Barrett Media
Author (when available): BSM Staff
Norby Williamson, who joined Main Street Sports Group as its president of production and programming earlier in the year shortly after the company emerged from Ch. 11 bankruptcy, has reportedly made changes in the structure within its regional sports networks. Williamson is reported to have let go of about 10 executive producers at the RSNs as part of this corporate restructuring, which will delineate live event production by sport rather than the region themselves. Concurrent with these transactions, Williamson is said to have hired four former ESPN producers to join the leadership team at Main Street Sports Group, although the exact specificity of their roles has yet to be reported.
In an update to his LinkedIn page, former ESPN producer Larry Holm listed that he had started a role as a vice president in production for FanDuel Sports Network. Reportedly slated to join Holm at Main Street Sports Group include Jay Rothman, Ed Placey and Mark Summer, all of whom formerly worked at ESPN as well. Holm has reportedly been assigned to NBA coverage, while Rothman will oversee the NHL coverage across the RSNs. In addition, Placey will be working on MLB coverage and Summer will be in charge of the studio production.
Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports was first to report the news, and it was subsequently confirmed by Williamson over the phone. Elaborating on the decision, he divulged that Florida RSN executive producer Brett Opdyke is going to remain a member of the team. Opdyke is reported to be working with Holm to lead NBA coverage for the company. FanDuel Sports Network currently has regional broadcast rights for nearly 30 teams spanning the aforementioned three leagues.
“We’re reinventing the business and the way we do production and technology,” Williamson told Front Office Sports. “We’ve got four Hall of Famers who were chomping at the bit to join us.”
This change takes place less than two months after FanDuel Sports Network was said to be laying off approximately 24 staff members as chief executive officer David Preschlack reportedly sought to reduce the production budget by $30 million. The company appointed Steve Simpson to executive vice president of team partnerships with oversight of FanDuel Sports Network South and Southeast last month. Furthermore, FanDuel Sports Network selected Sarah Tourville to work in the same role for the Kansas City, Indiana, Midwest, SoCal and West regional channels.
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