CAA
From a television perspective, teams in new markets typically need eight or nine months to set up shop with a new network. In 2017, the Vegas Golden Knights started operating seven months before the season started.
Caroline Rebello
Managing Director, Evolution Media Capital
Born: Los Angeles
Education: University of Pennsylvania, The Wharton School, B.S., economics
Enter Evolution Media Capital’s Caroline Rebello.
Rebello approached every company that could be interested in buying the rights: AT&T, Cox, Fox, Sinclair. She looked into building an over-the-air distribution system that would allow the NHL team to bypass cable distribution.
“We turn over every stone to find right partner,” she said. Root Sports, now known as AT&T, ended up being the right partner.
“Caroline is a rising star in our industry,” said Alan Gold, head of sports media advisory at EMC. “She is smart, strategic, and incredibly well respected by our clients and media companies.”
The Golden Knights deal is hardly unique for Rebello. Since joining EMC in 2010, she has helped grow the group from a team client roster of one to 38, representing more than $40 billion in sports transactions. In the past year alone, Rebello negotiated more than $4 billion in media and M&A deals.
Her client list includes the Cubs, which signed a deal with the Sinclair Broadcast Group to launch Marquee Sports Network. It also includes the Charlotte Hornets, Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Pistons and Minnesota Wild, all of which renewed their local TV deals recently. — John Ourand
Getting to know...
Favorite day-off activity: A long bike ride — usually ending at an ice cream shop.
Something your friends would consider "so you": Going to Europe for the weekend.
Woman in sports business you’d like to meet: Indra Nooyi was at the helm of one of the most important sports advertisers for over a decade. She was also one of the few Fortune 500 CEOs to be a woman and a person of color, to experience success on every measurable metric and be open about her work-life balance.
Role of sports in social issues: The sports industry is an incredible platform and should be used as a catalyst to unite people and push for positive change. … Every league, team, brand and individual is multidimensional, so any one of them shouldn’t be expected to stand silent.
