Anything for Flip.
Ask anyone at the YES Network for something and tell them that John Filippelli, the network's president of production and programming, sent you, and that's the response you're likely to get. He's the type of boss that employees will run through a wall for (and there's no proof that there aren't a few who actually have).
It also doesn't hurt that he's a genius at what he does. This summer marks the iconic producer's 40th year in sports television, a career loaded with accomplishments, accolades, and a knack for building television magic from scratch.
With more than 100 national Emmy nominations and more than 100 New York Emmy nominations, Filippelli has established himself as the go-to producer for major national and international sports events. He's also one of the industry's few pillars who have worked their way up from senior positions in the truck to upper management.
The thing that really jumps out at me about him is that most bosses I have come across are all about negatives, says Michael Kay, the lead play-by-play man on Yankees telecasts on YES Network since its launch. You only hear from them when things are bad. Flip is hardly like that at all. Flip will call you and tell you, Great game, What a great call. [With] a boss [who calls] and tells you something good, when he tells you something is bad, you really do take notice. It doesn't become white noise. I think it's really special when you have a boss that tells you when things are going well. He has that run-through-a-wall ability with his workers.
Filippelli understands the tremendous power of a sports-television producer and his or her crew in telling the story of games that matter so much to the viewer at home. He regularly tells those who work for him that the way that we cover a game is almost as important as the game itself, because the imagery and commentary we provide become lasting memories for our viewers.
He's a professional aided by perspective.
It's exhilarating, but it can also be daunting, Filippelli says. You try not to think about it, but you do understand the overview. When you have a moment that is great, you have a responsibility to underscore that moment, not to overproduce or overdirect that moment. You have a responsibility to shape that memory. The pictures, the audio, and the commentary that you send out is going to define that moment and how that moment is remembered.
Fox Sports EVP of Operations Ed Delaney, a longtime colleague at The Baseball Network and YES Network, notes that Filippelli is very creative from the production side. He has attention to detail. He's a tremendous leader. He knows how to motivate people. He knows how to pull back on the reins when he needs to, and he's clear and concise with his direction.
An All-American Story
Filippellli's story is as Americana as it gets. He was born in Brooklyn, where his father owned a bar across the street from Ebbetts Field. Young Flip's first job, at age 16, was as a vendor at, where else, Yankee Stadium.
Throughout his television career, Filippelli has produced a high-profile catalog of events: the Olympic Games, Super Bowls, Monday Night Football, the Indianapolis 500, Wimbledon, the NHL, the PGA Tour, British Open golf, the BCS College Football Championship Series, and ABC's Wide World of Sports. But his true passion was baseball.
During his time at NBC Sports in the '70s and '80s, he was a lead producer for numerous MLB Game of the Week, League Championship Series, All-Star Game, and World Series telecasts. His more notable productions included Game 1 of the 1988 World Series (the famous Kirk Gibson game) and, for Fox Sports, the 1998 game where Mark McGwire slugged his record-breaking 62nd home run.
Filippelli also played a key role in The Baseball Network, a short-lived (yet pioneering) broadcasting venture in 1994 that called for the league to produce its own games and make them available to its broadcasting partners at NBC and ABC.
He coordinated every aspect of the production of 14 simultaneous MLB game telecasts on any given night, a concept that seems commonplace in today's world of league and national cable networks but was wildly radical in the early '90s.
When it comes to baseball, he knows the sport better than anybody, says Delaney. His knowledge of baseball and production is top-notch.
A Baseball Breakthrough
To baseball fans, the 1996 World Series - for better or worse - represents the birth of a modern-day New York Yankees dynasty. That Fall Classic, however, was also a pivotal moment in the history of sports television. It marked the first World Series carried by the young, upstart Fox Sports. The industry watched that World Series with a highly critical eye. Thanks in part to Filippelli, Fox's productions stepped up in a big way.
There was such a focus on us at Fox and if we could do baseball, he recalls. The answer was, we really could. Not only could we, we did, and we redefined how baseball coverage was.
He also put an innovative stamp on his career and on the industry during that Series on one of its most decisive plays. In the third inning of Game 6, Joe Girardi smacked an RBI hit over the head of Braves centerfielder Marquis Grissom that the Yankee catcher legged out for a triple. In a medium where so much emphasis is placed on the slow-motion instant replay, Filippelli instead chose to show Girardi chugging around the bases in full speed. Of course, it wasn't the first full-speed replay ever shown, but it was rare, and it certainly made many a producer and director take notice.
Why would you show speed in slow motion? he reflects. You had guys like Mookie Wilson and Dave Winfield, [whose] going from first to third was a thing of beauty. If you want to show
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
06/05/2024
By Ilyse McKimmie
Now, more than ever
That's a phrase so often used in the last few years that I've come to dread seeing it in notes like this one. A...
06/05/2024
alt= class=wp-image-12099 data-lazy-src=/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Blog-Exabyte-Storage-Demand-960x540-1.jpg/> Demand for storage solutions has reached unprece...
06/05/2024
Around the world, Asian and Pacific Islander (API) artists continue to impact mu...
06/05/2024
Spotify is making it easier for booklovers to count down the days, hours, minutes, and seconds until a new audiobook releases. With Countdown Pages for audioboo...
06/05/2024
Get Ready to join Dan Hong as he hits the streets in his ultimate culinary journ...
06/05/2024
In this video, cinematographer Simon Rowling welcomes viewers behind the scenes as he lights a daytime-interior scene inside a coffee shop. Shooting on Panavisi...
06/05/2024
L3Harris is well positioned to support the complex and multifaceted nature of special operations forces in all domains through our agile and responsive technolo...
