The initial Pickleball Slam featured McEnroe, Agassi, Michael Chen and Andy Roddick trading racquets for paddles. 

The slams are created and produced by Horizon Sports & Experiences — run by former Turner Broadcasting President David Levy and Chris Weil, former CEO of Momentum Worldwide — and InsideOut Sports & Entertainment.

Also Read: Pickleball Slam Averages 670,000 Viewers on ESPN

“Following the success of the inaugural Pickleball Slam, we’re excited to once again partner with and return to the Hard Rock and present Slam 2 in primetime on ESPN, an ideal time slot coming out of the network’s coverage of the NFL Pro Bowl and an NBA regular-season game,” Levy said. “It’s great to have both John and Andre return for Slam 2, In pairing them up with Stefanie and Maria, two of the greatest and most competitive players in the history of tennis, there’s sure to be no shortage of incredible action and entertaining moments on the court.”

Also Read: Pickleball Slam Laces Up K-Swiss As Official Shoe

A highlight of Slam 2 will be a doubles match featuring the duo of McEnroe and Sharapova, who have a total of 12 Grand Slam singles titles between them, facing off against the husband-and-wife team of Agassi and Graf, who earned a combined 30 Grand Slam singles titles during their careers.

“After Andy and I took home the hardware at the first Pickleball Slam, I said I would be playing pickleball as long as I can walk — that’s how much I enjoy this game,“ Agassi said. “Naturally, I am so excited to share this experience with one of the best tennis players, my wife.”

Said Graf: “When I watched the inaugural Pickleball Slam in April and stepped onto the court, I was hooked. Andre and I can’t wait to get back out on the court together to face off against Maria and John.” 

The weekend event will once again feature the Amateur Slam Challenge on Friday, February 2, and Saturday, February 3. The amateur tournament will include doubles teams competing for a cash prize and the opportunity to play against the tennis legends.

Pickleball Slam 2 will be staged at Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.

“We are incredibly excited to partner with Horizon Sports & Entertainment and InsideOut Sports again for the return of the Pickleball Slam to Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla. The inaugural event last April was a resounding success, with Hard Rock’s desire to be entertainment first-movers paying massive dividends,” Keith Sheldon, president of entertainment for Hard Rock International and Seminole Gaming, said. “It’s going be a special evening of pickleball.”

Founded in 2008, Blake Sports Group specializes in corporate consulting, event management, athlete marketing and global concierge programs. Blake’s clients include Cognizant, which it advised on auto racing and golf sponsorships.

Blake Sports Group founder and CEO Dennis Blake and agency chief operating officer Darren Blake, both join HS&E as executive VPs of talent and business development.

“Dennis and I could not be more excited for the opportunity to join two veterans like Chris and David, whose experience and leadership are unparalleled within the industry,” Blake said.  “We’re looking forward to the next chapter as part of the HS&E family and further accelerating the growth of the agency.  Both of our companies share the same vision, and we can’t think of a more perfect fit."

Horizon Sports, launched last year, is affiliated with Horizon Media. It produced the Pickleball Slam, which aired on ESPN in April. It was also named to manage sponsorships for the One Championship martial arts organization.

“I have watched Dennis and Darren grow Blake Sports Group over the last ten years, and they have done a great job of adding premier clients to their roster both with brands and with talent,” said Weil, co-CEO of Horizon Sports. “We are excited that they are joining HS&E and together we see tremendous future growth opportunities.”

The Inaugural Pickleball Slam was put together by Horizon Sports & Experiences, the new agency formed by former Turner president David Levy, working with InsideOut Sports & Entertainment. 

It will take place April 2 at Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. It will appear on ESPN leading into the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship.

“Pickleball is nothing short of a cultural phenomenon — experiencing a meteoric rise across genders, age groups, geographies, and income levels,“ said Levy, co-CEO of HS&E. “The Slam, a multiyear partnership with the Hard Rock, represents the convergence of culture and sport, giving brands an opportunity to engage with passionate fans and amateur players, as pickleball continues to gain popularity. We look forward to bringing together four of America’s most iconic tennis legends for this groundbreaking competition, which heralds a new milestone for the fastest-growing sport in America.”

Also: ESPN Nets Professional Pickleball Association Team Championships Event

The Slam is planned as the first of five events that will be held at Hard Rock locations.

“We are tremendously excited to be bringing the Inaugural Pickleball Slam to Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida,” said Keith Sheldon, president of entertainment for Hard Rock International and Seminole Gaming. “Hard Rock Live has become synonymous with big events, and to have four of the biggest names in American tennis battling for the largest purse in pickleball history on a national live broadcast will only serve to bolster this reputation. We are honored to partner with HS&E to debut The Slam at The Guitar Hotel.” ■

Levy, first as president of Turner Sports then president of Turner Broadcasting, had a long, productive relationship with the NBA.

“During his many years as an NBA partner, David has demonstrated his creative and innovative approach to branding and growing businesses,” said Gregg Winik, NBA president, content and executive producer. “Adding his expertise to HS&E’s strong data and analytics capabilities will help us better understand the needs of our fans and how to reach them.”

“The NBA is a great brand, and I’m fortunate to have built long term relationships with the professionals at the NBA based on trust, creativity and results,” said Levy, co-CEO, HS&E.  “We pushed each other and won together, and I am looking forward to this next chapter.” ■

The new unit was created to provide marketers with a comprehensive approach to engaging in sports sponsorships and experiential marketing.

Horizon Sports & Experience will focus on intellectual property creation and monetization and offer expertise in strategic advisory and consulting, media rights, sponsorship and sales and activation. Horizon Media’s recently launched metaverse consultancy, Chapter & Verse, will be merged into the expanded offerings of HS&E.

Levy and Weil will serve as co-CEOs and will be equity partners in the new company. Horizon’s Scout sports and event marketing team will be folded into Horizon Sports & Experiences. Michael Neuman, head of Scout, will become executive of HS&E, reporting to Levy and Weil.

“As marketers seek more integration and more connections with the consumer, we are always seeking ways to evolve ahead of the landscape to meet those needs, and Horizon Sports & Experiences will do just that,” said Horizon Media founder and CEO Bill Koenigsberg.

"What we have created here will bring a unique – and complementary - combination of sports, experiential, and media capabilities and expertise under one tent that will be a marketer’s dream. Further, I am thrilled about the game-changing work that we will do with two industry powerhouses like David Levy and Chris Weil, who join me as partners in HS&E and enter the Horizon family with an incredible list of accomplishments behind them and nothing but open opportunity to lead, create, and grow ahead of them," Koenigsberg said.

As president of Turner and before that president of Turner’s advertising and sports units, Levy engineered Turner's partnership with CBS to televise college basketball’s March Madness and grew Turner’s relationship with the NBA. He left Turner and parent Time Warner after they were acquired by AT&T.

“Throughout my career, I have had tremendous opportunities to build and grow some of the world’s most esteemed brands by creating and identifying the partnerships, content and value propositions that deliver consistent value to their audiences through sports and entertainment platforms and experiences,” said Levy, who after leaving Turner was briefly CEO of the Brooklyn Nets and founder of Back Nine Ventures.

“Still, I know that in today’s ever-changing media landscape, there are even more opportunities to develop strong new IP destination events and help existing and emerging sports leagues navigate new distribution platforms, as well as sponsorship and sales,” Levy said. “To that end, we’ll also be looking at opportunities to deploy available capital for strategic acquisitions to extend these capabilities and accelerate HS&E’s impact for our clients. I’m excited that all our clients, including those coming with me from Back Nine to HS&E – Top Rank Inc., Learfield and others, will have more services and opportunities across this fused buy-sell-brand lens that is further amplified by Horizon’s deep consumer insights and analytics offerings.”

Since 2003, Weil had been CEO of Momentum Worldwide, which managed mover $5 billion in sponsorship assets.

“Given fundamental shifts in consumer attitudes and behaviors that are continuing to drive the evolution of brand experience – both physical and digital – I believe that Web3 is going to be the ‘experience Web,’” said Weil. “So, we’re creating a company that will be at the forefront of monetizing Web3 in this blended physical-digital world. What the industry needs most going forward is an agency model that can seamlessly and comprehensively support this approach and serve all of a marketer’s sports and brand experience needs in one place – media rights, sponsorship consulting, sales, the monetization of properties and IP, and more. That is precisely what we’ve developed with Horizon Sports & Experiences, and we’ll be aggressively identifying and exploring acquisitions across IP, experiential and other services that align with our vision.” ■

Yet despite all the warning signs, TV targeting and measurement has not kept pace. This lag was exposed even further in a year underpinned by programming upheaval and a sharp rise in video consumption as more people engaged with content from home. 

TV’s inability to get a holistic, person-level view of its audience across screens has challenged publishers and advertisers alike. Fragmented viewership paired with siloed identity, targeting and measurement has led to counting problems, creating blind spots with adding up viewers across multiple viewing experiences.

Brands increasingly need to plan, target, optimize and track the impact of TV ad spending -- across all devices, platforms and screens. Emerging new technologies and the rise of streaming seem to be just what TV needs to get there. But challenges still exist for the TV ad market. Let’s try to break it down.

Is a common ID for TV the answer?

The solution starts with breaking down the ID silos across TV publishers and platforms.

Buyers need a system where they can define a unified audience target across all consumers and devices. For example, creating an audience target for linear that can’t be used in digital or addressable TV isn’t useful. Similarly, creating an audience that can only be used in digital isn’t productive if you care about holistic measurement.

When creating an omni-channel audience for TV, marketers need to ask three key questions:

1. Can my audience be matched to a common ID that spans all consumers?
2. Can my audience IDs be matched to viewership data to create consistent audience segments for targeting across linear, digital and addressable?
3. Can my audience segments be sent consistently to all TV publishers to execute?

If the answer is no, then counting will remain a basic problem.

Can a common ID work in non-connected environments?

Yes. Saying we can’t do omni-channel targeting and measurement until we have complete census data across TV has been an excuse we’ve used for way too long. We can’t wait for the perfect solution to move things forward.

