
Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame Passes 100-Member Mark at 12th-Annual Induction By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Wednesday, December 12, 2018 - 1:22 pm
Print This Story
Story Highlights
The Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame expanded to 105 members last night, inducting 11 industry legends during its 12th-annual induction ceremony at the New York Hilton Midtown Hotel. The evening was hosted by CBS Sports' Lesley Visser, marking the first time that a woman and a member of the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame has hosted the ceremony. In addition, all table sales, totaling more than $215,000 this year, are once again being donated to the Sports Broadcasting Fund, which supports industry members in times of need.
The 12th-annual Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame ceremony was hosted by Lesley Visser at the Hilton Midtown New York Hotel.
This year's roster of honorees comprises famed on-air personalities Mary Carillo, Bob Costas, Jim Nantz, and Dick Vitale; NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman; CBS Sports and ESPN production stalwart Bill Fitts; sports documentarian Bud Greenspan; BSI co-founder Peter Larsson; NBC Sports and Olympics technology guru David Mazza; video-control master Gene Mikell; and former CBS Sports President and master sports-rights negotiator Neal Pilson.
CLICK HERE to read each inductee's full profile and CLICK HERE to watch each member's acceptance speech (also embedded below).
JIM NANTZ, the Family Man Who Became Sports TV's Father
Hello, friends. That's far more than a calling card or a catch phrase. It's a daily reminder that, in the sports-broadcasting industry, we're family. For 35 years, Jim Nantz has been family to millions of U.S. television viewers who have welcomed the legendary broadcaster into their homes for some of sports TV's biggest events, including countless NFL and March Madness games and thrilling major golf tournaments.
BUD GREENSPAN, Olympic Storyteller
Bud Greenspan's legendary Olympic documentaries were less about the heroes than about the often heartbreaking, often exhilarating stories of athletes both in competition and away from it. Greenspan wrote, produced, and directed the documentaries through his production company, Cappy Productions, from the 1960s through Vancouver 2010 Stories of Olympic Glory, released after his death. Greenspan's longtime business partner and companion Nancy Beffa accepted on his behalf.
BILL FITTS, A Career of Firsts, a Lasting Legacy
When your broadcasting career includes producing the first Super Bowl, launching The NFL Today for CBS, and then jumping aboard ESPN in its formative years, it's easy to think that ego could take over. But that didn't happen to Bill Fitts, a long-time production professional who credits those around him and takes more pride in their success than in his own. Fitts took his time on stage to thank the executives that provided him opportunities to succeed during his five-plus decades in the business.
GARY BETTMAN, Father of the Modern NHL
In the modern media era, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman led the league's transformation from a media non-starter to a staple on NBC Sports' networks, growing the league's revenue from $400 million in 1993 (when he arrived) to $4.5 billion this year.
MARY CARILLO, Globetrotting Correspondent, Born Storyteller
There's no athlete-turned-broadcaster quite like Mary Carillo. After retiring from pro tennis, she became one of the most esteemed tennis analysts in the business, calling matches for a wide variety of networks. Although her tennis analysis earned her accolades from the industry, it was her unique storytelling at 14 Olympic Games that has made her a household name.
GENE MIKELL, Six Decades of Masterful Video Control
Gene Mikell enters the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame not just as an octogenarian but as an octogenarian who still spends a day or two a week working in a remote-production truck for Fox Sports. Odds are, you may not recognize his work, but you have seen it: he sets the course for the video-control and camera-shading department at Fox Sports and has worked in the industry for the better part of 60 years.
NEIL PILSON, Prodigious Leader and Sports-Rights Negotiator
During 19 years at CBS, including 13 as president of CBS Sports, Neil Pilson helped transform the Tiffany Network into a live-sports-programming goliath and earned a reputation as a tenacious but honest negotiator and cerebral tactician. Departing CBS in 1994, he launched consulting firm Pilson Communications Inc. (PCI) and has played an integral role in the negotiations for billions of dollars in sports-rights deals over the past 2 decades.
PETER LARSSON, Peter Larsson, Wireless-Camera Pioneer
Without the efforts of Peter Larsson, mind-blowing perspectives in live production - such as the driver's seat in NASCAR or on the putting green at major golf tournaments - would never have been available to viewers at home. The co-founder of Broadcast Sports Inc. (BSI) and the wireless-camera and -audio systems, he has brought sports fans inside the action in ways never thought possible over the past four decades. In addition to thanking his family, the entire BSI team, production teams he's worked with over the years, Larsson thanked the industry at large.
