Name: Kevin Marotta
Position: MSG Networks Senior VP/Marketing & Content Strategy
Where I’m from: Middlefield, Conn.
Where I call home: South Orange, N.J.
Focusing on right now: Part of it is really evolving our content to reach a younger audience and with that, it’s really two things. 1) What sort of stories we're telling and what sort of content we’re delivering to people, and 2), the way we deliver it. With the stories we’re telling and the content we’re creating, that could take a more casual approach to sports, maybe a little bit more off the court and off the ice and a little bit more into the personalities of our players and even the fans.
A must for a new hire: Curiosity is a must-have. It’s super important for new people at a company to ask questions. A lot of people come in with the ideas of “I’m going to do this and this and this and this,” and they don’t necessarily have the context yet so that sort of inquisitiveness and curiosity is super important and something I look for.
Best advice: Everybody out there has something to teach you. Just because you don’t agree with someone, doesn’t mean you can’t learn something from them.
Exec I admire: This is my second stint within the MSG family and I’ve been lucky enough to have two incredible bosses. During my first stint, (former MSG Exec VP/Sales & Marketing) MICHAEL GUTH, and during my second stint, (MSG Networks President & CEO) ANDREA GREENBERG, are two executives who have both pushed me, showed me how to approach stuff in a strategic and creative way.
Best book I’ve read this year: I started going through the “GAME OF THRONES” books, that’s one, but I just bought “BASKETBALL (AND OTHER THINGS)” by SHEA SERRANO which is phenomenal. I just started reading it, but I told my wife that it’s the best purchase I’ve made since I bought her engagement ring.
First thing in the morning: I’m not really a creature of habit. My mornings change a lot, but the one thing that’s a constant is I have to take my dog out first thing in the morning. His name is Riggins, after Tim Riggins from “FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS,” not after JOHN RIGGINS.
Talking Tech: What you can do with a phone now is pretty astounding. I just got the (Samsung) Note 8 and the fact that I can have two windows open on my phone at the same time as having a window open on my laptop and then have the TV on. That’s awesome. I also think having the ability to stream stuff on your phone and being able to watch what you want, like a live sports game with our MSG Go app for instance, if I’m on a train and running late is kind of crazy.
Must-have music: I go through phases where I listen to two people for a whole month and then I’ll never listen to them again. Right now, I’m listening to a lot of TYLER THE CREATOR and KENDRICK LAMAR. That’s not really what’s on in my house since I have three kids, so it’s a little tough to listen to that at home.
Food for thought: My all-time favorite food is chicken vindaloo. I love Indian food and one of my proudest moments as a parent was for my son’s 8th birthday, we asked him what he wanted to eat and he said, “Can we have Indian food?” I felt like I did my job as a parent.
How I unwind: I love television. I’m a big NBA junkie so I watch a lot of games, but working in sports, that’s not necessarily unwinding for me, so I’d say it’s more of other content. My two favorite things this year were “BOJACK HORSEMAN” on Netflix, which I’ve rewatched most of the seasons two or three times at this point, and I’ve really loved “THE LEFTOVERS” on HBO. I thought that was a phenomenal series.
A day in the life: I’m training for an Ironman competition so right now, training is a big part of my day and starts at either 4:00am or 10:00pm and takes me until midnight. That sort of book ends my days right now. Generally, on the train, I’ll either read news-type stuff like the (N.Y.) Times or the Wall Street Journal or something like that, or a book that I’m getting into, and that puts me at a creative or knowledgeable space to come into the office like I’m ready to start the day when I get there.
