Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

2024 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Mark Lazarus, a Paragon of Sports-Media Excellence

11/12/2024

2024 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Mark Lazarus, a Paragon of Sports-Media Excellence By Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.

Wednesday, December 11, 2024 - 3:27 pm

Print This Story | Subscribe

Story Highlights

Leading up to the 2024 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame ceremony on Dec. 17 at the New York Hilton, SVG is profiling the 10 inductees in this year's class. For more information, CLICK HERE.

There aren't many universal truths in the sports business, but here's one for you. You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone more respected and trusted and well-liked than Mark Lazarus.

NBC Sports lead announcer Mike Tirico puts it this way: Mark has a really great way of making you feel very important, very significant. That's the quality of a special leader, and that's what Mark is.

During more than three decades in sports media, he has helped shepherd the industry through the changing media landscape as well as being a key player in landmark sports-rights deals as president of sports at two major media companies: Turner Broadcasting and NBCUniversal.

I've met many commissioners and owners of teams, and there's one commonality: everybody loves Mark, says Brian Roberts, chairman/CEO, Comcast. I think Mark is one of those people who let other people give their ideas, show their passion, and thrive under his leadership.

Growing Up: Sports Media Runs Deep in the Lazarus Gene Pool Born on a U.S. Army base in Germany when his father was in the service, Lazarus grew up in a media-minded household in New York City. His father, John, was VP of marketing and sales at ABC Sports during the glory days under Roone Arledge.

The media tradition dates even further back in the Lazarus family. In addition to two uncles who worked in Hollywood, Lazarus's grandfather, Paul, worked in advertising and publicity for Warner Bros. and headed the advertising-publicity department for United Artists. In addition, Lazarus's brothers Peter and Craig are, respectively, EVP of sales for NBC Sports and VP/executive producer of original content and features for ESPN.

My brothers and I always had an interest in media. How could we not growing up in that household? Lazarus recounts. We all looked up to and respected my dad - and continue to today. I learned a lot about the business just looking at how he conducted himself.

While studying political science at Vanderbilt University, he spent his summers learning the business as a vacation relief engineer at ABC. After a year pulling cable for golf, he worked as a boom mic operator on All My Children, a utility on Ryan's Hope, and a camera op for WABC-TV New York's Eyewitness News.

His first job after graduating from college was in the media department at an ad agency, where he learned the nuts and bolts of buying and selling media. After three years there and a short stint as a sales manager for Cablevision and NBC's fledgling SportsChannel joint venture, Lazarus joined Turner Sports in 1990.

Turner Sports on the Rise: Building a Sports-Media Empire in Atlanta One of the original members of Turner's sports-specific sales team, Lazarus served a variety of roles over the next nine years before being named president of Turner Sports in 1999. During his four years in the role, he played an integral role in recruiting one of the most iconic sports-media personalities of all time for Inside the NBA.

When we had our first meeting, says Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer Charles Barkley, I said, I understand our job is to talk about sports, but I want to be able to talk about social issues, too.' He said, Pick the fights that you want to fight.' Him having faith and trust in me really helped me. And I consider him my friend to this day.

In 2003, Lazarus was named president of Turner Entertainment Group, continuing to oversee the company's sports business while also overseeing advertising sales, TBS, TNT, TCM, and truTV, as well as the Turner Animation, Young Adults, & Kids Media unit, including Cartoon Network, Cartoon Network Studios, Adult Swim, and Boomerang.

At Turner, he spearheaded a multitude of major rights deals, including renewing NBA on TNT multiple times and adding Major League Baseball, NASCAR, Wimbledon, and the Open Championship to the company's portfolio. Lazarus also held onto the PGA Championship and expanded TBS's Atlanta Braves coverage nationally.

Cable was a major disruptor of the media landscape in those days, especially sports, where we were vying for high-profile rights, he notes. Between sports and the original programming we launched on the entertainment side, we significantly added to subscriber value and changed the way advertisers looked at us. At the same time, I think, we built a great culture of people that loved working at Turner.

Lazarus left Turner in 2008 and spent two years as president of media and marketing at CSE (Career Sports & Entertainment). Along with company founder Lonnie Cooper, he helped launch a variety of new ventures, including Bounce TV, and advised on major deals, such as NASCAR's rights agreements with NBC Sports and FOX Sports.

Mark has closed so many deals that, in this business, everyone universally respects him, says Greg Hughes, EVP, communications, NBC Sports Group, who arrived at Turner Sports the same year as Lazarus and later joined him at the Peacock.