Today in non-connected environments where we only have panel data, we rely on measurement companies to model reach and frequency to a national footprint. Going forward, we need to ensure those reach and frequency projections are mapped to an ID spine and that the ID spine can be matched to ID spines that are used to build audiences. This data science work is happening today at all the major measurement companies. Buyers and sellers will need to decide who does the best job at modeling reach and frequency on an ID basis.

Should the TV ad industry gravitate toward one form of a user identifier for targeting or many?

Various forms of advanced TV advertising can employ household data, device IDs, third-party research data, first-party data, proprietary device graphs, among others, which provides great flexibility. However, TV’s range of solutions can also lead to fragmentation and confusion. With nearly everyone trying to solve for identity, most brands and publishers don’t necessarily know where to start.

And historically, media marketplaces that lack standards or are marked by significant complexity don’t grow very fast.

The question remains, what does this mean for TV?

Common ID resolution for television could alleviate this problem – and ignite a marketplace.

Imagine a skeleton key that would allow brands to connect their first-party data to any of these solutions seamlessly. On the flip side, imagine the possibilities for media companies if they were able to source demand from across the advanced TV landscape without necessarily having to forge partnerships and conduct tech/data integrations with every single player in the ecosystem.

Interoperability with existing buy- and sell-side ID initiatives is key.

For a common identity framework to work for video, it must be able to be matched with all existing ID sets to allow for data to be moved from the buy-side to the sell-side and all applicable end points.

For if there is one thing brand advertisers love to lament, it’s the inability to see at a person-level where ads are being viewed across TV networks, screens and platforms. So, addressing that concern is the key to real cross-platform planning and measurement. 

As for publishers, a challenge regarding cross-platform deals is that even when in control of their own data, they are bound to antiquated measurement systems which hold the entire ecosystem back.

Ultimately, an identity resolution for TV must begin and end with breaking down the walls across screens and platforms to mirror the way people consume video and TV.

Imagine the possibilities for marketers then.

Things are hopping at OpenAP, the advanced advertising company. 

CEO David Levy said the pandemic and the atypical upfront market it is causing are accelerating the push toward data-driven, audience-based advertising on both the buy and sell sides.

“We’ve been incredibly busy supporting our partners as they work with their clients across upfront conversations,” Levy said. “It’s obviously been challenging in this work environment, but I have to say I’m lucky to have a small but very able — and probably overworked — team that has been working arm-in-arm together.”

That small group — about seven full-timers — will be growing as OpenAP looks to add features and functionality to its platform.

“We’ve clearly defined what we’re doing from an audience standardization perspective,” Levy said. “We have a lot of initiatives around how to actually take that audience in and execute.”

One thing OpenAP is working on is connecting data-driven linear inventory to buy-side DPS. It is also working on new digital offerings based on conversations with buy-side customers. That suite of products would enable buyers who have built the audience they want to reach to use OpenAP’s systems — or their own — to do the planning across both digital and linear. 

It’s also trying to tackle the issue of cross-platform measurement, so advertisers can optimize their spending, and to help clients manage the frequency with which their ads are seen by consumers irritated by seeing the same commercials over and over again.

“That’s been a huge ask with the OTT space,” he said, noting that OpenAP owners ViacomCBS, NBCUniversal and Fox have become big players in that business.

Upping Attribution Game

A recently completed deal with iSpot.TV has enhanced OpenAP’s ability to provide attribution, which lets clients know the impact of their media investments. 

Levy said OpenAP was already reporting unduplicated reach and frequency of campaigns. “We heard from a lot of brands that they want us to add to our offering a holistic attribution report that runs across all the networks,” he said. “That’s what the partnership with iSpot is really about.” 

OpenAP might bring on other companies that do attribution. “We’re pretty agnostic around partners. Our goal is to work with new partners to create standards for how they’re going to do attribution.”

Started as a consortium formed by Viacom, Turner and Fox, OpenAP was created to boost target advertising by standardizing audience definitions. NBCUniversal joined in 2018 and last year Turner dropped out after it was acquired by AT&T, which wanted its Xandr unit to handle its advanced-advertising activities. Other programmers who have joined OpenAP include Univision, The Weather Channel and AMC Networks. 

OpenAP last year restructured into a company owned mainly by Fox, Viacom and NBCU, and Levy was named CEO last May. Organizing OpenAP as a company made decision-making and execution more focused as it launched its marketplace.

“It’s been really good,” said John Halley, chief operating officer, advertising revenue & executive VP, advanced marketing solutions at ViacomCBS. “The best decision we made, actually, was to manage it that way.

“The amount of progress David and his team have made just from a product standpoint is really impressive,” Halley continued, adding that he and representatives from OpenAP’s other owners meet with it weekly. “They’re not a big team but they’re able to decipher exactly what it is we need. I mean, they get our requirements loud and clear.”

The alignment with its owners means OpenAP doesn’t have to spend time selling itself to the publishers on its platform, saving resources, Levy said.

Saving Money, Scaling Up

Levy said OpenAP will have hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of advertising running through its marketplace this year. The company makes money, but short-term profitability isn’t its top goal. It’s revenues should be able to cover what it needs to fund the new products it is creating, he said.

“When you think about the scale that we have and the fact that we’re incredibly efficient on the resource side, we’re in pretty good shape,” he said.

In addition to driving scale for advanced advertising, it’s also helping to drive down expenses. The biggest cost driver in data-driven linear and addressable advertising are the multiple data vendors and matching providers. 

Levy estimates that data costs can be between 6% and 12% of a campaign, with technology fees costing another 10% to 12%.

“If you can centralize some of the workflow and automate some of it, you can really save costs in a material way, which has been a big barrier to really scaling this,” he said. 

AT&T seemed to close out February on a high note, with a federal appeals court rejecting the Justice Department’s second attempt to block the Time Warner merger on Feb. 26. But by Monday, the company had a new head for its WarnerMedia division, industry veteran Robert Greenblatt, and lost two top executives, HBO CEO Richard Plepler and Turner president David Levy.

A third executive, Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara, who earlier last week was given added responsibilities in the new corporate structure, is on thin ice after a report surfaced that he had conducted an inappropriate sexual relationship with an actress whom he had pressured Warner casting directors to hire. AT&T said it is investigating the allegations.

AT&T made the Greenblatt hire official on March 4, naming him chairman of WarnerMedia and Direct To Consumer. AT&T plans to launch a third direct-to-consumer offering, in addition to DirecTV Now and AT&T Watch, by the end of the year.

AT&T named CNN Worldwide president Jeff Zucker chairman of WarnerMedia News & Sports, gave added global kids and young adult business responsibilities to Tsujihara and tapped Turner International president Gerhard Zeiler as WarnerMedia’s chief revenue officer.

AT&T Makes Its Mark

The moves were not entirely unexpected. AT&T had been hinting for months after it closed the Time Warner deal in July that its newly acquired content businesses were in need of an overhaul. At a town meeting with HBO employees in June, WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey told workers that the premium channel was in for “a tough year.”

AT&T has said that to compete in the new streaming video, skinny-bundle, on-demand media environment, WarnerMedia needs to drive engagement with consumers. Time Warner should harness the combined power of brands like Turner and HBO under one service to compete on a global scale with the likes of Netflix and Disney. The service, Stankey said, needed hours of engagement per day with consumers, not hours per week.

It will be up to Greenblatt, who has a strong media track record, to bring continuity and stability to the brands. He joined Showtime in 2003 and is credited with bringing in hits like Weeds, Nurse Jackie, Dexter and Shameless, leaving in 2011 to become head of Comcast’s NBC Entertainment. There, Greenblatt inherited a weakened primetime lineup but quickly led a turnaround with hits like The Voice, The Good Place and This Is Us. He left NBC in September.

The departure of Plepler and Levy was nonetheless shocking, given the two executives have had an enviable string of successes at their respective businesses. Plepler, who had been at HBO since 1992, became CEO of the premium channel in 2012 and launched several iconic hits, including Game of Thrones. He has also cultivated a strong relationship with top talent like Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese, The Sopranos creator David Chase, The Wire creator David Simon and GoT writers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. Losing Plepler could have an impact on HBO’s ability to attract and keep talent.

Levy took the helm of Turner in 2013 after several successful years at Turner Sports, helping to engineer its landmark deal for “March Madness” — the NCAA men’s college basketball tournament — with CBS in 2010.

There are likely to be more defections in the wake of the shakeup and reports said that there will be “significant layoffs” at both HBO and Turner as AT&T tries to lower costs.

In a blog post, MoffettNathanson principal and senior analyst Craig Moffett said the changes at AT&T are a double-edged sword. On one hand, both Turner and HBO generated tens of millions, maybe hundreds of millions of dollars in excess costs.

“The glass-half full version is that Time Warner needed to be shaken up,” Moffett wrote.

The glass-half empty view, according to Moffett, is that WarnerMedia has set the stage for a major talent drain at the company, just when experienced hands are needed the most.

When it comes to getting TV advertisers to shift their spending to data-targeted audience buying, Turner president David Levy isn’t messing around anymore.

Turner was one of the pioneers in offering data-based products and selling ads based on audiences rather than broad Nielsen demographic ratings, but audience buying remains a fraction of TV ad sales.

Levy wants that to change this upfront and is calling on all advertisers who haven’t yet adopted it to shift 5% of all their TV budgets — not just those spent at Turner — into audience-based buying.

The 2018 Upfront:Sales Execs Claim Strong Hand Going Into Upfront | Top Broadcast Sales Executives | Buyers Want Better Measurement, But Will Use Old Metrics in Upfront | The CW Brings a New Night to the Market | Pitching Hispanic Buying Power | Broadcast Networks Take Center Stage

Levy also wants to get rid of TV metrics that have been used since the 1950s. “You can start collecting your full benefits at 67 years old,” he said. “Nielsen’s TV metric is 67 years old. It’s time for the Nielsen TV metric to retire.”

