An executive who has been with ESPN since she graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1999, Durant heads up programming for all of her company’s college networks, which includes ESPNU, SEC Network, Longhorn Network and the soon-to-launch ACC Network.
On personal focus groups: I have six nieces and nephews. I watch how they consume, which is very different from how I consume. What they’re doing when they’re not watching TV — how they use social media — is fascinating to me. It’s a little frightening because of the unfamiliarity, especially with social media. It’s like a reverse mentor relationship. I learn from them even when they don’t know I’m learning from them.
melissa rawlins / espn images
On the balance between free and paid programming: Everything we’re doing with SEC Network specifically will continue in the more traditional format that we’ve grown used to. SEC Network will continue as a traditional linear network with a digital companion. That will not go behind the ESPN+ wall.
On the state of college basketball in the wake of the FBI probe: The level of play is strong. It’s as great as it’s always been. There is a lot to be figured out to make the sport better and safer for the student athletes. As a fan, my interest has not waned.
We are all curious to see how the consumer viewing habits evolve and change. We know that fans of specific content and specific sports still want to watch what they love. They are finding different ways to do it. I’m curious to see what the world looks like in the next three to five years.
Rosalyn Durant
A sport that will grow: I’m biased because my two oldest nieces both play lacrosse — one at the collegiate level and the other in high school. It’s a beautiful sport and seeing it expand outside the mid-Atlantic into areas like the Southeast where it traditionally hadn’t been played at the same level, gives me hope that other people love this sport as much as I do and that it has a chance to grow into a bigger television sport.
On being an on-air anchor in college: I am hopeful those tapes have been burned or are deep in a basement that can’t be found. I chuckle when I remember the times my news director stopped me during the commercial breaks to help correct my very strong Southern dialect. In one broadcast, I remember being questioned about how I said the word ‘police’ and ‘umbrella,’ which apparently were extended with more syllables than a non-Southern person would use.
— John Ourand
