Instagram is looking to hire a “head of sports” that will “create value for our sports partners, sports fans and Instagram,” according to a job description that was posted online earlier this month.
Instagram’s head of sports will “build and execute strategies and programs to drive high impact use of Instagram among sports influencers — including leagues, teams, athletes and media partners,” the job description reads.
The executive will not negotiate for live sports rights, a source said, a function that still will be run through the group led by Dan Reed, Facebook’s head of global sports partnerships. The executive hired for Instagram’s new position will work closely with Reed and Peter Hutton, the former Eurosport CEO who joined Facebook in March as director of global live sports partnerships and programming.
One source envisioned a scenario where Reed and Hutton sign a live rights deal that allows Instagram to carry highlights, either within its main feed or its Instagram Stories feature.
The main role for Instagram’s head of sports will be to help leagues, teams and athletes increase the number of followers, promote their brands and tell their stories on the platform.
Instagram is said to have some candidates already in the pipeline, a source said. It will be based at Instagram’s Menlo Park, Calif., headquarters.
The online job description says that the job is no longer accepting applications.
— John Ourand