Related: Fox, Turner, Viacom Team Up to Push Data-Driven TV Ads

The benefits to audience buying are clear to the hundreds of clients.

“We’re seeing incredible double-digit incremental results on return on investment,” he said.

If a consumer packaged goods client shifts 5% of its TV budget to audience-based targeting, it will see a 6% increase in return on investment compared to a 100% demo-based campaign. If 10% is audience-based, ROI rises 12%. If 20% is audience-based, ROI is 24% higher; and going 50% audience buying results in a 60% higher ROI.

On top of that, Turner has begun guaranteeing the outcomes of its audience-based campaigns. “And by the way, all of them have been successful,” Levy said.

There are benefits to TV networks in the shift to audience buying. For one thing, it eliminates dayparts. In TV, some advertisers won’t run ads in daytime or late night, even if that’s where their consumers are watching.

That doesn’t happen in the digital world that TV competes with. “You don’t say to Facebook, ‘Don’t put me on at 8 o’clock in the morning.’ When you log on to Facebook, or I log on to CNN.com, they don’t say what time did you log on, because I’m going to pay a different price for late night versus primetime,” Levy said.

Turner also gets a premium price. “If I’m guaranteeing you get those auto intenders, that’s going to be more expensive” than guaranteeing adults 18-49.

Levy stressed that he’s not looking for advertisers to just shift 5% of their spending at Turner.

Related: Attribution Data Points to TV Ads Driving More Sales

With Fox and Viacom, Turner is one of the founders of the OpenAP consortium, which aims to make audience buying easy by offering standardized definitions of audience segments and third-party post campaign reports.

“It’s an industry call-out,” he said. “This industry has to start spending 5% of their dollars on audience buying. As an industry we’re not getting enough clients to come in.

“This is the time, this is the year, when audience buying is a must. People are going to start getting left behind if they don’t start doing it.”

Levy’s 5% harkens back to the early days of cable, when ad agency Ted Bates decided to spend 5% of its TV budget on cable.

“Back then, people knew cable worked,” he said. “They knew it was going to help build reach and frequency. Now, if you want to build ROI, you need to get into audience-based targeting.”

Turner has named Richard Warren president of Turner Content Distribution, replacing Coleman Breland who remains president of Turner Classic Movies and FilmStruck while taking on a new role as head of content experiences. Both execs are based in Atlanta and will report to Turner president David Levy.

Warren, in his new role, will oversee all brand distribution, affiliate marketing, interactive television and business development for Turner's 10 domestic entertainment, news and kids networks as well as continued oversight of TCD’s strategic planning, business operations, and legal and business affairs. Previously, he served as executive vice president of content negotiations & strategy and associate general counsel, where he led the company’s efforts in structuring and negotiating Turner’s linear and digital content agreements with its distribution partners, as well as oversaw the strategic planning, operations, distribution technology and TCD legal and business affairs teams.

“Rich is a tremendous leader and has played an integral role in the growth and success of Turner’s content distribution division for the past 17 years,” Levy said in a statement “I have tremendous respect for Rich and I’m confident his extensive experience in the distribution space, and his relationships in the industry, as well as his strong and strategic deal-making abilities, will steer Turner to continued growth in the distribution space.”

In the newly created positon of president, content experiences, Breland will lead a cross-functional, company-wide initiative to explore new content strategies for business models both inside and outside traditional TV. Breland will work with business leaders across the company to develop an approach for the company’s content portfolio that reflects rapidly shifting consumption behaviors, technology advancements, set-top-box evolution and disruption. He will remain responsible for oversight of TCM and FilmStruck, including the development of new distribution opportunities, digital brand extensions, e-commerce and direct-to-consumer engagement opportunities for both brands.

“For more than 23 years, Coleman has played a vital role in the growth and success of Turner, leading one of the industry’s most dynamic and creative divisions and, together, they have delivered outstanding results for our partners and company,” Levy said in a statement. “There is simply no one better than Coleman to lead this new effort in developing innovative content-driven strategies and initiatives for our company so we can remain agile, keep our competitive edge, and be poised for success in the future.”

When we cast the net for up-and-coming executives across media disciplines who have been making a distinctive impact, we had no way of expecting the variety and quality of the 40-and-under aged executives we’d find. You’ll read here about impactful engineers, marketers with an eye to digital and data, successful consultants, negotiators and dealmakers who share a track record of success but who aren’t necessarily the bestknown — hence the Next Wave of Leaders. This class will also be saluted at a breakfast event in New York on Friday, June 16, closing out the inaugural VIDWeek (VID-week.com).

SEANALFORD
ASSOCIATE, PROSKAUER

SEAN ALFORD is an associate in the corporate department and a member of the Technology, Media & Telecommunications and Sports Law Groups at New York-based Proskauer. He started his career as an associate at the firm before spending a year on the business and legal affairs team at NBC Sports Group, rejoining Proskauer in 2014. He has had a hand in content distribution agreements shaping the way millions of consumers tap into and view content today. He has advised on deals for everything from traditional TV-affiliation agreements to the Internet (including groundbreaking TV everywhere distribution deals and over-the-top transactions). He has represented Hulu in several content distribution agreements connected to its upcoming new linear overthe- top programming service, and represented Dish Network in its highly-publicized content distribution deal with Viacom that included carriage of Viacom networks on Sling TV, Dish’s OTT service.

What is the “Next Wave” the industry will have to contend with most?
“Fundamental shifts in the concept of ‘must-have’ programming. We are already seeing big changes in what constitutes ‘must-have’ and where and how that programming can be accessed. I expect that those changes will only accelerate in the near term, which should lead to increased M&A activity and some significant shifts in leverage when it comes to content licensing deals and advertising sales.”

Proudest accomplishment of 2016?
“Helping clients navigate through the current content renaissance. In 2016, I had the opportunity to work with a variety of clients on cutting-edge transactions that reflect the dynamic state of the media industry. From a virtual reality deal in sports and an investment in a digital-only sports network to the launch of a major virtual MVPD service and the rollup of several digital publications, I am proud to have worked with some incredible people on some exciting new beginnings.”

DANAVERSANO
SENIOR VP OF AD INNOVATION AND PROGRAMMATIC SOLUTIONS, TURNER AD SALES

DAN AVERSANO and his team lead the development of next-generation ad capabilities, notably around audience targeting and advanced TV solutions, as a part of the company’s year-old Turner Ignite division. Based in New York, Aversano reports to Michael Strober, executive VP of client strategy and ad innovation for Turner Ad Sales, as well as co-head of Turner Ignite. Aversano and his team have been hard at work bettering Turner’s capabilities with spaces like audience targeting. Capabilities like AudienceNOW and TargetingNOW are now delivering results for clients, including stronger key performance indicator (KPI) delivery for their brands. Aversano and his team are focused on driving interactive, addressable and OTT advertising solutions, as well. In about five years with Turner, Aversano has also served as senior VP of client and consumer insights as well as VP of research and strategy for Turner Entertainment Ad Sales, supporting TBS and TNT ad-sales strategy. Prior to joining Turner, Aversano held various roles at Nielsen across its Watch and Buy businesses, most recently serving as VP of media and advertising analytics.

What is the “Next Wave” the industry will have to contend with most?
“Simply because there will be new platforms and new ways for consumers to experience content in the near future that we may not even know about (not to mention the industry’s struggle with it today), I am going to say measurement. We are awash with data and analytics, but how we put together the right data sources, standardize that across all stakeholders, and have everyone agree to the process is a massive wave that’s coming — we’ll all either come together and get pushed by this wave into the future, or it will potentially leave some of us lost at sea.”

MARCELLOBELLISARIO
SENIOR VP, TALENT AND CASTING, LIONSGATE

MARCELLO BELLISARIO is the first head of casting and talent relations ever for Lionsgate Television, a department and VP position he created upon joining the company in 2014 after four and a half years at ABC and ABC Studios, overseeing the casting of Scandal (Kerry Washington, Joe Morton), How to Get Away With Murder (Viola Davis), Grey’s Anatomy and Revenge (Madeleine Stowe). His responsibilities have grown to include casting for all Lionsgate scripted series and all Starz original programming, too, after Lionsgate’s December 2016 acquisition of the premium programmer. He has worked closely with and supervised casting series and pilots for Jason Reitman and Helen Estabrook (Casual/Hulu), Oprah Winfrey (Greenleaf/OWN), Jenji Kohan (Orange Is the New Black/Netflix), Clyde Phillips (Nurse Jackie/Showtime and Feed the Beast/AMC) and more. He is currently overseeing the casting of upcoming series including Dear White People (Netflix), White Famous (Showtime), Dimension 404 (Hulu), Nightcap (Pop), and Manhunt: The UNABOMer (Discovery/Trigger Street).

What is the “Next Wave” the industry will have to contend with most?
“From a casting standpoint, the growing number of platforms for which series are being developed and produced has created great opportunities to showcase fresh talent who otherwise wouldn’t be seen and heard. Their embrace of diversity has ushered in a new wave of groundbreaking multicultural series for our global audiences, including Orange Is the New Black and Dear White People on Netflix, Greenleaf on OWN and the upcoming White Famous on Showtime. As an executive who is now working with two global brands, Lionsgate and Starz, I will continue to stay competitive and push the boundaries of what is possible with regards to casting and talent.”

SUNG HOCHOI
COFOUNDER AND VP OF PRODUCT, FUBOTV

SUNG HO CHOI is vice president of product and cofounder of fuboTV, the sportsfirst virtual MVPD, bringing subscribers access to linear and on-demand, over-thetop content from 50-plus channels and on desktop, Android smartphones and tablets, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast and Roku devices. As cofounder and the company’s first CTO, Sung built the tech foundation on which fuboTV initially launched in January 2015 as a streaming soccer service. fuboTV’s new service, launched in February, goes beyond soccer to include channels that carry all major live sports, as well as entertainment content. The work now includes migrating legacy video systems to a new platform with improved reliability, latency and video quality; integration with network partners’ TV everywhere platforms; and adding linear and VOD content from new programming partners.