06/05/2024
OAKVILLE, Ontario As part of Emergency Preparedness Week, Alert Ready, Canadas national public alerting system, will be distributing a test alert to Canadians i...
06/05/2024
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. Horowitz Research has released a new study on the viewing and media habits of U.S. Hispanic/Latine audiences that shows a dramatic decline in...
06/05/2024
RE:Vision Effects Autograph 2024.4 released! 50% Off Through May 9th
Brie Clayton May 6, 2024
0 Comments
New game-changing motion graphics & VFX featu...
06/05/2024
NBC has renewed Night Court for a third season. The courtroom comedy was on the network from 1984 to 1992, and NBC rebooted it in early 2023....
06/05/2024
ABC has revealed its summer schedule. The Bachelorette gets going Monday, July 8, with Jenn Tran the star in season 21. Celebrity Family Feud starts up Tuesday,...
06/05/2024
It's almost go-time for the Holly Springs Salamanders! The season opener is ...
06/05/2024
06 May 2024
AI and Big Data Take the Centre Stage in Central Asia at Beetech 20...
06/05/2024
FIRST LOOK AT JIM PARSONS & MAYIM BIALIK REPRISING THEIR ROLES FROM THE BIG BAN...
06/05/2024
NBC Sports and Churchill Downs Extend Historic Partnership, Kentucky Derby to Be...
06/05/2024
Beverly Hills Aerials, LIV Golf Make Australian-Broadcast History by Flying Live...
06/05/2024
Back to All News
Watch the Trailer for A Part of You - Felicia Maxime, Edvin Ry...
06/05/2024
Leadership in 12G-SDI for low impact migration to 4k production...
06/05/2024
Press release - 6 May 2024 07:31
STATEMENT CONCERNING EUTELSAT GROUP'S GROUND NETWORK Facebook
LinkedIn
Twitter
Download as PDF
Paris, 06 May 2024 ...
06/05/2024
Tyngsboro, Mass. - May 6, 2024 - Join us at InfoComm 2024 to experience the latest advancements in live production technology. From June 12-14, 2024, at the Las...
06/05/2024
To champion global movements to protect and advance equality for LGBTQ+ communities, Apple is introducing a new Apple Watch Pride Edition Braided Solo Loop, ava...
06/05/2024
Actress Matseliso Mohale has joined Muvhango'Talented actress Matseliso Mohale has joined SABC2's soapie Muvhango' as Vhangani's lover and a c...
06/05/2024
Tonight on Smoke and Mirrors: Leroy refuses to give up fighting to bury MthethoDon't miss Monday, 6 May's riveting episode of South African soapie Smoke...
06/05/2024
Intrinsic, a software and AI robotics company at Alphabet, has integrated NVIDIA AI and Isaac platform technologies to advance the complex field of autonomous r...
06/05/2024
Cybersecurity experts at the RSA Conference this week will be on the hunt for ways to secure their operations in the era of generative AI.
They'll find man...
06/05/2024
1) What is the rationale of the transaction? What is the benefit for SES shareholders?
This combination creates a stronger and more competitive multi-orbit ope...
05/05/2024
A special evening performance by multiplatinum singer Becky G will provide a memorable conclusion to TeievisaUnivision's Casa Cultura upfront event on May 1...
05/05/2024
Giant media buyer Publicis is telling network sales executives that it does not think Nielsen's new panel-plus-big-data currency is ready for this upfront....
05/05/2024
WASHINGTON Glenn Kirschner, legal analyst at NBC News, blasted the media for referring to the New York trial of former President Donald Trump as a hush-money ...
05/05/2024
Catchy Comedy's weekend marathon sees The Beverly Hillbillies on the weekend of May 4-5. The event kicks off Saturday, May 4 at 11 a.m. ET, and runs through...
05/05/2024
NBC Sports has the 150th Kentucky Derby Saturday, May 4. The coverage begins at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock and the feature race at Churchill Downs in Louis...
05/05/2024
Back to All News
Netflix Announces New Comedy Series Roosters, Starring Jeroen ...
05/05/2024
Back to All News
Showdown Alert: Baki Hanma VS Kengan Ashura' Drops Electr...
04/05/2024
NEW YORK As the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month kicks off in May, Nielsen has released an extensive new report diving into their media habits with data sh...
04/05/2024
PHILADELPHIA As National Military Appreciation Month gets underway, Comcast has announced several new initiatives to help veterans, service members, and their f...
04/05/2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. Federal Communications Commission chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has announced a tentative agenda for the May Open Commission Meeting scheduled...
04/05/2024
The Broadband Forum has announced major enhancements to key 5G convergence standards that the group said will help advance next-generation applications, improve...
04/05/2024
Spotify Wrapped Campaign Spot Graded With DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton May 3, 2024
0 Comments
Blackmagic Design today announced that Colorist M...
04/05/2024
Three Boston Conservatory at Berklee Alums Nominated for Tony Awards An additional eight alums and two current students performed in nominated productions.
...
04/05/2024
New faces and new storylines': What to expect on Izingane ZeS'thembu...
03/05/2024
An innovative learning tool to help media and civil society better understand ho...
03/05/2024
PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 21: (L-R) Actors K stutis Cic nas and Greta Grinevi i t , Director Marija Kavtaradze and Producer Marija Razgute attend the 2023 Sunda...
03/05/2024
If you aren't familiar with Danny Ocean's music, it's only a matter ...
03/05/2024
Spotify has an unwavering commitment to supporting emerging artists across all genres, to helping them launch and thrive in their careers, and to connecting the...
03/05/2024
Como uno de los sonidos de mayor expansi n en el mundo, la M sica Mexicana va m ...
03/05/2024
As one of the fastest-growing sounds worldwide, M sica Mexicana is more than jus...
Anything for Flip. 
