In '09, two years before he would step away from the business, NBCUniversal’s DICK EBERSOL went on stage to accept an honor at the Sports Emmy Awards in N.Y. Waiting for him on stage were six commissioners representing the biggest sports leagues in the country: the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, NASCAR and PGA Tour. It is hard to get those six execs in the same city, much less the same room, at the same time. Each commissioner delivered remarks praising Ebersol, an exec who was still working in TV sports at the time as NBC Sports & Olympics Chair. The moment, which also included legendary boxer MUHAMMAD ALI presenting Ebersol’s award, was striking and illustrated the scope of the longtime broadcaster’s influence in the business. A lion of the broadcast television industry from the late '60s to his retirement in '11, Ebersol is the recipient of the SportsBusiness Journal/Daily Lifetime Achievement Award for '15. Ebersol will be celebrated during the Sports Business Awards on May 20 in N.Y.
PIONEERING PRODUCER: For nearly five decades, Ebersol produced the country’s biggest sporting events -- Super Bowls, the World Series and the NBA Finals. Ebersol, though, is best known for his association with the Olympic Games, a relationship that started with the '68 Mexico City Games. As a sophomore at Yale, Ebersol left school to work as a researcher for ROONE ARLEDGE, the legendary television exec with whom Ebersol developed a close bond. Ebersol’s task was to travel around, meet athletes and learn their stories. It was during those years that Ebersol learned the storytelling talents that have become a hallmark of his Olympic productions. Ebersol left sports and the Olympics behind when he joined NBC in '74. During the ensuing 15 years, he developed some of the best-known shows in U.S. television history. Notably, he helped create “SNL,” a show that’s still a staple of NBC’s late-night programming schedule today. Ebersol also launched a production company that created well-known shows like “Friday Night Videos” and “Later with Bob Costas.” He eventually moved over to run NBC Sports in '89 and immediately got to work furthering league relationships through deals signed with the NFL, NBA and MLB. But it was his return to producing the Olympics in '92 where he made his biggest mark. Following the Barcelona Games, he conducted an interview with the N.Y. Times in August '92. In that story, Ebersol was “boasting of raves from ABC’s Arledge and JIM MCKAY” over NBC’s coverage of the Games. The Times quoted Ebersol as saying, “The whole world came. There were no incidents. We did a great job of storytelling.”
SECRET TO HIS SUCCESS: Ebersol’s strategy utilized taped segments to tell stories of Olympic athletes who were not household names in the U.S. The theory is that the stories would help viewers get invested in the athletes and drive tune-in. Olympic ratings under Ebersol’s direction were huge for two decades, and other networks used that storytelling philosophy for other big events, such as the World Cup. Ebersol’s deep relationships in sports business came into play when NBC picked up the rights to broadcast the NFL’s “Sunday Night Football,” starting in '06. The series became television’s top rated primetime show from '11-14. NFL Commissioner ROGER GOODELL referenced the deal on that Sports Emmy stage in '09. “When we lost Dick Ebersol as a partner, that was a huge loss for the NFL,” he said at the time. “I couldn’t be happier that he’s back.” Ebersol’s life and career will be chronicled in the May 18-24 issue of SportsBusiness Journal.