What is the “Next Wave” the industry will have to contend with most?
“The next big wave is transition of premium live content to over-the-top, with two main trends currently unfolding in the industry. First, we will continue to see more virtual MVPDs enter the market from nontraditional distributors like YouTube, Hulu and others — both domestically and abroad. Second, we will see smaller operators transitioning to an OTT model to focus on their high-margin broadband business. Most of them will look to leverage the right technology partner to help them with the transition. We are betting on these two trends. We are investing heavily in our technology infrastructure to create the best-in-class, sports-first vMVPD, providing the best possible live OTT viewing experience. At the same time, we continue to develop our software into a platform that domestic and international distributors can utilize.”

ASAFDAVIDOV
SENIOR MANAGER, AD SALES RESEARCH, HULU

Reporting directly to the VP and head of Ad Sales Research at Hulu, Asaf Davidov oversees Hulu’s customs sales research, including consumer behavior, ad effectiveness and future ad models. His current focus is understating the marketplace value of new to market ad products and original programming sponsorships. Earlier, he spent five years at NBCUniversal, where he was a director leading the ad sales research team for news, sports and the Olympics. He began his career at GfK as a research analyst. He is the driving force behind Hulu’s industry insights platform, Hulu Insights, and works closely with prominent third parties such as Nielsen and Kantar’s Millward Brown to identify new solutions for marketers to reach valued audiences. He helped to build and implement Millward Brown’s OTT Ad Effectiveness solution, the first of its kind in the industry. He has also worked with Nielsen to develop XCR OTT, a measurement tool that allows for crossplatform measurement of extended reach versus TV.

What is the “Next Wave” the industry will have to contend with most?
“There’s no question that the television landscape will continue to evolve — TV isn’t just relegated to your home via a set-top-box. TV can be digital and streamed on just about any device with an internet connect. And finding a way to explicitly measure audiences tuning in across mobile, PC and via connected TVs has never been more critical. Measuring these audiences is the next wave need for the industry. With TV viewing via connected devices emerging as a mode of choice, it’s time the industry followed suit: disrupt the current model and adopt measurement and validation to the evolved TV viewing landscape, such as Digital Ad Ratings for OTT.”

DOMENICDIMEGLIO
SENIOR VP OF DISTRIBUTION AND OPERATIONS, CBS DIGITAL MEDIA, CBS INTERACTIVE

As the head of distribution and operations for CBS Digital Media — the network’s digital businesses such as CBS.com, CBS All Access, CBSN, CBSSports.com and CBSNews.com — Domenic DiMeglio leads the brands’ digital-distribution strategies, including full episode streaming and electronic sell-through, and oversees the CBS Audience Network, CBS’s digital network of distribution partners. He was an instrumental part of the launch of CBS All Access, CBS’s direct-to-consumer premium subscription VOD and live-streaming service, in October 2014. He continues to oversee marketing for the service and drive business insights to help serve its growing audience of more than 1 million subscribers. DiMeglio also has been key to the expansion of CBS All Access’s live geographic footprint across the U.S., partnering with affiliates; it now reaches 90% of the U.S.

What is the “Next Wave” the industry will have to contend with most?
“The convergence of ‘television’ and ‘streaming’ in the eyes of the consumer. It’s all ‘TV,’ loaded with a ton of compelling content, and people will continue to become more and more agnostic to how they are getting television content delivered to them. As an industry, we’ll continue to be tasked with not only expanding crossplatform delivery, but also consistently improving the UI/UX to deliver the best possible viewing experience no matter the platform.”

JUSTINFORER
PARTNER, IBB CONSULTING

As the youngest partner at IBB Consulting Group, Justin Forer has shown he can help promote and achieve evolutionary change in fast-growing and changing industries. IBB Consulting comprises more than 180 consultants focused solely on the cable, broadband, media, and mobile industries. Since he joined in 2005, Forer has worked with senior executives at major MSOs, cable networks and broadcasters on a wide range of strategy, operations and technology initiatives. They range from mergers-and-acquisitions-related planning and execution efforts to successfully rolling out campaigns driving broadband adoption among low-income Americans.

What is the “Next Wave” the industry will have to contend with most?
“Two key areas of significant interest to the industry are the M&A landscape and the journey to digital transformation. As the next wave of convergence drives more consolidation, the lines between media, broadband and wireless companies will continue to blur. This intersection of business models will introduce new challenges and complexities for managing operations, maintaining customer relationships and getting new products to market quickly. Media companies and service providers that are making strategic acquisitions must take a structured and metrics-driven approach to integration so they can control, align and optimize those new assets. On the evolution front, more competition and new entrants means that media companies and service providers must focus on making the transition from being ‘online’ to being ‘digital’ companies. Digital transformation can unlock significant cost reduction opportunities, promote better customer experiences, enable greater employee engagement and establish the capability to get new products and services to market faster. To be successful, digital transformation initiatives must be based on a clear vision and well-articulated strategy, have a tactical and actionable plan for execution and be driven by tangible and measurable metrics.”

MONICAHALPERIN
VP, STRATEGY AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS, CONTENT DISTRIBUTION, VIACOM

MONICA HALPERIN helps lead Viacom’s Content Distribution group’s overall distribution strategy, developing new products and securing deals with the largest U.S. pay-TV and digital affiliates. She has been strategy lead on several key subscription VOD deals over the past six years, driving hundreds of millions of revenue for Viacom, per the company. She’s an expert in Viacom’s longform content library, serving as a subject matter expert in terms of rights information and how content can be exploited. She’s led Content Distribution’s shortform video strategy creation for ad-supported third-party platforms. She also has managed the import and distribution strategy for several of Viacom’s international networks for U.S. distributors.

What is the “Next Wave” the industry will have to contend with most?
“The continuing fragmentation of business models, along with the proliferation of new types of content (e.g. shortform, user-generated, semi-professional, VR/360, augmented reality, 4K/HDR) and ways to purchase/view it (Pay TV vs. Virtual Pay TV vs. SVOD vs. AVOD).”

Proudest accomplishment of 2016?
“I had the opportunity to lead my team in developing an important presentation about our business to the new members of our board of directors. It was a complex story to tell, and I was thrilled by the reception of our work.”

Moment you knew were in the right place doing the thing you’re meant to be doing?
“I’ve always loved working in the entertainment industry, but that feeling really hit home when I visited the set of TV Land’s Younger last year. There, I got to see first-hand the enormous amount of effort, dedication and passion — and the sheer number of people and hours — that goes in to creating our amazing shows.”

MATTKRAMER
TELEVISION AGENT, CREATIVE ARTISTS AGENCY

MATT KRAMER is a rising star among agents working in the sports broadcasting space today, representing top “insiders” in the NBA (Adrian Wojnarowski), Major League Baseball (Buster Olney/Joel Sherman), college football (Pat Forde), college basketball (Gary Parrish) and golf (Jason Sobel). Kramer’s clients span 19 sports media outlets, including ESPN, Fox Sports, CBS Sports, Turner Sports, NBC Sports, MLB Network and NFL Network, and he represents more talent at Yahoo! Sports than any other agent in the industry. An early pioneer in representing print journalists transitioning to television and new media platforms, Kramer negotiated Wojnarowski’s groundbreaking deal for The Vertical, the standalone NBA basketball platform and app of Yahoo! Sports. He is also one of the first agents to negotiate sports media talent deals with Bleacher Report.

What is the “Next Wave” the industry will have to contend with most?
“In the same way athletes forayed into social media to forge a direct connection with their fans and audiences, sports and news journalists have also embraced a direct connection to their audiences via social platforms like Facebook Live, Snapchat, Twitter, etc. How the traditional sports and news networks compete with those platforms — or even develop exclusive relationships with these platforms — is something our industry will be spending a lot of time on. It used to be that getting a story on TV quickly was faster than putting it in the newspaper the next day. Now our clients can get something out on a digital platform faster than they can get it on TV.”

DAVIDLEVY
EXECUTIVE VP, NONLINEAR REVENUE, FOX NETWORKS GROUP

DAVID LEVY leads the team responsible for nonlinear sales, monetization strategy and operations across Fox Networks Group’s portfolio. Levy, who cofounded true[X], the advanced-advertising company acquired by 21st Century Fox in 2015, also manages true[X]’s revenue and business operations. With his September 2016 appointment to his current role, Levy became one of Fox’s youngest EVP-level executives. He spearheaded the partnership between Fox Networks Group and Mondelez International in which Mondelez is leveraging Fox Advanced Ad Formats on streaming and VOD platforms. The partnership centers around ad-format innovation and content co-creation, and reflects how advertisers can work with entertainment properties to define new consumer brand experiences through storytelling. Levy’s work is delivering financial returns, FNG reports: In its fiscal first quarter 2016, FNG increased its revenue per view by 16%, year-over-year, while decreasing ad time by 13% by implementing new ad formats.

What is the “Next Wave” the industry will have to contend with most?
“Currency and unified metrics.”

Proudest accomplishment of 2016?
“Reducing commercial interruptions on Fox Full Episode Player (FEP) by 24% while improving monetization.”

Moment you knew you were in the right place, doing the thing you’re meant to be doing?
“I know I am doing the thing I should be doing when I wake up everyday passionate about the problem we’re trying to solve. When that changes, I know I’ll need a career change.”

MARCOLICEAGA
VP, MARKETING AND PROMOTIONS, UNIVISION DEPORTES

With nearly 20 years of experience in sports, Marco Liceaga is known for successfully managing broadcast and media for the National Football League in Mexico, and overseeing the launch and distribution of NFL Sunday Ticket and NFL Network in the territory. He has also directed marketing strategies and international business for Major League Soccer in New York and, since late 2012, has spearheaded marketing strategy across platforms for Univision Deportes, the multimedia sports arm of Univision Communications. Liceaga carried out a plan to overhaul the Univision Deportes brand across all media platforms while re-establishing it as the leading Spanish-language sports cable network. Recent marketing programs have helped propel UDN past ESPN Deportes as the No.1 Spanish-language sports network and drive UDN’s overall growth. Liceaga’s commitment is seen through successful new marketing programs such as Liga MX Campeón de Campeones, Balón de Oro Liga MX and Univision Deportes Tour. His efforts have also been evident in marketing to passionate fans by combining social, mobile and experiential efforts with major leagues and tournaments such as the World Cup, Copa América Centenario and Gold Cup.

