social media, documentaries, and podcasts.
“There’s a lot you can do with sports IP to attract viewers, subscribers, and fans that goes beyond the live game,” Vollmer said.
As the industry transforms, Insider is highlighting the most influential business leaders innovating in sports media. We fielded nominations for this list from readers and industry insiders.
The final list includes established leaders like ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro, as well as challengers like Marie Donoghue, an ESPN alum who is now shaking up the sports landscape at Amazon, which landed the exclusive rights to “Thursday Night Football.”
There are also rising stars — leaders whose companies may not be valued the same way as traditional networks, but who are blazing trails in growing sports demographics — like Overtime cofounders Dan Porter and Zack Weiner and Just Women’s Sports founder Haley Rosen.
Athletes also have claimed their place on the list as more have thrust themselves into the business side of sports media. They include LeBron James, who partnered with his manager Maverick Carter to create The SpringHill Company, which was valued in its last funding round at $725 million.
The sports-media space is vast. Insider’s list showcases the headliners from networks, publications, entertainment, and video and audio production companies. A lot of these executives rely heavily on the actions of the sports leagues, whose marketing and media rights decisions provide the foundation for sports media outlets.
There are several emerging categories that aren’t included in Insider’s list, such as NIL and NFTs, which could shake up the sports-media world but with still undetermined impact. There’s also plenty of innovation happening at the intersection of sports media and gambling, which Insider has highlighted in a separate list.
Here are 24 top leaders — listed alphabetically by company — that made Insider’s list for the most influential sports-media business figures of 2022: