John Kosner Spoke with Rishad Tobaccowala About The Future of Sports Media
Original Article: What Next? by Rishad Tobaccowala, January 6th, 2024
John Kosner on the Future of Sports
John Kosner is the President of Kosner Media, a digital media and sports consultancy and an investment advisor to sports tech startups on the future of sports.
His four decades of expertise include building ESPN into the world's leading digital sports destination; he also struck ESPN's original streaming deal with Bamtech, which led to Disney's acquisition of Major League baseball's technology firm in 2016.
In a world where sports is dominating media and fusing with gaming anybody interested in business should listen to it (even if you are the rare bird who does not follow sports.)
John argues that sports will follow gaming into the interactive world building communities around sports players online and offline as younger fans look for new ways to engage.
He advises us to follow his old Disney colleague, Steve Jobs’ mantra: “beware the status quo” in a world where everything including sports is being re-imagined.
John explains why integrity and trust will be key in a world of sports as AI and sports betting scale.
John Kosner Moderated an NFT.NYC 2024 Panel: ‘What’s Next in Sports, Loyalty, & Social Experiences.”
Original Article: NFT.NYC, April 3rd, 2024
John Kosner moderated an NFT.NYC 2024 panel featuring Pet, Essem Harris, and Asher Weiss!
You can find the recorded panel here.
John Kosner and Ed Desser Appeared on the Sports Media Watch Podcast
Original Article: Sports Media Watch Podcast by Jon Lewis and Drew Lerner, December 27th, 2023
On today's episode, Jon and Drew are joined by industry veterans John Kosner and Ed Desser for a big picture look at sports media. John Kosner previously served as the NBA's VP of Broadcasting during the Dream Team era and most recently served as ESPN's Executive Vice President and General Manager, Digital and Print Media before beginning his consultancy firm Kosner Media. Ed Desser served as a senior executive in the NBA's Commissioner's Office and as President of NBA Television where he negotiated numerous media rights deals for the league and has run his consultancy Desser Sports Media since 2005. The crew covers the NBA's upcoming media rights negotiations, the state of linear television and the transition to digital, fragmentation in the industry, Disney's trial balloon for divesting ABC, and possible strategic partners at ESPN.
From the latest Sports Media Watch Podcast, industry veterans John Kosner and Ed Desser join Jon Lewis and Drew Lerner to discuss the upcoming NBA media rights negotiations, the future of Disney, and more.
John Kosner on the upcoming NBA deals
People keep realizing just the intrinsic value of sports. And from the early ’80s until today, that value has only increased. Just stepping away from the NBA for a second, sports — you have to watch it live, it’s content that’s not replicable. As a matter of fact, we would argue it’s the only content that unifies people. People watch habitually. Sports is evergreen and yet it’s different every year.
When you take an asset like the NBA, in the current environment where there’s almost unlimited video options for people — some of them are paid some of them are free — it’s a differentiated product. As everything moves to streaming, as things move to direct-to-consumer, individual months matter in a way that they didn’t, say, earlier in my career … Now when all of the sudden almost all of these programmers are in the month-to-month churn business, a six month NBA regular season is just a bigger asset than people might have thought in the past world. It’s a reason to subscribe, it’s a reason not to churn.
Ed Desser on expectations for the amount of NBA media partners
I’m not sure that it matters. Whether somebody has two partners or four partners doesn’t change the character of their product. It’s probably the case that more partners, given what’s going on economically, will be appropriate and necessary. There’s no question in my mind that the NBA’s value as a programming packager has materially increased. That gets reflected in the deals both in terms of the amount for each and the number of them. I think there is room. I mean if we look at the historical approach of the NBA, it has been to have fewer partners. You’d have to go back to before 1984 to a time when both USA and ESPN and CBS all had rights.
It just may not be that that works anymore in a more constrained environment where the various entertainment companies that have traditionally bought rights aren’t as flush and aren’t growing the same way. And at the same time you’ve got the tech companies that are looking for how best to move forward.
Kosner on how to combat decline of linear television
Last month in the SBJ, SSRS Research Group had a piece and they said that today 2/3rds of the U.S. has a paid television subscription at home. That’s down from 75% five years ago and 85% a decade ago. And the key point they made is that access for young kids to live sports in the home is much diminished. Ed and I have spent a lot of time talking about FAST channels because FAST channels represent — almost everybody has a device in their home, almost everybody has a sufficiently fast connection to see video on a device — and it could be that utilizing FAST channels in the future is going to be one way that sports can get visibility to kids. And if you don’t build that fan base in an environment where kids are growing up with unlimited supply of video, video games, any number of other things, you’re playing with fire if you’re running a sports enterprise.
Desser on potential strategic partners for ESPN
I think that you have to ask yourself, “what is it that ESPN needs that it doesn’t already have?” It has relationships for programming, it has excellent relationships on the programming side. It has excellent relationships on the advertising side. It is well positioned with its app and its website on the digital side, to an extent. But obviously there are a lot more digital parties that could have an association.
The challenge is also, beyond the investment, it’s who is not going to be a problematic partner for Disney and ESPN. We saw ESPN finally getting into betting recently and that was something they had resisted doing for quite a long time. Is this something that is consistent with the Disney brand, for example. Are we going to make an association with PENN and is it going to cost us relationship with DraftKings and others? Finding the sweet spot of somebody who is motivated enough to want to come in, bring something more than just money, because obviously ESPN could do something with private equity or something like that, but that doesn’t make ESPN better necessarily.
So you’re talking about on the one hand, a large number of potential parties, but not very many I suspect that check enough boxes that it’s gonna make sense to do. Now having said that, there are a lot of entities out there that would have an interest in what ESPN is and has achieved. And so I can see it happening, it’s just hard to know … it’s a broad list of possibilities and it’s hard to anticipate exactly who the party or parties would be.
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John Kosner Participated in “The New Sports Video Experience” Panel for Parks Associates
Original Article: Parks Associates, November 15th, 2023
In a world driven by dynamic changes in the entertainment landscape, Parks Associates' Future of Video event emerges as a beacon of insight, gathering industry leaders to chart the course of the video and connected entertainment industries. With speakers hailing from TikTok, Tubi, VIZIO, and more, this event is poised to illuminate the present and future of video consumption!
SHIFTING DEMANDS IN VIDEO SERVICES
As the digital tapestry of video services continues to evolve, Parks Associates' latest report, "Video Services: Shifting Demand," has uncovered a groundbreaking statistic—31% of households have embraced ad-supported AVOD or FAST streaming services in the last 30 days. This paradigm shift underscores the transformative potential of the Future of Video event.
EXPLORING THE EVENT
From November 14-16, 2023, the Marina del Rey Marriott will be the nexus of the video industry's luminaries, converging for the Future of Video event. This executive conference is a culmination of insightful presentations, interactive panel discussions, and analyst insights, all poised to unravel the latest trends shaping the video and connected entertainment sectors.
KEYNOTE VISIONARIES
Distinguished keynote speakers include:
Matthew Durgin, VP Content and Services, LG Electronics
Albert Lai, Global Director, DTC/OTT Streaming for Media & Entertainment, Google
Stefan Van Engen, VP, Content Programming and Partnerships, Xumo
PANEL POWERHOUSES
Bringing their expertise to the forefront are esteemed panel speakers:
Scott Barton, Chief Product Officer, MyBundle.TV
Isaac Bess, Global Head of Distribution, TikTok
Jake Cohen, Head of Business Development and Strategy – Content, Verizon
Aileen Del Cid, Head of Marketing, Samsung TV Plus
Akinwole Garrett, VP, Business Development and M&A, REVOLT Media & TV
Ken Gerstein, VP, NAGRA Anti-Piracy & NexGuard, NAGRA
Chris Glover, VP Marketing, FreeWheel
Dan Goman, CEO, Ateliere
Samuel Harowitz, Vice President, Content Acquisition and Partnerships, Tubi
Blair Harrison, CEO & Founder, Frequency
Anthony Jiwa, CMO, OUTtv
Becky Jones, Chief Marketing & People Officer, Viamedia
John Kosner, President, Kosner Media
David Mühle, CEO, PlayPilot
Marty Roberts, SVP, Product Strategy and Marketing, Brightcove
Brij Shah, Head of Strategic Growth, Comcast Advertising
Geir Skaaden, EVP & Chief Products & Services Officer, Xperi
Chris Tanquary, Senior Director of Business Development, Strategic Accounts, VIZIO
Jason Tyrrell, General Manager, Kanopy, OverDrive
John Kosner Participated in “The Future of Sports Journalism” Panel for The Aspen Institute
Original Article: The Aspen Institute, November 15th, 2023
Sports both reflect and shape our society. Journalism unpacks those relationships, along the way making the games that we play more interesting and relevant. The New York Times, HBO Real Sports, and Los Angeles Times helped set the standard. Now, each outlet is changing how it covers sports – and Real Sports ended its run after 29 award-winning years.
What happened? And what does the future hold for enterprise and investigative journalism in sports? Could the public get less, or more, coverage of important topics as the media landscape evolves? What are the most promising business models to support this work? And what do we lose if longform sports journalism gets deprioritized in a streaming world?
Veteran journalists addressed the topic from two angles, with two panels:
What Happened to Sports Journalism, with speakers including:
Andrea Kremer, NFL Network chief correspondent, CBS Sports Network co-host, HBO Real Sports correspondent
Ben Strauss, Washington Post sports and media reporter
Jon Solomon, Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program editorial director, former investigative sports reporter (moderator)
Where to Go From Here for Sports Journalism, with speakers including:
David Boardman, Temple University Klein College of Media and Communication dean and professor, Solutions Journalism Network vice chair
John Kosner, Kosner Media president, four-decade veteran of sports media
Iliana Limón Romero, Los Angeles Times sports editor
Tom Farrey, Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program executive director, former investigative sports reporter (moderator)
Future of Sports is a conversation series, hosted by the Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program, that helps stakeholders think through key questions shaping the future of our games, the sports industry and its impact on society. Past events examined the future of football, a series on college athlete pay including the government’s role and the future of name, image and likeness rights, sports betting, athlete activism, coaching, the U.S. Olympic movement, women’s pro sports, children’s rights in sports, and the future of sports in the climate crisis. Contact Sports & Society Program Editorial Director Jon Solomon at jon.solomon@aspeninstitute.org with questions or inquiries.
John Kosner Delivered the Keynote at the SVG Regional Sports Production Summit in Chicago
Original Article: Sports Video Group, June 29th, 2023
The regional-sports-network side of the business is at a crossroads, and the unclear future of this sector was on everyone’s mind at the 2023 SVG Regional Sports Production Summit (RSPS). Taking place at the Renaissance Chicago Downtown Hotel on June 28-29, more than 250 attendees addressed the pertinent issues and seismic changes as well as covered the latest developments in live-production workflows, DTC streaming, sports betting, 4K and HDR technology, labor and crewing, league and team relationships, and more.
The day was kicked off with an opening presentation that dove deep into the uncertainty of the rapidly changing RSN marketplace. Kosner Media President John Kosner, who previously managed ESPN’s streaming operations and helped guide the NBA’s TV strategy and media operations, offered up advice on how teams, RSNs, and other media organizations can weather the looming storm.
“We’re all here because we appreciate the value of sports, and there’s still room for growth on this side of the business,” says Kosner. “I have no doubt that local sports will continue to thrive and that the individuals in this room will be in high demand.”
John Kosner Moderated an NFT.NYC 2023 Panel: “The Future of Fandom is On-Chain: Previewing Blockchain’s Role in Sports and Media”
Original Article: NFT.NYC 2023, by April 13th, 2023
John Kosner moderated an NFT.NYC 2023 panel titled “The Future of Fandom is On-Chain: Previewing Blockchain’s Role in Sports and Media” with Essem Harris.