What is the “Next Wave” the industry will have to contend with most?
“The continued fragmentation of content and audiences are ‘next waves’ that the industry contends with. While sports is in somewhat of a different and privileged position, we must continue to innovate and improve the consumer experience.”

Proudest accomplishment of 2016?
“2016 was a great year for Univision Deportes Network, but if I have to choose one single achievement it would be what we were able accomplish with Copa América Centenario. Our team worked hard to ensure we delivered the best-in-class programming, and because of it, UDN became the no. 1 sports network in America in any language during the month of June.”

BRINTONMILLER
SENIOR VP, TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY AND ARCHITECTURE, DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

Since joining discovery in 2007, Brinton Miller has risen as an influential leader in the all-important cloud space. He oversees the company’s Global Media Engineering and IT Development teams, working with Discovery’s digital leadership on all strategic technology plans, investments and implementations globally. Discovery reaches more than 3 billion cumulative viewers across pay-TV and free-to-air platforms in more than 220 countries and territories. This year, his role grew to include oversight of day-to-day operations for Discovery’s Silver Spring, Md., production center, as well as the Discovery Television and Technology Center in Sterling, Va. During his Discovery tenure, he has managed multiple strategic projects, including overseeing the building of nine production facilities in five countries; the 2007 design and rebuild of DCTC to support HDTV telecasts; and the design and buildout of Discovery’s domestic media workflow and asset management systems.

What is the “Next Wave” the industry will have to contend with most?
“The Next Wave is already here, and it is change. The industry has never seen change like there is right now. Technology, consumer behavior and monetization models are all evolving faster than ever. The challenge, as with all change is the ability to quickly react. It also doesn’t hurt if you can position your organization to be one of the disrupters versus one of the disrupted.”

Proudest accomplishment of 2016?
“It was a year of massive technology change for Discovery. Our biggest accomplishment for 2016 was the launch of a new cloud-based delivery system that fundamentally changes the way we receive, format and distribute content. This has laid the ground work for our operation to rapidly respond to the ever-changing content publishing needs as Discovery launches new and innovative products.”

JANELLEMOMARY-NEELY
SUPERVISING PRODUCER, BENTO BOX ENTERTAINMENT

Originally hired as the producer of Bob’s Burgers, the Bento Box animated comedy on Fox, Janelle Momary-Neely quickly proved invaluable to the production and the overall company. Her promotion to supervising producer in 2015 was largely due to her drive to make the highest quality content and to build an authentic brand. She also oversees multiple other projects, including pilots, and is instrumental in augmenting and managing the studio’s production pipeline. She has earned an Emmy Award and multiple nominations, as well as several Annie and Pixie Awards. She also supervises Bento Box’s Special Projects Department, which creates pilots and presentations, and was the supervising producer of Seth Meyers’ and Mike Shoemaker’s The Awesomes for Hulu.

What is the “Next Wave” the industry will have to contend with most?
“We are indeed currently in the “Next Wave,” as the industry continues to contend with the concept of creating strong content that can live across multiple viewing platforms. With more options than ever before, and the desire to view content when and where they want, the viewer rules, and we producers need to meet these challenges head on.”

Moment you knew were in the right place doing the thing you’re meant to be doing?
“Although I went to school for architecture, I fell into animation and immediately fell in love. While finishing up school I got a temp job as an executive assistant at Disney at the time Mickey Mouse was first being presented outside of the classics. I got to work directly with Roy Disney, and after my first week in seeing how TV animation was made — from the structure of production to the endless creative opportunities on the shows — I was hooked.”

MELISAORDOÑEZ
DIRECTOR, PROGRAMMING ACQUISITIONS, DISH NETWORK/SLING TV

MELISA ORDOÑEZ negotiates programming contracts for Dish Network and has filled that role since November 2007, adding the negotiation of rights for broadcast carriage on both Dish Network and over-the-top spinoff Sling TV in 2014 and 2015. Because Dish is the only multichannel video programming distributor that carries local channels in all 210 markets, she is one of the few industry executives who has negotiated for retransmission consent with every single U.S. broadcaster for both Dish and for Sling TV She has successfully negotiated more than 1,000 such agreements. She works closely with Dish Network’s customer retention department to coordinate and prepare for the removal of local channels in their perspective designated market areas during all retransmission negotiations. She has worked with Nielsen Media to establish new programming designated market area boundaries, increasing customer satisfaction and retention.

What is the “Next Wave” the industry will have to contend with the most?
“Steep competition and rising programming costs: You have your traditional MVPDs, sites and apps (e.g. Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube), OTT distributors like Sling, Sony Vue, and DirecTV Now, and you have over-the-air stations. Keeping content prices low enough to keep subscribers paying for content is going to be one of the biggest hurdles we face.”

Moment you knew you were in the right place, doing the thing you’re meant to be doing?
“After I signed my first programming deal, I knew I was in the right place, doing the thing I was meant to be doing. Negotiating content agreements never feels like work, and is something I truly enjoy doing.”

JOSHPRESSNELL
CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER, PENTHERA

JOSH PRESSNELL has led Penthera’s evolution in the mobile video download sector since 2011, serving as the company’s director of engineering prior to becoming CTO in 2017. Earlier in his career, he became well-known in the mobile development industry as an independent developer of top-ranked, and top-grossing, iOS mobile apps. At Penthera, he has personally worked on every software development kit (SDK) Penthera offers and was the primary architect of the company’s core iOS SDK, which enables content providers to offer video download-to-go to consumers. Penthera’s software is now used by such content providers as StarzPlay, and the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime have adopted download-to-go as a must-have feature for any streaming provider.

What is the “Next Wave” the industry will have to contend with most?
“I think the biggest challenge the industry is going to face is the changing expectations of the ‘Next Wave’ of customers. The traditional cable/video customer is an aging population. The new generation of video consumers is a younger group that grew up in a time where change is constant, brand loyalty is fickle, and nobody sits still. So-called cord-cutters are an increasing demographic and the day of the multichannel package is starting to set. How our industry pivots to address the needs of this new group is going to shape our business going forward. More than ever, we need to focus on the best user experiences we can deliver and to do so, we may need to make what may seem like some disruptive choices. Embracing a model that supports subscriptions to individual channels, the ability to subscribe to ongoing content feeds and the ability to take that content with you anywhere, whether or not a broadband connection is available, will become a necessity, and that will be a hard shift in culture for some.”

DANAREYNGOUDT
VP, PARTNER MARKETING, CONTENT DISTRIBUTION, NBCUNIVERSAL

DANA REYNGOUDT is the brand manager and key liaison for the NBCUniversal cable entertainment networks USA Network, Syfy, Bravo, Oxygen and Sprout. This past year, she was elevated to VP and added more brand responsibilities, with five networks under her purview. She played an integral role in the marketing efforts during an extremely productive deal renewal period, contributing to the overall strategy to mobilize fan bases on all platforms including on-air, online, VOD, TV everywhere and social media. She’s been project manager for numerous network tentpole events and was instrumental in developing and executing such award-winning campaigns as Bravo’s “Top Chef: The Tour” and the NBCUniversal “Your Super Solution” affiliate promotion across the entire cable portfolio, a program which continues to deliver $60 million in cross-channel value annually.

What is the “Next Wave” that the industry will have to contend with most?
“The emergence of live linear streaming products like YouTube TV, DirecTV Now, Sony PlayStation Vue and others represent a new opportunity for distribution, and it will be interesting to track consumer adoption rate, particularly among new pay TV subscribers.”

Biggest hurdle of 2017 — and your plan to deal with it?
“Content discoverability! With so many new platforms and partners emerging, there are so many places for consumers to view our content. We are tackling this in a number of ways — working closely with partners on brand attribution, optimizing metadata and examining our own crossplatform messaging as viewer behavior continues to evolve.”

Moment you knew you were in the right place doing the thing you’re meant to be doing?
“This may sound crazy, but I’ve always known. In my high-school yearbook ‘where will you be?’ I predicted I would be working in TV. I put it out in the universe, and here I am.”

JAMESSHAUT
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, TECHNOLOGY ENVIRONMENTS AND STRATEGY, COMCAST CABLE

In his role within Comcast Cable’s technology and products organization, James Shaut is charged with developing a unified and consolidated enterprise testing facility business model by engaging growth opportunities with cloud computing, virtualization and automation of legacy, current and next-generation products and services. He has 20 years of experience in leadership and technology with Comcast, Verizon, Qwest Government Services, Pennsylvania Power and Light Telecom and the U.S. Marine Corps. Prior to starting his current role in October 2016, he developed Comcast’s comprehensive innovation facilitation system across the entire company. His priorities included boosting innovation, defining objectives, mobilizing the organization behind innovative challenges and building on ideas and technology advancements across Comcast. He worked to sustain innovation as an ongoing transformational endeavor, stimulate entrepreneurship, facilitate networking and communications and prioritize related activities across Comcast and NBCUniversal. He took an enterprise-innovation program that started out with 30 ideas in 2012 and ended 2016 with 8,000 ideas.

What is the “Next Wave” the industry will have to contend with most?
“IoT, or Internet of Things, as everything will continue to connect with each other from work to home and the travel between.”

Proudest accomplishment of 2016?
“Reaching 8,000 innovative ideas submitted from employees within my organization when just a few years earlier we barely hit 500.”

Moment you knew you were in the right place doing the thing you’re meant to be doing?
“When I was in the Marine Corps — I was a newly promoted 20-year-old sergeant assigned to my first large team and felt the exhilarating sensation of leading people to achieve things they didn’t think were possible.”

