The NBA Draft has viewing options, the U.S. Senate has golf in its sights and Bill Hancock has a retirement day on the calendar.
Happy NBA draft date to all those who celebrate. There shouldn't be much suspense with the top overall pick as 7'3 French teenager Victor Wembanyama is expected to be chosen by the Spurs, but there's always the possibility of some surprises and trades after that, and there's always the fashion choices to monitor. And with that in mind, make sure to check out a story later today on sportsbusinessjournal.com from our Tom Friend on the apparel company who is making custom suits for more than 10 of the expected draftees. On the viewing front, ESPN is producing two different broadcasts for the NBA draft, one on its own network and one on ABC that will purposely appeal to opposite audiences. For hardcore NBA fans who want Xs and Os or draft pick and team analysis, tuned to the main ESPN feed. And for those who want long and short form storytelling geared toward player personalities, find your way to ABC.
Good morning. It's Thursday, June 22nd. This is your SBJ Morning BuzzCast. I'm David Albright filling in for Abe Madkour. The US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has called on PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan, LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman, and the Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund governor Yassar Al-Rumayyan to testify at a public hearing on July 11th. The subcommittee in a letter asked that Monahan, Norman, and Al-Rumayyan appear in person to testify with the purpose of assisting the subcommittee's review of the circumstances in terms of the planned agreement between the PGA Tour and the PIF; how any new entities formed by the planned agreement will be structured; the expected impact on PGA Tour and LIV Golf players; and the anticipated role of PIF in US professional golf. Subcommittee chair Senator Richard Blumenthal said the goal is to uncover the facts about what went into the PGA Tour's deal with the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund and what the Saudi takeover means for the future of golf in the US.
Rose Zhang later this morning will play in her first major as a professional in her start at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship in New Jersey. Comes as Callaway Golf has activated heavily around the phenom. Zhang notably won her first start as a pro last month at the Mizuho Americas Open and the day after, Callaway released a limited edition line of golf balls, which featured roses throughout and the number one to signify her first win, and they sold out in less than a week. Zhang first signed with Callaway while still in college at Stanford in early 2022, and has played with the brand's equipment since 2013 when she came on as part of the Callaway Next program. According to data from Zoomph, Zhang has gained more than 16,500 Instagram followers since turning pro in May, that's a 54% increase. Zhang also joined Twitter earlier this month and has nearly 1500 followers. She is repped by Kevin Hopkins of Excel Sports Management.
Laura Gentile is leaving ESPN after a 20-year career to start her own business. Gentile, who rose to EVP of ESPN Marketing, is not part of the wave of layoffs hitting Disney and ESPN, having made the decision to leave on her own. She will remain with ESPN until October. Her role will be taken by Tina Thornton, who was promoted to EVP Creative Studio and Marketing. Thornton has spent 30 years at ESPN, most recently as Head of Content Operations and Creative Surround at ESPN. She will report directly into ESPN chair Jimmy Pitaro, and will continue to oversee the company's Creative Studio division. Three months after being named ESPN's President of Content, Burke Magnus has outlined his exec team, which will see Norby Williamson take over NFL programming, and Dave Roberts oversee the Pat McAfee Show.
As part of his moves, Magnus decided to split sports event and studio production responsibilities between Williamson and Roberts. Also, Stephanie Druley will move away from production. She has been the point person on the NFL for the past several years. Julie will become head of content operations, taking over some of the responsibilities left by Thornton. In her new role, Julie will oversee production operations, directing, management operations, and production management. Other moves and announced by Magnus included Freddie Rolan becoming Head of Digital Content and Audience Expansion. Rolan had been in ESPN's programming department.
College football playoff Executive Director Bill Hancock will step down when his contract expires on February 1st, 2025. Hancock, who will be entering his 19th season working in post-season football, was hired by the CFP a few months after the event was created in 2012 and was the only employee at the time. At that time, Hancock was given the directive to finalize the details of a media rights agreement, negotiate agreements with bowl games and championship game host cities, build a staff, find office space, contact members to serve on the selection committee, and draft protocol and procedures for the committee to use. Even though his contract doesn't expire for two more seasons, congratulations to Bill Hancock, an SBJ champion, on a job well done.
With Derek Jeter making his debut on Fox's MLB coverage this weekend, Sports Media Podcast hosts Andrew Marchand and John Ourand predict how the Hall of Famer will fit in with the network's other studio analysts, David Ortiz and Alex Rodriguez. Marchand and Ourand also addressed Dwayne Johnson's comments about the pod and the XFL, along with JJ Watts's television prospects, Craig Carton's move from radio to television, and Adrian Wojnarowski's decision not to tip picks on Twitter during tonight's NBA draft.
ESPN host Malika Andrews joins as the big get talking about her journey from editing the college newspaper at the University of Portland, all the way to ESPN. Andrews, who will host tonight's NBA draft on ESPN, discussed her preparation for the night and touched on her career goals. She also talks about her decision to talk about mental health struggles publicly and the feedback she's received.
And that's your SBJ Morning Buzzcast for Thursday. I hope everyone has a great day, and we'll see you back here tomorrow morning.