NBC Universal Leverages Concentrated Sports Events for Cross-Portfolio Synergy

Key Quotes

"look i'm not alone we have an incredible team at nbc sports including the senior leadership team and you look across those events and you know obviously the super bowl and sam flood frank defillippo rob hyland on the production side and we'll have some of the neighborhood of 700 people uh in santa clara and san francisco during that weekend we'll have about 1600 employees back in stanford connecticut um a thousand employees in italy and about 200 or so maybe 300 or so in los angeles for the nba all star game and so we are deployed and in many different locales but in many respects the production teams for the olympics is different than the super bowl team that's going to be in san francisco and it's different than the nba team in los angeles and so you know again we're lucky to have the pros that we have that are managing these enormous projects"

Rick Cordella explains that managing three major events within a short period requires a vast, specialized team. Cordella highlights the distributed nature of the production efforts, emphasizing that while the events are close in time, the teams are focused on their individual productions. This demonstrates the scale and complexity of NBC Sports' operational capabilities.

"so while you may look discretely at the nba p l the olympic p l and say does it pencil out and look sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't not talking specifically about those two properties but just overall on sports sometimes the p ls pencil out a lot of times you have to look at a holistically and say what does it do for our business overall there are not just advertising it's distribution agreements you know there's a reason why a lot of nbpd blackouts and flights happen in the fall is because it's during football season and football helps drive a lot of those conversations to a to a hopefully successful conclusion oftentimes right and then there's other m a and there's partnerships and bundling and a lot of that conversation does center around sports and the exact that we have this content exclusively that it's it's not substitutable with other content"

Cordella argues that the financial success of individual sports properties should be viewed holistically rather than discretely. He explains that sports rights contribute to broader business objectives beyond direct profit and loss statements. Cordella points to distribution agreements, partnerships, and bundling as key benefits that sports content enables for the entire company.

"it'll set peacock on a new cruising altitude we saw that with the paris olympics we saw that quite frankly with the the exclusive wild card game you had a couple years ago with kansas city and miami played um these big sporting events i mean look people always ask like hey you're investing more in sports i keep saying because it works it's worth for our business overall and not only has it driven people in to subscribe for sports and again you're you're you're sort of scratching an itch for the sports fan uh when they want to watch their their favorite athletes and favorite teams but we're not monoculture like you know you're a sports fan i'm a sports fan we like to watch dramas we like to watch comedies like to watch movies and so as you come in for your sports and come in for let's say the you know say the winter olympics this february there's other great original programming that's on peacock"

Cordella emphasizes the significant impact of major sporting events on streaming platforms like Peacock. He states that these events drive subscriptions and attract new users, setting the platform on a "new cruising altitude." Cordella also highlights that sports fans are not exclusively interested in sports, and the influx of users for live events can lead them to discover and engage with other programming on the platform.

"look i think that there is and maybe this was a previous generation where you know the the sports network heads you know i don't think there's a dislike or you know more rivalry like i like eric shanks like personally i call him a friend same with david berson jimmy pitaro louis silvasser you know jay marine like across the board you know we have more in common than then we don't and if there's a way to to help them out that's not going to hurt nbc sports and maybe helps our talent as well then we're going to do it"

Cordella describes a shift in the sports media landscape, moving away from intense rivalry between networks towards a more collaborative approach. He highlights that executives at different networks often have more in common than not. Cordella explains that NBC Sports is willing to help other networks if it doesn't harm their own interests and can benefit their talent, indicating a more cooperative industry dynamic.

"my biggest fear going into the nba on nbc as it were leaning too much on nostalgia right we of a certain age look fondly back at that era michael jordan charles barkley like we loved it but if you're under 30 like you don't know anything about it and so i don't remember that opener that we had but we had sga and we had anthony edwards yeah it's funny they were basically like what nba 1990s like what like what are you talking about the 90s and so i thought it was a good way of us being sort of self aware that nostalgia is great but there's a younger generation that doesn't quite know what the nba on nbc stood for and i think we sort of bring that to the table and what i tell everyone too is like we can bring the nostalgia but we can't offend with the nostalgia so as long as the younger generation is okay with these references"

Cordella expresses concern about relying too heavily on nostalgia for the NBA on NBC broadcast. He acknowledges that while viewers of a certain age fondly remember the 1990s era, younger audiences may not have the same connection. Cordella emphasizes the need to balance nostalgic elements with content that resonates with a new generation, ensuring that references do not alienate or confuse them.

"so what we can't control is that we have the best planning execution that we're looking around all the corners prepare for the inevitable sort of curveball that will come out of nowhere like what if mike trice is playing and can get to milan what are we gonna do like let's have a plan there so all these sort of backup plans snowstorms that may happen in stanford connecticut and employees can't get to the office what are we gonna do about that so let's make sure that we've sort of planned that all out to make sure we have backup plans to backup plans and that that's gonna go off without a hitch from the execution standpoint"

Cordella outlines NBC Sports' strategy for managing major events by focusing on meticulous planning and contingency measures. He explains that their controllable efforts involve anticipating potential issues, such as unexpected circumstances affecting talent or logistical challenges like weather impacting staff. Cordella stresses the importance of having "backup plans to backup plans" to ensure smooth execution and a successful event.