The Peacock Calls: Lazarus Heads to NBC Sports and Keeps Olympic Torch Ablaze In late 2010, Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer Dick Ebersol, then-chairman, NBC Sports, recruited Lazarus to run the cable assets being added to the group as a result of Comcast's buying NBCUniversal, including Versus (later NBC Sports Network), Golf Channel, and NBC Regional Sports Networks. Lazarus started in January 2011 and, when Ebersol abruptly left just four mo
LINK: https://www.sportsvideo.org/2024/12/11/2024-sports-broadcasting-hall-o...
See more stories from svg

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

25/04/2026

Spotify and Vogue Celebrate Music and Culture in Mexico City

In the heart of Mexico City, music, culture, and fashion converged last night as Spotify and Vogue Latin America welcomed guests to an intimate gathering at Soh...

25/04/2026

Brainworx introduce bx_tonebox

New modular multi-effects plug-in revealed The latest plug-in from Brainworx delivers a modular set of effects designed to offer a convenient alternative to...

25/04/2026

Mediagenix Sweeps 2026 NAB Awards With Wins for Product of the Year and Best of Show for Scheduling Optimization

Mediagenix Sweeps 2026 NAB Awards With Wins for Product of the Year and Best of ...

25/04/2026

SCHOEPS Microphones Announces Desert Island Boom Set for NAB 2026

SCHOEPS Microphones Announces Desert Island Boom Set for NAB 2026 Brie Clayton April 24, 2026 0 Comments Compact modular set ideal for location sound ...

25/04/2026

Berklee Africana Studies Hosts Gospel Extravaganza 2026

Berklee Africana Studies Hosts Gospel Extravaganza 2026 The Signature Series event will honor three new inductees to the Berklee Gospel Hall of Fame and celeb...

25/04/2026

Student Spotlight: Siva

Student Spotlight: Siva Maja Gierszewska, who performs under the artist name Siva, shares how she found her songwriting confidence at Berklee. April 24, 2026...

25/04/2026

WNBA Offers Free Streaming of all Preseason Games

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

24/04/2026

Churchill Downs Inc. Acquires Preakness Stakes for $85 Million

Churchill Downs Inc. (CDI) has announced a definitive agreement to acquire the intellectual property of the Preakness Stakes and Black-Eyed Susan Stakes from 1/...

24/04/2026

Inter Miami CF Opens Miami Freedom Park with 26 LED Displays From Daktronics, DCL

Daktronics has partnered with DCL (Design Communications, Ltd.) to design, manuf...

24/04/2026

NAB 2026: Chyron Launches PRIME Translate for Multi-Language Live Production

Chyron has announced PRIME Translate, a workflow solution that produces live content simultaneously in multiple languages within the PRIME platform. The system ...

24/04/2026

Eutelsat Supports Co-op Cable in Launching Expanded DTH Offering Across the Caribbean

Eutelsat has announced a new partnership with Co-op Cable, introducing an expand...

24/04/2026

Pitch Dublin Deploys Panasonic Laser LCD Projectors for Indoor Golf and Hospitality Venue

Pitch Dublin, an indoor golf simulation and hospitality venue on Dawson Street i...

24/04/2026

G&D and VuWall Appoint Mirko Aubel as EVP Sales EMEA/APAC, Eric Hnique as Chief Revenue Officer

G&D and VuWall have announced two senior leadership appointments, effective Apri...

24/04/2026

Victory+ Becomes Exclusive Local Streaming Home for Minnesota Lynx

Victory , the free sports streaming service from A Parent Media Co. Inc. (APMC), has announced a multi-year agreement to become the exclusive local streaming ho...

24/04/2026

SVG Students To Watch: Jason Weitz, University of South Florida

The former business major from Massachusetts has found his home in graphics and bug operation while contributing to live ESPN productions In the live-sports-vi...

24/04/2026

MASN and Spectrum Announce Multiyear Carriage Agreement

The Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) and Spectrum have announced a multiyear carriage agreement making MASN available to Spectrum customers in areas of southe...

24/04/2026

Case Study: 4Wall Entertainment Powers 2026 NFL Draft on NETGEAR AV Line Network

The NFL Draft is rebuilt from the ground up in a new city every year. The three-day fan festival is expected to draw 500,000 or more attendees, with millions fo...

24/04/2026

Diversified Continues Live Sports Expansion, Supports Mobile TV Group Ops Center Buildout

Diversified has continued expansion of its sports and media capabilities to supp...

24/04/2026

NAB Show 2026 Is In The Books! Our Coverage Continues at SVG's SportsTech@NABShow Blog

NAB reports that the 2026 NAB Show wrapped with more than 58,000 registered atte...

24/04/2026

NAB 2026: Clear-Com Announces Updates to Arcadia Central Station and Eclipse HX with New ARC Architecture

Clear-Com has announced significant updates to its Arcadia Central Station and E...