John Kosner Moderated an NFT.NYC 2023 Panel: “What’s Next in Sports and NFT’s”
Original Article: NFT.NYC 2023, by April 13th, 2023
John Kosner moderated an NFT.NYC 2023 panel titled “What’s Next in Sports and NFT’s” with Pet, Brad Feinstein, and Asher Weiss.
John Kosner Discussed The Future of Sports Media with Warren Tredrea and Andrew Montesi for The Big Deal Podcast
Original Article: The Big Deal Podcast, November 9th, 2022
In this fascinating interview, John talks about:
Pioneering broadcasting as Michael Jordan transformed the NBA
Building and growing ESPN’s online sports platform
Lessons learned from sports business icon David Stern
The evolution of media rights, and what it means for rights holders, sports organizations and fans
The biggest investment opportunities in sports
Challenges facing the sports industry and a looming ‘reset’
What it takes to build a successful career in the industry
And much more. Listen below or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts.
John Kosner Spoke About the NCAA Gender Equity Media Study at the SBJ Media Innovators Conference in NYC on Nov. 9
Original Article: Sports Business Journal, November 9th, 2021
Sports media – and the media world as a whole – is undergoing a seismic shift. Mega-mergers and divestitures are making headlines. OTT services are reshaping programming and distribution as consumers migrate away from legacy media. RSN models are under fire. And sports betting is adding an uncharted element to the North American market and opportunities for media companies and the gaming industry. On November 9th and 10th, these issues and many more will be examined at Sports Business Journal’s Media Innovators conference. Stakeholders from across the emerging media landscape will discuss the day-to-day challenges they are facing, opportunities they are recognizing, and the long-term planning that will keep them competitive in an ever-changing marketplace.
John Kosner Moderated the Sports and NFTs Panel at NFT.NYC on November 2, 2021
Original Article: NFTNYC
Listen in on the discussion between John Kosner, Calvyn Justus (NFT Artist), Sam Fagin (Checkout.out), Yang Adjia (Turner Sports), and Scott Lawin (Candy Digital).
John Kosner interviewed Dapper Labs CEO Roham Gharegozlou about NBA TopShot & the Flow Blockchain
Original Article: SportTechie, by Sports Capital Symposium, September 29th, 2021
Monumental Sports & Entertainment and SportTechie present their second annual conference on new revenue models and investment opportunities in the sports industry: the Sports Capital Symposium. SCS offers premium educational content and elite networking and business development opportunities for leagues, teams, corporate partners, vendors, innovators and investors.
John Kosner moderated the Fireside Chat with Rohan Gharegozlou about NBA Top Shot and Blockchain x Sports.
John Kosner appeared on David Millay's Podcast regarding using new tech to transform fan engagement
Original Article: EngageMint, July 29th, 2021d
David sits down with John Kosner in the latest EngageMint episode, covering all things sports tech, truth speaking and leadership and the future of sports broadcasting.
Show Notes
(4:00) Forming Micromanagement Ventures with David Stern
(15:04) Importance of Humor in the Workplace
(18:11) Assembling the Right Team Around the Right Purpose
(21:51) Trust is the Essence of Every Human Relationship
(25:35) The NBA Trade Machine and Taking ESPN Digital
(32:35) Learn from TikTok, Instagram and Twitch
(34:53) Static Personalization vs. Modern Personalization
(36:55) John’s Advisory Work
(43:34) The Adrenaline Factor in Viewing Sports
(50:32) Overcoming Complacency
John Kosner appeared in the SPAC in Sports panel for UJA-Federation on March 24
Original Article: UJA, March 24th
PART 2: SPACS IN SPORTS
INTRODUCTION
Sports For Youth Council Members:
Rob Tillis, Inner Circle Sports
Seth Finkel, Neuberger Berman
MODERATOR
Donna Orender
CEO, Orender Unlimited & Founder, Generation W
Former President, WNBA
PANELISTS
Jon Ledecky
Co-Owner, New York IslandersJohn Kosner
President, Kosner MediaAlan Kestenbaum
Chairman of the Board and CEO, Sports Ventures Acquisition Corp.