ERINVOGEL
SENIOR VP, CREATIVE STRATEGIST, BRAND CONTENT, MEDIAVEST | SPARK

ERIN VOGEL joined Mediavest | Spark in 2010 and has worked with clients such as Valspar, Red Lobster, Hanes and Ari by Ariana Grande. In her 17-year tenure within parent organization Publicis Groupe, she’s worked across an array of disciplines, and she’s played a key role in developing her agency’s content team from the ground up. Her Chicago-based team has grown by 300% in the last year and the number of active projects has tripled. Their approach came to life in a recent campaign with client Red Lobster. Her team executed a season-long integrated sponsorship of Discovery Channel’s Deadliest Catch with a sustainability focus, including tagged tune-ins, social sneak peeks, on-air show intros and custom video with Capt. Sig Hansen. They generated more than 1.5 million views in 24 hours — a new brand record for social video performance.

What is the “Next Wave” that the industry will have to contend with most?
“My vision for the industry’s ‘Next Wave’ may be scary for some folks, but for me, it’s incredibly exciting. I foresee continued conversation around the convergence of data and how it applies to creativity. Additionally, it will be interesting to see the continued evolution of the age of the algorithm and how that determines the future of storytelling, but with the progression, we as an industry need to ensure that creativity never becomes a commodity. Change happens when people are willing to open their minds to other ways of solving problems, and I am excited to see what the future holds for all of us as we move forward.”

NICOVRIJENHOEK
GLOBAL PROCUREMENT DIRECTOR, LIBERTY GLOBAL

NICO VRIJENHOEK is responsible for pan-European and regional sourcing projects for marketing, sales and care services/products across the Liberty Global footprint in the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and Central Europe. His scope of responsibilities include media buying; creative; all customer contact technology tools; contact (call) centers, to deliver outsourced customer care; market research; point of sales material; online marketing; and billing and collections. Liberty Global, with operations in more than 30 countries that serve more than 29 million customers and generate more than $20 billion in revenue, is the world’s largest international TV and broadband company. He recently handled a Pan European Media Request for Proposal (RFP) process that has led to an annual operational expense savings of 8%, according to LGI, and led a global integration of customer contact center strategy throughout 2015-16 to streamline some 68 outsourced vendors of customer care to a short list of five strategic partners.

What is the “Next Wave” the industry will have to contend with most?
“Our industry is at an exciting time with a lot of new innovations and opportunities, but also with a strong changing customer base. This can be from a perspective of demanding different content, the way of consuming content, but also expectations on customer service and experience. I believe the ‘Next Wave’ the industry needs to contend with is ensuring the customer is offered an experience instead of a product.”

Proudest accomplishment of 2016?
“Launching and completing the largest contact center services tender in Europe in 2016. This required full alignment across 12 European markets of Liberty Global on the requirements, standardization on definitions and all managing multiple languages and products. The launch of the tender was followed by an intensive period of negotiations with the suppliers and alignment with the Liberty Global stakeholders to maximize the deals.”

RACHELWEBBER
EXECUTIVE VP, DIGITAL PRODUCT, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

RACHEL WEBBER leads the digital business across National Geographic Partners, helping to adapt and bring the content of the almost 130-year-old brand to digitally connected audiences across the world. Nat Geo has about 300 million followers across social media, and the TV network is available in almost 500 million homes across 171 countries and 45 languages. Since joining NGP, Webber’s digital initiatives have earned Nat Geo some of its highest viewership numbers ever. This past November, coinciding with a rebrand, the network premiered Mars, the scripted and unscripted drama series about humans landing on Mars in 2033. Webber’s digital extras included a prequel series and helped guide Mars to reach 15 million worldwide viewers and hit No. 1 in the U.K. Nat Geo aired Before the Flood, the climate-change feature documentary, commercial-free in order to underscore the message, and Webber’s efforts made the film available for free on digital platforms including YouTube, Hulu, iTunes, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon and Google Play. More than 60 million people worldwide viewed Before the Flood.

What is the “Next Wave” the industry will have to contend with most?
“Two words: Your attention. Continuing to deliver quality and scale and cultural significance at a time when there is so much media fragmentation and a thousand different ways people can connect with your brand is something companies of all shapes and sizes will be addressing.”

Moment you knew you were in the right place doing the thing you’re meant to be doing?
“Immediately following our Gender Revolution premiere on National Geographic, we went live on Facebook with a Town Hall session moderated by Katie Couric. Witnessing the community discussion we sparked on such an important topic, and enabling our audiences to engage with each other and with experts was incredibly inspiring.”

Veteran Turner Sports reporter Craig Sager died Thursday after a long battle with leukemia at 65, the network said Thursday.

Sager had been a fixture at Turner Sports for more than 30 years, mostly as a sideline reporter for TNT's National Basketball Association telecasts. Known for his outlandish and colorful outfits, Sager this past July at the ESPY Awards was awarded the Jimmy V. Perseverance Award, given to someone is sports who has overcome great obstacles through perseverance and determination.

Turner Sports president David Levy said of Sager in a statement:

“Craig Sager was a beloved member of the Turner family for more than three decades and he has been a true inspiration to all of us.  There will never be another Craig Sager.  His incredible talent, tireless work ethic and commitment to his craft took him all over the world covering sports. 

“While he will be remembered fondly for his colorful attire and the TNT sideline interviews he conducted with NBA coaches and players, it’s the determination, grace and will to live he displayed during his battle with cancer that will be his lasting impact.  Our thoughts and prayers are with Craig’s wife, Stacy, and the entire Sager family during this difficult time. We will forever be Sager Strong.”

Craig Sager's ESPYS Speech

The passing of the NCAA March Madness college basketball tournament finals to TBS from broadcast network CBS won’t hurt viewership for the game, according to Turner president David Levy.

The popular three-week tournament, which launches today, will see its title game slide to cable for the first time. Levy, in a video interview with Multichannel News, said he's not concerned about losing viewers for the championship game due to the move. 

CBS drew more than 28 million viewers for last April's Duke-Wisconsin championship game. TBS drew a cable college basketball record 16 million viewers for its April 4, 2015 Kentucky-Wisconsin Final Four telecast.

“It might have been a concern 10 years ago or five years ago,” Levy said. “I’m not concerned about the ratings differential between last year’s tournament and this year’s tournament.”

Watch the full Levy video here.

New York – Major League Baseball Business and Media president Bob Bowman said the media industry still hasn’t quite put its finger on the true viewing habits of millennials, but he does know one thing: whatever is offered to them better be on mobile.

“They’re spending a lot of time on their screens, but I don’t think we know how they are going to buy and watch content,” Bowman said at a panel session at the Paley Center for Media’s Media’s 2015 Paley International Council Summit here Friday.  “All we know is that if it’s not on a mobile device it’s not going to matter and that pricing matters. Beyond price and mobile, we haven’t learned a lot.”

Sports programming has been one of the few linear television successes because of its immediate nature – “No one watches the Super Bowl on Monday,” said Turner Broadcasting System president David Levey. And while its status as “appointment TV” has helped it with advertisers, Turner is branching out into a new area – eSports – that it hopes will capture both a digital and traditional TV audience.

Twitch founder and CEO Emmett Shear said E-Sports is garnering a huge following among millennials – about 2 million viewers watched the League of Legends championship series, a role playing video game,  on the service recently. While Shear said mobile viewing is less with gamers, it is starting to gain some momentum, with about 25% of its viewership via mobile devices.

“Nobody wants to watch the world’s best Candy Crush player yet,” Shear said.

Turner recently bought into eSports business, announcing in September that it will launch a new Counter Strike: Global Offensive league in partnership with WME/IMG that will air weekly on TBS.  

Levy said the strategy is to stage two 10-week long seasons in 2016, with Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday matches provided digitally and Friday finals matches on TBS.

While mobility is the future, Bowman said that doesn’t mean the traditional TV model is disappearing, it’s just evolving. And while sports has been a costly programming item for networks he added that he believes affiliate fees will remain stable and even grow.

“I don’t think fees are going to fall,” Bowman said. “I do think people like David [Levy] are going to ask for different rights. What’s going to happen, even in mid-deal, is that they will pay us as much or more but ask for more rights. How they deliver that content is what’s going to broaden for people like David.”

And though programmers have complained for years about the high cost of sports, Levy said he doesn’t see those charges declining in the near future.

“It’s a supply and demand marketplace,” Levy said. “There are people that want stuff and there are people that need stuff. New networks like Fox Sports [1], they’re going to need a lot of product and companies like ours want a lot of product.”

But he added that if pay TV subscribers continue to decline, there is going to need to be some correction to offset lost revenue, but didn’t elaborate.

Bill Clinton Gets Noticed. Univision’s Tuesday morning (May 12) gathering at the Lyric Theater had the big “get” of the week in the form of a Q&A with the 42nd president of the United States. He emphasized the importance of Hispanic Americans’ purchasing power, saying, “There’s data available, and I’d get it and study it if I were an advertiser.” He also said Hispanics’ purchasing power will grow as Latinos become a bigger part of the work force and more highly educated. The message was potent enough that later, that evening at NBCUniversal Hispanic Group’s upfront, group chairman Joe Uva drew knowing laughs and applause when he declared on stage, “As many of you probably heard from former President Clinton this morning, the power and influence of this community is stronger than ever —and we agree!” When the overseer of Telemundo alludes to Univision in a complimentary way, that’s news.

Snackables on the Menu. Amid talk of new drama series, novelas and big sports events like FIFA World Cups (NBCU Hispanic networks, including the new NBC Deportes unit) and UEFA European Championships (ESPN Deportes), short digital videos found a strong foothold. Broadcaster Estrella TV is creating a multichannel network called Fenomeno Studios to make short videos from the likes of musical parody performer Don Cheto and Luis Coronel and then put them on Instagram and various other platforms. ESPN Deportes is launching Quick Hits-branded short videos, including series like SportsCenter Ahora, Pitazo Final (soccer analysis) and ESPiaNdo (American sports). And NBCU got a rise out of upfront attendees with a demonstration of Double Acción, a second-screen app that streams content complementing what’s being shown on TV during scripted series, even down to having one of the characters in the show call the person on the mobile phone that’s running the app.

