It should come as no surprise that five of the top 10 names on the Sports Business Journal’s annual list of the 50 Most Influential People in Sports are from the world of media, says The Examiner’s Jim Williams.
Indeed, the most powerful man is George Bodenheimer, president of ESPN/ABC Sports. Bodenheimer’s network wields the most clout in all of sports. Recent additions of The Bowl Championship Series and the British Open are simply piling on. The most noteworthy brand in the sports world already has the NFL, NBA, MLB and NASCAR, just to start.
Recommended Stories
At No. 5 is Dick Ebersol (pictured), chairman of NBC Universal Sports and Olympics. He made the 2008 Beijing Olympics a major success by convincing the International Olympic Committee to shift the swimming and gymnastics finals to the morning local time. The change, despite some international resistance, was a ratings knockout punch. Instead of tape-delayed Michael Phelps, viewers in the U.S. tuned in nightly to track his success in the pool. The Beijing Games became one of the most-watched Olympics in history.
SBJ has FOX Sports president David Hill at No. 7, followed by CBS president Sean McManus at No. 8. These two have been key players for years. At No. 10 sits Comcast executive vice president, David Cohen, but he should be ahead of both Hill and McManus, thanks to Comcast’s legion of regional sports networks and the growing Versus.