Latest from Next TV in Sean-bratches

Carey Names Bratches, Brawn to Formula 1 Posts

Mike Farrell — Mon, 23 Jan 2017 21:58:00 +0000

In his first official duty as chairman and CEO of motor racing icon Formula 1, chairman and CEO Chase Carey has named former ESPN executive vice president of sales and marketing Sean Bratches as managing director, commercial operations and Ross Brawn as managing director, motor sports.

Bratches, a 27-year veteran of the network, most recently led ESPN’s sales and marketing efforts before stepping down last year. During his watch, ESPN attracted the highest affiliate fees of any pay TV network.

Brawn, a Formula 1 legend with a 40 year engineering and management career in motor racing, has won 22 World FIA Championships and the Le Mans 24 Hours. His honors include 11 world titles with Ferrari and seven as part of Williams and Benetton. He went on to win the 2009 F1 World Drivers and Constructors' Championships with his own BrawnGP team, the Honda F1 team he rescued and renamed. Ross sold the team to Mercedes-Benz in 2010 and, over three years, laid the foundation that enabled the team to win the 2014, 2015 and 2016 World Titles.

Bratches oversaw ESPN’s two primary revenue streams, advertising and sponsor sales and content licensing, as well as the research and analytics, marketing, consumer products and events marketing divisions.

He led a sales and marketing team that provided national advertisers access to ESPN’s premier media and marketing platforms and oversaw all content licensing for the domestic cable and satellite networks of The Walt Disney Co. including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, ESPNU, ESPN SEC Network, The Longhorn Network and ESPN3.

“I am thrilled Sean is joining Formula 1,” Carey said in a statement. “Sean was a driving force in building ESPN into one of the world's leading sports franchises. His expertise and experience in sales, marketing, digital media, and distribution will be invaluable as we grow Formula 1.

“I look forward to working with Ross and Sean, as well as key current executives including Duncan Llowarch, our CFO, and Sacha Woodward Hill, our General Counsel, the FIA, Bernie and Liberty as we work together to make Formula 1 the best it can be for the teams, promoters and fans for years to come,” Carey added.

Liberty completed its $4.4 billion purchase of Formula 1 earlier today.

“I’m very excited to be joining Formula 1 and contribute to the continued growth of this extraordinary global brand and sport,” Bratches said in a statement. “Formula 1 is one of few truly global tier one sports, and I am encouraged by the manifold opportunities to materially grow the business, work closely with current and future sponsors, race circuits, television rights holders as well as create next generation digital and on-site race experiences to best serve the Formula 1 fans.”

Justin Connolly to Head Disney, ESPN Distribution

kent.gibbons@futurenet.com (Kent Gibbons) — Tue, 12 May 2015 12:15:00 +0000

ESPN named Justin Connolly, who has headed up college networks (including the SEC Network), as new head of distribution at ESPN and Disney networks, following the recently announced plans by Sean Bratches and David Preschlack to leave at year's end. Before overseeing the successfully launched SEC Network, Connolly spent a decade in ESPN affiliate sales and he had been speculated as a possible successor to Preschlack. Connolly's new title is the one Preschlack held, executive vice president, Disney & ESPN Affiliate Sales and Marketing.

ESPN also elevated Ed Erhardt to president, global sales & marketing, enhancing his portfolio with consumer marketing, ad sales and research. Bratches, who was the longtime head of ESPN distribution efforts, had seen his role expand over the years to include ad sales and other roles, and Preschlack rose to oversee distribution. Pictured: Erhardt left, Connolly right.

Here is the ESPN release:

Two company veterans, Ed Erhardt and Justin Connolly, have been elevated to key positions within ESPN and Disney Media Networks, respectively.

Erhardt, now President, Global Sales & Marketing, will broaden his role to include oversight of consumer marketing, research and advertising sales business operations. In addition to leading an award-winning sales team that provides marketers the widest array of premier multimedia and marketing platforms across the ESPN umbrella, he will be responsible for developing an insights-driven marketing and data organization supporting one of the company’s most important revenue streams: advertising sales. Erhardt will report to John Skipper, ESPN President and Co-Chairman, Disney Media Networks.

Connolly has been promoted to EVP, Disney & ESPN Affiliate Sales and Marketing. In this role, Connolly will oversee all aspects of domestic distribution and affiliate marketing including affiliate-related business operations for Disney and ESPN Media Networks including ABC Family, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, Fusion, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, ESPNU, ESPN Classic, ESPN Goal Line, ESPN Buzzer Beater, ESPN Bases Loaded, Longhorn Network, SEC ESPN Network, and related Watch, HDTV, video-on-demand, interactive television and retransmission consent agreements for The Walt Disney Company’s eight-owned ABC stations. Based in Bristol and New York, Connolly will report to Skipper and Ben Sherwood, President, Disney/ABC Television Group and Co-Chairman, Disney Media Networks, working closely with Ben Pyne, President, Global Distribution, Disney Media Networks.