24/04/2026

NAB Reports 58,000+ Registered Attendees at 2026 NAB Show, Up From 2025 but Down From 2024

NAB reports that the 2026 NAB Show wrapped with more than 58,000 registered atte...

24/04/2026

Ratings Roundup: NHL Sees Best Regular Season Average Since 2013; CBS Sports Secures Most Watched Final Round Masters

Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...

24/04/2026

Bleacher Reports Live NFL Draft Stream Builds on Record-Breaking Audience With Player-Driven, Interactive Production

B/R NFL Draft Live' refines the digital giant's productions around footb...

24/04/2026

Sportradar Report: The Viewing Experience Is the Product' as Sports Media Enters New Era of Personalization, Data-Driven Storytelling

Study highlights five pillars shaping modern fan engagement as broadcasters reth...

24/04/2026

ESPN/ABC, NFL Network Prepare for Record-Setting NFL Draft Presentation From Pittsburgh

The 2026 event, the first Draft with NFL Network under the ESPN umbrella, will b...

24/04/2026

SVG GameDay, Ep. 12: Detroit Lions' Jessica Shlemon - Motor City Football at Ford Field

In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...

24/04/2026

Van Wagner Brings Warhol-Inspired Pop Art Vision to NFL Draft Videoboard Production

Integral to the Draft production for three almost decades, the company tells the...

24/04/2026

Film Festival Watch: 17 Sundance Institute-Supported Films to Screen at the 2026 Hot Docs Festival

Championing documentaries that illuminate and expand the artform is at the core ...

24/04/2026

Audiobooks About Climate, Conservation, and the Stories They Inspire

Earth Day is a chance to reflect on our connection to the natural world. To mark the 57th Earth Day on April 22, Spotify's editors have pulled together a co...

24/04/2026

From Page to Stage: Spotify Celebrates Storytelling at the LA Times Festival of Books

This past weekend, Spotify was at the heart of the largest literary event in the...

24/04/2026

What 20 Years of Spotify Data Reveals About Our Listeners

All data tells a story, and in our case, that story is written by you. To celebrate 20 years of Spotify, we're sharing bite sized moments that capture how t...

24/04/2026

The Look Behind the Sound

Over the past 20 years, Spotify's look and feel has evolved with the way people use our platform, while ensuring we preserve an intuitive, personal, and fam...

24/04/2026

Spotify at 20: The Most Streamed Music, Podcasts, and Audiobooks of All Time

It's been 20 years since Spotify began, but the real story is what the world chose to play. For the first time, we're unveiling the most streamed artist...

24/04/2026

Spotify Brings Music and Podcast Recommendations to Claude

Whether you're relaxing at home or on the go, Spotify is there across more than 2,000 devices, ready with your favorites or something new to discover. Now, ...

24/04/2026

Nintendo and Spotify Bring Nostalgia with New Super Mario Galaxy' Playlists

Nintendo and Spotify are welcoming fans to the Super Mario Bros. 40th anniversary and the release of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie with new playlists and a speci...

24/04/2026

AES Show moves to Nashville

30 October - 1 November 2026 The Audio Engineering Society (AES) have announced that the AES Show 2026 will be held on Halloween weekend - Friday 30 October...

24/04/2026

Sennheiser introduce the HD 480 Pro

New closed-back design promises honest' low end Sennheiser have just announced the launch of a new pair of flagship closed-back headphones which they s...

24/04/2026

Cre8audio unveil the Programm

Powerful 12-channel hardware sequencer announced Cre8audio are renowned for their innovative, and often visually striking, designs and although their latest...

24/04/2026

IK Multimedia ARC X Immersive arrives

Room correction now supports full 9.1.6 Dolby Atmos setups The software element of IK Multimedia's room-correction system has just received an update th...

24/04/2026

VSL announce free Big Bang Orchestra expansions

New content for BBO Tutti & BBO Riffs VSL have recently introduced some new free content expansions for two of their most popular Big Bang Orchestra Packs: ...

24/04/2026

Rohde & Schwarz to highlight its R&S EVSD1000 UAV-based navigation analyzer at IFIS 2026

Rohde & Schwarz to highlight its R&S EVSD1000 UAV-based navigation analyzer at I...

24/04/2026

Call for NFVF funding applications to attend Film Festivals and Markets taking place from 01 30 June 2026

The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) is pleased to announce that the ca...

24/04/2026

Andrea Riseborough & Ashley Walters To Star In ITV Thriller First Woman' About Race To Find Missing Astronaut

ITV's Director of Drama Polly Hill has commissioned six part propulsive, lun...