When ESPN President John Skipper asked Russell Wolff to oversee the network’s coverage of the Special Olympics, Wolff jumped at the chance.
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WOLFF
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One of the top executives at ESPN, Wolff has a son with a physical disability and has become familiar with adaptive sports — the term used for sports for men and women with disabilities. What has resulted is a marketing and programming plan that treats the competition, which kicked off this past Saturday in Los Angeles, as a big event.
The Bristol-based network is going through a period of cost-cutting right now. But it is planning to devote a lot of resources to covering the event on both ESPN and ABC.
ESPN has sold presenting sponsorship to major brands, including Bank of America, Toyota and Coca-Cola.
“We built it into our budget a year ago,” Wolff said. “We see it as a big event. We’re not looking to trim big events. We’re trying to get lots of people to tune in because it’s one of those events that once you start to understand what it is and the power it has to really affect people’s lives, you definitely feel like you’ve seen something special.”
ESPN will carry the event on its international channels and is distributing it to international broadcasters — so much so that it will reach 170 countries.
“We think people are going to be moved and inspired and really blown away by what they see,” Wolff said. “It’s not just an opportunity to spread a message and support inclusion and acceptance. It’s also great storytelling.
“It’s been the most meaningful project that I’ve ever worked on in my 18 years at the company. I’ve heard lots of my colleagues say the same thing.”