Skipper said: “Ed and Justin have been at the forefront in developing industry-shaping sales initiatives during some of the most exciting times in our company’s history. They are best-suited to create new opportunities for ESPN in the most dynamic media landscape ever.”

Sherwood said: “An outstanding and strategic executive, Justin has a long track record of developing and executing innovative revenue opportunities for Disney/ABC Television, elevating not only our strong brands and services, but those of our distributors. His extensive understanding of our industry from both a distribution and programming perspective is tremendously valuable as we work with distribution partners to create new opportunities that better serve our consumers. I look forward to working with him.”

Erhardt said: “Connecting marketing, data, research and sales more closely is the next step in responding to the changing advertising landscape, and it will position ESPN at the center of where the business is going. Providing our customers with insights that drive their business is critical. The special relationship sports fans have with the ESPN brand provides us with a unique opportunity to innovate with data and creativity, in order to connect our customers’ brands with our fans at scale.”

Connolly said: “I grew up in affiliate sales and appreciate all the work they do, especially after getting SEC Network in more households at launch than any other new network. I’m looking forward to pressing ahead and working with the team on distribution strategies that will meet the growing demands of viewers and their desire to watch the industry’s best news, sports and kids content in entertainment across all screens.”

Erhardt’s leadership at ESPN – spanning 16 years – has been defined by continued innovation in serving advertisers. He worked with Skipper in establishing the industry’s first integrated sales organization across media platforms, widely hailed as the model for future media marketing and selling. His sales and marketing group is ranked at the top of the industry by Myers Reports and Beta Research year after year in innovation and integrated marketing success. Erhardt previously worked at Advertising Age, where he served in a variety of roles which culminated as Vice President/Group Publisher, responsible for all content and business operations. During that time, he was inducted into the American Advertising Federation Hall of Achievement.

Connolly was formerly Senior Vice President of College Networks, which included the oversight of the SEC Network, the most successful new network ever launched in cable history. Prior to that, he spent 10 years in affiliate sales and marketing for Disney and ESPN Media Networks, most recently as Senior Vice President of National Accounts. In that capacity, he played a central role in developing the company’s long-term distribution strategy. He recently was selected to the Sports Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 Hall of Fame. Prior to joining ESPN, Connolly worked in the corporate finance group for The Walt Disney Company’s corporate treasury department in Burbank, Calif.

Tebow & TiVo: Still a Match Made in DVR Heaven

MCN Staff — Mon, 27 Apr 2015 12:00:00 +0000

When the Philadelphia Eagles confirmed that the team had signed quarterback Tim Tebow to a one-year contract, it marked the official beginning to Tebowmania in the City of Brotherly Love, matched with the question: “What in the world is [Eagles’ head coach] Chip Kelly thinking?”

After all, it had seemed that Tebow’s playing career was over. The Heisman winner captivated the nation in 2012 when he led the Denver Broncos to the playoffs and an unlikely postseason first-round victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, but followed that with a disastrous season with the New York Jets and an unsuccessful attempt to catch on with the New England Patriots in 2013. Tebow’s next stop was as a college football analyst with ESPN and its SEC Network.

Through all of those ups and downs, TiVo has been one of Tebow’s biggest fans, having signed him in November 2012 as a company “brand ambassador,” whereby the former NFL firstround draft pick helped launch a national ad and integrated social-media campaign touting all of the wonders of TiVo.

TiVo also offered a “Tim Tebow Zone,” highlighting his favorite shows, movies and recommended fare for kids from TV and the Web.

TiVo has remained loyal through it all, confirming last week that Tebow remains a brand ambassador.

And TiVo’s pretty excited about Tebow’s return to the NFL. Upon learning of the Eagles signing him on April 20, TiVo took to Twitter to express its glee, posting a pic of CEO Tom Rogers “Tebowing” (the act of kneeling on one knee and placing one’s elbow on the other knee that Tebow made famous after scoring plays and salting away wins), along with a message that the entire TiVo team is “jacked” for its brand ambassador.

— Jeff Baumgartner

Five Things to Know About Sean Bratches, ESPN’s Departing Ace

Everyone familiar with Sean Bratches, the ESPN executive vice president, sales and marketing, knows the huge achievements made by the sport giant’s distribution, marketing and ad sales teams during his 27-year tenure.