Music, Fun Still Matter: Hispanic programmers enjoy a good party. Clinton, at the Univision upfront, even joked that he was the warm-up act for Ricky Martin, who performed after the presentation. Reggaeton star Daddy Yankee, a judge on Telemundo’s La Voz Kids, got NBCU Hispanic attendees off their feet at Rose Hall. Skylar Grey sang at Estrella TV’s gathering at Bryant Park Grill. Azteca put senior executives to work in a “Chicago”-style number at the Best Buy Theater May 11, backed by the Tango Azteca dancers, after an opening performance by the Freelusion dance troupe. CEO Manuel Abud observed Freelusion is from Hungary, the director is Mexican and the choreographer is a New Yorker. “So what’s next, a novela from the Middle East?” he joked. (No, but the network has picked up rights to air the cool-looking Turkish drama Kaçak, so that’s kind of close.)

—Kent Gibbons

A Baller and a Player Kill Two Bottles of Wine and Tequila

Atlanta-based Inside The NBA hosts Shaquille O’Neal, Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley brought their irreverent and entertaining act to New York as hosts for Turner Broadcasting System’s upfront presentation on May 13 —and promptly stole the show.

Armed with new long-term deals to continue as hosts for TNT’s shoulder series for the network’s live National Basketball Association game coverage, the four personalities didn’t hesitate to make light of Turner execs — and themselves — during their the pre-upfront, halftime and post-upfront stints at the event.

The outspoken Barkley took a shot at Smith’s reality series Meet the Smiths on TBS, saying that no one is going to sit and watch that “shitty” show on Friday nights. Smith retorted that Barkley seems to have a lot of interest in his life because he’s constantly texting Smith to find out what he’s doing.

Barkley also said that prior to the new deal, TBS Sports president David Levy came to his house armed with two bottles of wine and tequila to help secure his long-term services. “We killed them,” Barkley said, referring to the liquor. Later, during a Turner press luncheon, Levy would clarify that he and Barkley weren’t the only ones at the house partaking.

—R. Thomas Umstead

Update: This story was corrected on May 18 to state that La Voz Kids is on Telemundo, not NBC Universo.

In his new gig, Petruzzi, who has been with the programmer for more than a decade, will strategize and coordinate communication team efforts that support Turner’s domestic entertainment, sales and sports portfolio: TBS, TNT, truTV, Turner Classic Movies, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Boomerang, Turner ad sales, Turner network sales and Turner Sports. Previously, Petruzzi headed media and communications for Turner’s two primary domestic revenue divisions and Turner Sports.

Reporting to Jeff Matteson, senior vice president and strategic communications officer, Petruzzi will also work closely with TBS Inc. president David Levy.

Petruzzi's position is meant to streamline communications across Turner’s properties, as he will support and advance Levy’s vision, strategies and profile, working with PR teams in New York, Atlanta and Los Angeles

“Turner’s domestic portfolio is one of the most successful and significant media groups in the world, and it’s Sal’s job to align and leverage our internal resources to ensure that the communication supporting the group is strategic, comprehensive and coordinated for maximum impact,” Levy said. “I value his execution, insight and understanding of our priorities, and I look forward to seeing how he and the Turner communications teams will expand our position in the marketplace.”

Before joining Turner in 2003,  Petruzzi was the director of public relations and communications at A&E Television.

After a week of speculation, Turner Broadcasting System Inc. Tuesday announced that Kevin Reilly has officially been named president of TBS and TNT.

The former NBC and Fox executive will be responsible for overseeing and leading the TNT and TBS networks and brands, including all content development, business affairs and production, marketing, brand and creative services, digital platforms and program scheduling.

Reilly will also serve as chief creative officer, charged with strategically leveraging content acquisition for TNT, TBS, Adult Swim and truTV.

Reilly takes over for Steve Koonin, who left as the head of Turner Entertainment Networks last spring to become CEO and with the NBA”s Atlanta Hawks. He also takes over duties held by former TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies head of programming Michael Wright, who recently was named CEO of DreamWorks Studios.

Reilly, who will be based in Los Angeles and report to Turner Broadcasting president David Levy, will also chair the newly formed Turner Entertainment Programming Council.

"Kevin is one of the most respected, innovative and influential executives in the television industry, and he's joining Turner Broadcasting at the ideal time for him and for the networks," said Levy. "Kevin brings a tremendous track record of success not only in terms of programming hits but also in the new media arena, where he was among the first broadcast network executives to push for meaningful investment in digital and social media. He has never shied away from taking bold programming risks and being a true champion of quality television. And on top of all that, he's an inspiring leader whose energy, creativity and style are a perfect fit for Turner's flagship entertainment networks."

There are a number of knowns with the NBA's lucrative renewal announced last week, Incumbents ESPN and TNT will be presenting games and related content on myriad platforms into the middle of the next decade.

By paying a combined $24 billion, starting with the 2016-17 season and continuing through the 2024-25 campaign, The Walt Disney Co. and Time Warner have kept Fox and Comcast/NBCU out of the national media rights for pro hoops.  ABC will remain the home of The NBA Finals, which have surpassed the World Series in ratings in recent years, while TNT will continue to host the most playoff games.

There are also plenty of unknowns most notably the over-the-top service that ESPN will launch and in which the league will hold an equity stake. The service will not require a subscription to a cable, satellite or telco video subscription.

Commissioner Adam Silver at the Oct. 6 press conference in New York said the “new service is designed to reach mobile consumers with NBA content and potentially other sports properties, as well.”

ESPN president and John Skipper, noting only that a framework has been established, pointed out that “the preponderance of our deal is to invest in new product that goes on pay television…There is no contradiction in continuing to enhance and buttress the current system while building new businesses and new ways to reach fans. We think they are complementary. We applaud the NBA for being a very forward‑thinking league and helping us do that across all of our platforms."

With Washington Wizards owner and NBA media committee chairman Ted Leonisis talking about the surge in worldwide mobility and 2.5 billion Internet connections, some were left with the impression that the OTT could be a global gambit.

ESPN officials later in the week said the OTT service would be a U.S. play only, but there were no further details -- as to whether it would function as an out-of-market service or otherwise. It remains unclear if the content would encompass only ESPN’s NBA action -- and how many other pro hoops games from across the league's slate -- or extend to the full gamut of the worldwide leader's portfolio.

What seems likely: Pay-tv distributors, who currently pay almost $6 in monthly subscriber fees for ESPN, will be angry if there are mass defections to the OTT service, especially in light of the supposition that while viewers can get access to most movies, dramas and comedies elsewhere, live sports have been the province of an ecosystem involving broadcast and to an ever increasing degree, pay-TV programmers.

The following is a scorecard touching on a number of other deal points, outlining what's known and what remains uncertain at this juncture.

More games: ESPN and ABC will add 10 contests, lifting their combined regular-season roster to 100, with most likely slated on the cable side. That means regional sports networks shouldn’t have to worry about losing full-telecast rights. The worldwide leader will also add D-League and summer league action and extended its WNBA pact to be co-terminus with the broader NBA pact.

TNT, retaining its exclusive Thursday night doubleheaders, will after the All-Star break add another dozen games with significant playoff implications on a new night. Turner Broadcasting System Inc. president David Levy told Multichannel News after the press conference that it was looking at Sunday or Monday.

License fees:  ESPN and TNT’s (around $1.40) monthly license fees will continue to rise under the new deal. Just as ESPN executives have always maintained that one property doesn’t determine the rate, Levy, noting this deal would not trigger a surcharge, said TNT’s current license fee reflects the value of the NBA and that would be the case going forward.  His boss Time Warner chairman Jeff Bewkes has talked up securing higher fees for the Turner portfolio of networks and retaining the ratings-ascendant pro hoops league should help accomplish that.

NBA TV: NBA TV will add a handful of games, lifting its schedule to 100 regular-season contests annually. Under the new deal,Turner also willserve as the principal affiliate negotiatior. While Silver is confident that NBA TV will benefit, it's way too early to determine how much the network will grow beyond its current 60-million base via its inclusion within the Turner portfolio of services. As Levy said, it's, in part, a function of opportunities synching up with contract lengths

Digital: The programmers retain their TVE rights across their myriad platforms.  ESPN is slated to add some 750 hours of linear/digital content that will make the NBA --- like the NFL -- a year-round business in Bristol and beyond.

Turner, which will continue to manage NBA Digital, including NBA TV, NBA.com, NBA Mobile, NBA League Pass, WNBA.com and NBADLeague.com., can add more video-focused content to its Bleacher Report online service. It’s unclear if that will manifest as NBA game streaming.

Labor: What’s known is that Cleveland’s LeBron James and Brookyn’s  Deon Williams are already beating the owners-can’t-cry-poverty-anymore, and the- players-need-a-higher-percentage-of basketball- related- income drum.  What’s unknown is the exact minute in 2017 when the players will opt of the current collective bargaining agreement and another NBA work stoppage/ lockout/strike will ensue.

New York -- There will be a lot more NBA games and content in play under the rights extensions the league has inked with ESPN and Turner Broadcasting System.

And rightfully so, considering that the pro hoops league media partners are almost trebling the combined $920 million in annual outlays under their current contracts that run through the 2015-16 season. Together, the parties will pay some $24 billion over a nine-year term that will conclude with the 2024-25 season. Reports indicate that ESPN, whose current contract averages $480 million, will pay about $1.4 billion for each year of the new deal, which includes the launch of an over-the-top systems outside of the pay-TV ecosystem.

For its part, Turner will allocate some $1.2 billion per season, which features a new 12-game slate in the second half of the seasons, and more content for its Bleacher Report digital property.  TNT spends some $440 miillion per season under its present contract.

