Golf Channel’s Mike McCarley receives ‘Award of Distinction’ as Network Executive of the Year; John Miller honored as Marketer of the Year for NBC Sports Group; Golf Channel’s ‘Feherty’ wins for Best Talk Show
NEW YORK (Aug. 10, 2012) – The NBC Sports Group was recognized yesterday with three awards at the inaugural Cynopsis Sports Media Awards, which honor the most outstanding work in the sports industry over the past year. The event was hosted by the Harvard Club in New York City.
Golf Channel President Mike McCarley was recognized as Network Executive of the Year, receiving the “Award of Distinction.” Other awards went to NBC Sports Group Chief Marketing Officer John Miller as Marketer of the Year, and Golf Channel’s hit series, Feherty, as Talk Show of the Year.
Dozens of finalists were on hand to compete in award categories that spanned television, digital, marketing and more. McCarley was one of three luminaries who received special recognition during the ceremony for changing the way their sports entities connected with fans around the country, joining David Hill, Chairman and CEO of FOX Sports Media Group; and Larry Scott, Pac-12 Commissioner.
McCarley led Golf Channel to its most-watched year in its 17-year history in 2011 and the network is on pace to top that in 2012. Golf Channel is the fastest-growing network on television (any network serving 80mm+ homes) following six consecutive quarters of growth since becoming part of the NBC Sports Group. Viewership is up more than 50 percent year-to-date versus 2010, with golf coverage from the PGA TOUR rising 20 percent year-over-year and 54 percent versus 2010. The Presidents Cup coverage from Australia delivered the most-watched day and week in Golf Channel history, viewership for Golf Central grew 47% percent; and the premiere of Feherty to become the network’s most-viewed season premiere ever.
Miller, chief marketing officer for the NBCUniversal Television Group and head of NBC Sports Agency, is one of the most decorated television marketers in history. He is the driving marketing force behind the successful rebrand of the NBC Sports Network (officially renamed from Versus on January 2) and the two most-watched programs in U.S. television for 2012 – single, the Super Bowl on February 5; and event, the ongoing 2012 London Olympics. An Emmy-award winner, PROMAX Hall of Fame member and four-time Entertainment Marketer of the Year, Miller oversees all cross company promotion opportunities and marketing initiatives for NBCUniversal and chairs the NBCUniversal Marketing Council, which include marketing heads from every NBCUniversal Business. As head of the NBC Sports Agency – created in early 2011 following the Comcast-NBC merger – Miller focuses on the marketing and branding all of the NBC Sports Group assets, including the recently-integrated Comcast properties (Golf Channel, NBC Sports Network and Comcast SportsNets).
Feherty debuted in 2011 as the most-watched premiere of an original series in Golf Channel history. The series, hosted by golf funnyman David Feherty, maintained its momentum in 2012, lifting the network’s Monday primetime lineup ratings by 64 percent year over year. Called “a cross between Oprah Winfrey and Johnny Carson” by The New York Times, Feherty displays an uncanny interview style that engages his subjects and brings out answers both honest and revealing. During the 2012 season, Feherty has gone one-on-one with celebrities across golf, sports and entertainment including former President Bill Clinton, basketball legend Bill Russell, real estate magnate Donald Trump, actor Samuel L. Jackson, and golfers Graeme McDowell, Bubba Watson, Sergio Garcia and Michelle Wie.
Cynopsis Sports is a publication of Access Intelligence, and serves as the most widely distributed daily business newsletter covering the sports industry.
Contact:
Dan Higgins
Golf Channel
t: 407-355-4018
e: dhiggins@golfchannel.com
Jeremy Friedman
Golf Channel
t: 407-355-4058
e: jfriedman@golfchannel.com