When he started as an affiliate-marketing account executive in 1998, there was only one ESPN. Well, there’s still only one ESPN, but it has lots of siblings (eight U.S. networks, WatchESPN, the SEC Network, etc.).

Even the ESPN HD push in 2003 helped ignite the high-definition wave that followed. He also led the sometimes testy talks that resulted in locking in long-term deals, starting with double-digit increases, including a milestone pact with Cox Communications in 2004.

Today, ESPN alone would cost consumers $36 a month if it were sold on an a la carte basis, MoffettNathanson analyst Michael Nathanson recently calculated.

The Wire wondered what some of his long-time colleagues at Disney and ESPN thought were things about Bratches that aren’t as well known but ought to be mentioned, now that he is transitioning toward whatever his next thing will be after he leaves the company at year’s end.

Here are five:
• He loves books about the United Kingdom’s World War II prime minister and quotes him often, including in his lower-case written note to colleagues that observed: “as winston churchill once said… ‘deserve victory…’ ”
• He enjoys a good old-fashioned Arnold Palmer.
• He and Turner Broadcasting System president DavidLevy played on the same high-school hockey team, in White Plains, N.Y., in the late 1970s.
• He prefers wearing no socks in nice weather.
• He is an avid fly fisherman who likes to chase false albacorein the waters of Long Island Sound.
— Kent Gibbons

If Mavs Bow Out, Cuban May Join ‘Tech Elder’ Trek

The self-proclaimed “tech elders” are making a pilgrimage to Washington, D.C., for an April 30 commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the commercial Internet.

But the presence of the highest-profile elder will likely depend on the success, or more to the point, lack of it, of the Dallas Mavericks NBA basketball team.

The “elders,” who have been arguing against Title II reclassification by the FCC, are an eclectic group, including John Perry Barlow, cyber rights activist and former Grateful Dead lyricist, and video pioneer, investment “shark” and colorful Mavs owner Mark Cuban.

There was some inside-the-Beltway chatter that Cuban might make an appearance at the commemoration of 20 years since the “decommissioning of the NSFNET backbone” [not to be confused with the 2013 decommissioning of the USS Enterprise.] Cuban would add some extra star power to the power of the commercial Internet. At press time, Dallas was down two games to none to the Houston Rockets. If Dallas can stage a comeback, Cuban may be otherwise engaged, but if not, he could make an appearance.

Asked about the prospects of a Cuban appearance, fellow elder and VoIP pioneer Daniel Berninger (Bell Labs, Free World Dialup, Vonage), told The Wire, “The odds makers are not optimistic about the Mavericks chances,” which would up the chances of his appearance in D.C. “[B]ut,” Berninger added generously, “I will be happy for Mark if his team proves them wrong.”

Berninger was ultimately philosophical: “The challenges ahead for restoring Internet Independence remain either way.” For the elders, independence means freedom from Title II. And Cuban’s attendance would likely mean no (NBA) Title II for the Mavs this year.
— John Eggerton

ESPN’s Sean Bratches to Depart at Year’s End

thomas.umstead@futurenet.com (R. Thomas Umstead) — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 15:30:00 +0000

Longtime ESPN ad sales executive Sean Bratches will leave the company at the end of 2015 as executive vice president of sales and marketing, the network announced Monday.

Bratches, who has spearheaded the sports network’s ad sales efforts since being named to the position in 2005, will serve in an advisory capacity to ESPN until his departure becomes official, according to network officials.

Bratches, who first joined ESPN in 1988 as an account executive in affiliate marketing, said in a statement that “the time just felt right to pursue my next adventure.”

Bratches has negotiated several major affiliation and digital deals for ESPN, which commands the highest licensing fees among cable networks within the industry. In 2003, Bratches was the catalyst behind securing distribution of ESPN HD, which at the time was considered the tipping point for the proliferation and adoption of high definition television. In 2010, Bratches' team introduced the first live, streaming cable channels online and in mobile devices through WatchESPN.

ESPN's emerging networks and platforms like WatchESPN, ESPN3 and the SEC Network have achieved record-setting growth under his direction.

ESPN President John Skipper said of Bratches’ departure: "Sean is an extremely well-respected and admired industry visionary whose contributions to ESPN's success cannot be overstated. We have all greatly appreciated his energy, integrity and service to ESPN, our employees and our industry. He told me recently he wants to take on new challenges, after achieving so much with us -- an understandable goal given his vision, business savvy and relentlessly positive impact on people. He will certainly be missed, but through his efforts we are blessed with a wealth of executives well-qualified to keep ESPN moving forward."