I’m sure you’re wondering why the heck I am writing about a move in the corporate media space. Well, in this case, I happen to have history with one of the principal players. I was excited, late last week, to see the announcement that Mark Lazarus was taking over from Dick Ebersol as the new President of the NBC Sports Cable Group. This will be a insanely difficult task - to take over for someone as beloved as Dick Ebersol (if you saw Bob Costas’ emotional speech after the Preakness, you know what I mean). The task is made more difficult by the timing of NBC’s bid to renew their contract for the Olympic Games. Those pitches happen this Summer and already, some folks are predicting that, because of Ebersol’s departure and the timing of the departure, the 2014 and 2016 Games will be on either Fox or ESPN. Clearly these people have never worked with Mark Lazarus. Let me just say that I am clearly biased in my POV on Mark and what I believe will be an incredible run for NBC Sports under his leadership - he led the strategic investment and ultimate acquisition of my company, Southern Direct, back in 2003 and 2005 respectively. But I also got a chance to work with him closely for three years after joining Turner when I ran Corporate Development for the company. I can truthfully say that he is the most talented, the most ethical, the most effective corporate media executive I have ever encountered. Moreover, he’s one of the most forward looking media executives with whom I have ever worked. He was my group’s most active internal client, pushing us to work on deals that furthered Turner Entertainment’s digital strategy. For example, it was his leadership that pushed our investment in Atlanta based Vitrue.
The torch at NBC Sports has been passed to some very capable hands - great for NBC, Comcast, and all us sports fans out there.
Stay tuned…
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