During the press conference announcing the deal at the Saint Regis Hotel on Monday morning, both ESPN president John Skipper and Turner Broadcasting president David Levy said the deals made financial sense for their respective parents The Walt Disney Co. and Time Warner.

“Sports rights are more and more valuable," said Skipper. “It continues ESPN’s long-stated strategy to invest in a portfolio of live rights. This is a key property for us given the ascendant nature of the league.”

Levy stated that the deal was a priority for Turner's parent. “Each year the playoffs help TNT win nights of television during the all-important May sweeps. We look forward to that tradition continuing,” he said  "It will be meaningfully valuable to our company at the end of this deal and we'll have a strong R.O.I. when the end of this deal happens."

Asked afterward, if that meant TNT affiliates should expect a meaningful increase in their monthly license fees accordingly, Levy said: “The value of TNT programming is reflected in its license fee and that includes the NBA.”

He said there would be no TNT surcharge tied to the NBA renewal, and that affiliate pacts “have to run their course. Going forward, the value of NBA will be reflected in Turner’s enhanced set of assets" with the league.

TNT, in addition to retaining its exclusive Thursday night doubleheaders, will tip off a dozen more live games on another night of the week during the second half of the season. The programmer will have NBA Opening Night, exclusive coverage of most of NBA All-Star Weekend, including the game itself and more playoff contests than ESPN/ABC.  Turner will also create a new NBA awards show and proffer additional programming around the beginning of the season and the start of the playoffs.

Turner Sports will also retain TV Everywhere rights that allows for all NBA content airing across Turner Broadcasting networks to be streamed live across the company's multiple digital platforms. Additionally, Turner will have enhanced digital rights to serve NBA content across its Bleacher Report online service.

Turner Sports will also continue to manage NBA Digital, including NBA TV, NBA.com, NBA Mobile, NBA League Pass, WNBA.com and NBADLeague.com.

Levy said Turner is eyeing Sunday and Monday nights as potential landing spots for the additional 12-game package that will begin after the All-Star break and be centered on delivering matchups with significant playoff implications.

Under its deal, ESPN and broadcast brethren ABC, which remains the home of The Finals, gain 10 additional games (plus 10 additional exclusive windows) raising their combined regular-season total to 100 (85 on the cable network, 15 on the broadcaster). The new agreements also give ESPN significant increases in their radio and international rights, as well as extend its agreement with the WNBA through 2025. ESPN will add about 750 hours per year of linear/digital content, and televise D-League and NBA Summer League games, giving pro hoops a year-round presence on the worldwide leader.

As to the planned OTT service, Skipper said it wouldn’t upset the current pay-TV system.

“There is no contradiction in continuing to enhance and buttress the current system by building new business and new way to reach fans,” said Skipper. “We think they are complementary.”

Skipper said the OTT service was in its incipient stages, but the plan calls for the inclusion of some live games, as well as studio programming, highlight and analysis. It also may include content beyond pro basketball. Whatever the ultimate content, it will reflect ESPN’s quality of production.

All that being said, Skipper emphasized this was merely a “framework” for the service. “We have a lot of work to do,” he told MCN after the press conference. 

The league’s partners also paid a premium to keep others from getting a chance to play in the NBA’s growing arena.

The NBA and the media companies, which were in the midst of their exclusive negotiating windows that wouldn’t have closed until next year, began their negotiations in earnest during February, which Silver said escalated to “around the clock” talks over the last 10 days or so. Skipper said he didn’t know what it might have cost ESPN had competitive bids were entered.

“We clearly made the calculation that we were uninterested in exploring that possibility,” Skipper said.

In announcing the first national rights deal under his watch, Silver said:  “We decided to renew our agreements with Turner and Disney two years early, because they have been terrific partners and they each share responsibility for the tremendous growth and popularity of our game.”

Silver said the league had engaged in “discussions, but not negotiations," with Comcast and Fox, both of which are deeply rooted with the league via their regional sports networks’ coverage of NBA clubs. "I don't think we left any money on the table."

After the presser, Silver said that NBA TV was also adding 10 games to its schedule, pushing its lineup of regular-season telecasts to 100. He believes that the league’s in-house service will grow beyond its current 60 million subscriber roster as Turner assumes primary distribution responsibilities.

Levy said “Turner will take more of a lead role in affiliate negotiations, but we will continue to work with Bill Koenig," the NBA’s president of global media distribution.

Although Levy acknowledged NBA TV will be rolled into Turner portfolio, he cautioned that buttressing its sub base will depend on “how it lines up” with other networks and their affiliate deal lengths.

Turner Sports has lifted Lenny Daniels to president, with day-to-day management oversight of the programmer’s unit.  

Daniels, who has been serving as executive vice president and COO for Turner Sports since 2009, will continue to report to Turner Broadcasting president David Levy, who has long headed the programmer’s sports portfolio.

In his newly expanded role, effective immediately, Daniels is responsible for daily oversight of production, programming, scheduling, league relations, business development, ad sales, marketing, digital, talent, events and operations.

Since 2009, Daniels has worked closely with Levy on leading overall strategy for the division, including acquisitions, programming and expansion of the company’s sports media rights. He played an integral part of Turner’s negotiations in 2012 with Major League Baseball on its media rights partnership, as well as Turner’s negotiations in 2010 with the NCAA to secure a 14-year agreement for the Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. In 2012, Daniels played a primary role in Turner’s acquisition of Bleacher Report, a leading digital and mobile multi-sport destination.

During the 2014 version of March Madness, Daniels was widely credited with the development of ‘teamcast’ for Turner’s presentation of national semifinal games on TBS, TNT and truTV.  In addition to TBS airing the traditional Final Four telecasts, TNT and truTV introduced team-specific simulcasts tailored to the individual school’s competing in both games.

“Lenny is an outstanding executive and has played a key role in growing our portfolio of premium sports content,” said Levy.  “His creativity and long track record of content and production innovation, as well as his ability to develop and lead an extraordinary team have made a positive impact on Turner Sports.”

In 2005, Daniels, who joined Turner Broadcasting in 1996, was elevated to senior vice president of Turner Sports Production and New Media.  In this role, he was responsible for day-to-day operations of the division’s new media initiatives, the Creative Services Sports Unit and remote and production management.  During this time, Daniels played an instrumental role in the development of new digital partnerships with sports leagues, resulting in Turner’s management of PGA.com and PGATour.com, as well as creating a content and advertising partnership with Yahoo Sports.

Earlier in his tenure, Daniels served as vice president and senior director for Turner Sports’ coverage of the NBA and professional golf on TNT and college football and Atlanta Braves on TBS.  Additionally, he was senior director for the NFL on TNT, NBA All-Star Weekend and Wimbledon, as well as director of Goodwill Games telecasts.

Steve Koonin is leaving his post as president of Turner Entertainment Networks to become CEO and an owner of the Atlanta Hawks basketball team.

Turner Broadcasting president David Levy, in a memo to the company, said that a search for a replacement, including internal and external candidates, begins immediately.

“I’ll work closely with the Turner entertainment Networks leadership team to sustain our momentum through the critical upfront season while engaging longer-term thinking on our entertainment network and the qualities and fit required of the next executive leader of Turner Entertainment Networks,” Levy said.

Koonin joined Turner 14 years ago. Known as a marketer, Koonin was involved in branding TNT as a network for dramas. Then later, he branded TBS as a network for comedies. 

One of his outstanding moments came during Turner’s upfront three years ago when the audio-visual system went down he averted embarrassment for the company by jumping on  stage to keep media buyers engaged until repairs could be made.

Koonin becomes the fourth senior Turner executive to leave the company in the past six months. CEO Phil Kent retired at the end of 2013 and was replaced by John Martin, who had been CFO of parent company Time Warner, while Levy was promoted to president of Turner Broadcasting. Earlier this month, Greg D’Alba, who had been COO and head of ad sales for CNN, left the company after more than 27 years after reorganization. In March, Stu Snyder left his position as president and COO of Turner’s Animation, Young Adults & Kids Media division.

In his memo, Levy said he had mixed emotions about Koonin’s departure. “On one hand, I’ll miss Steve’s vision, creativity and leadership at TNT, TBS, truTV and Turner Classic Movies.  Their success is a direct result of his professional and personal investment.  I know that many of you would use those same words to describe his influence on you and your work.  There’s no better tribute than that,” Levy said. On the other hand, I am pleased for Steve that his next challenge is so right for him now.  Most of us are lucky to claim one dream job in a career.  Steve is going to a third one (after Coca-Cola and Turner) that will leverage his passion, experience and hometown Atlanta roots in a very exciting way.  So while it’s a big change, it’s a good one—for Steve and, ultimately, for the Turner businesses he has led.”

Turner has been a long-time broadcast partner of the NBA and at one time Ted Turner owned the Hawks. Turner is in the process of renewing its rights deal with the NBA.

As CEO of The Hawks, Koonin will oversee all business, financial and strategic operations of the Hawks and Philips Arena.

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"Steve Koonin’s reputation as a game changer in both marketing and media makes him the ideal leader to usher the Atlanta Hawks into a new era. He has created a legacy as an expert in sports marketing, television, branding and digital media," Hawks Majority Owner, Bruce Levenson said in a statement. "The Hawks are thrilled that Steve is joining the ownership group as both our CEO and a partner.”

In a memo to the staff at Turner, Koonin said:

“It is no secret that I have a passionate love of sports, particularly for our local teams. In the past few months, I was invited to become an investor in the Atlanta Hawks. During our investor conversations, it became quickly apparent that the Hawks needed local leadership as well as a face and voice for the franchise,” he said.

“Now comes the hard part. I am very glad my iPad is waterproof. Absolutely none of my success would be possible without the amazing talents of the people that worked with me day in and day out for the past 5,156 days. I have watched my direct report leadership teams grow into world class strategy, finance, PR, business affairs, on-air, marketing, programming, business operations, sponsorship, digital and brand-building executives of all four of our networks,” Koonin added.