BOB COSTAS, Sports' Poetic Voice and Conscience
Bob Costas, a 28-time Emmy Award winner, has been the face of many of the largest sports events that U.S. television has ever produced. Whether it was the play-by-play call of the World Series or the NBA Finals or sitting behind the desk to welcome viewers to a big night in the NFL or to the Olympic Games, he became the benchmark of sportscasting.
DAVID MAZZA, NBC's Gold-Medal Tech Visionary
Few individuals have had a greater impact on the way the Olympic Games are produced for U.S. viewe
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
11/06/2026
The immense size of the tourney and its Atlantic-spanning operation also disting...
11/06/2026
Nielsen has released a new soccer fandom consumer research report, The Fans Behind The Game: FIFA World Cup 2026 Edition, examining the soccer audience in the...
11/06/2026
Telemundo will launch its FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage on Thursday, June 11 with...
11/06/2026
FuboTV Inc. has announced a distribution agreement with NBCUniversal. Fubo customers can now stream Telemundo and Universo, with NBC Sports Network (NBCSN), NBC...
11/06/2026
DAZN has announced its in-app features for FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage in Spain...
11/06/2026
Roblox has released the 2026 Roblox Digital Expression Report: Wave 4 - Sports D...
11/06/2026
FIFA has unveiled DNA, the Official FIFA World Cup 2026 Anthem, performed by A...
11/06/2026
ESPN will provide English- and Spanish-language news and information coverage of FIFA World Cup 2026 across its U.S. media platforms from June 11 through July 1...
11/06/2026
The latest product of the outstanding RIT Sports Network program, this recent grad from Long Island is carving out a promising path in broadcast engineering
In...
11/06/2026
DAZN has announced a multi-year agreement to make DSPORTS channels available to ...
11/06/2026
Laura Dern at the 1986 Sundance Institute Directors Lab (Photo by Eric Edwards)
By Lucy Spicer
It takes a village to bring together the Sundance Institute lab...
11/06/2026
As podcast formats evolve in the streaming era, podcasting needs updated, transp...
11/06/2026
As Spotify's global RADAR program enters its sixth year in Italy, a new class of artists is stepping into the spotlight. Today, we're announcing the six...
11/06/2026
Pride Month is a time for celebration, reflection, and amplifying the diverse stories and perspectives from the LGBTQIA+ community that enrich our world. To hel...
11/06/2026
First in new line of muted string libraries
VSL have just announced the launch of two new string libraries that represent the first two instalments in a new...
11/06/2026
New colour option for 61-key Launchkey MK4
At Superbooth 2025, Novation introduced the Launchkey Mini 37 White and Launchkey 49 White, bringing an additiona...
11/06/2026
Larger, but still compact!
Arturia's popular compact MIDI controller keyboard is now available in a, well, slightly less compact version! The new MiniLa...
11/06/2026
Eurosatory 2026: Rohde & Schwarz shapes the new-generation battlefield Rohde & Schwarz unveils next generation SIGINT/EW and CUAS solutions on uncrewed system...
11/06/2026
Rohde & Schwarz unveils NEMACS - Directional, ultra secure connectivity for the ...
11/06/2026
MTI FILM acquires Mango/New Edit Posted by MTI Film on June 10, 2026
LOS ANGELES, CA - June 2026 - MTI FILM, the multiple Emmy Award winning Hollywood post-p...
11/06/2026
Study underscores the need for authoritative content intelligence to build trust...
11/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/06/2026
Maxon Brings Real-Time Architectural Visualization to AIA26 With New Redshift fo...
11/06/2026
ABC Kid's Caper Crew Shoots Australian Adventure with Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton June 11, 2026
0 Comments
DP Judd Overton and team bring Wes A...
11/06/2026
PTZOptics, and LayerJot today announced live demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 showing how prompt-based AI, robotic camera control, and high-performance computing...
11/06/2026
Lightware, an industry leader in signal management, announces the release of GPIO-Button-10S, a dedicated control interface enabling straightforward press-to-a...
11/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/06/2026
Kiloview, a leading innovator in AV-over-IP video solutions, will return to InfoComm 2026 (Booth# N8327) with broadcast-grade AV-over-IP solutions designed for ...
11/06/2026
Australian Games Industry Glossary of Terms 10 June 2026
From DAU and EULA to COT and QADE, here's a list of game industry terms, industry jargon and their...
11/06/2026
Berklee's Tonya Butler Named Music Business Educator of the Year The Music Business Association honored Butler at its annual Bizzy Awards.
June 10, 2026
...
11/06/2026
Ann Mincieli to Receive Honorary Doctorate at Berklee NYC Graduate Commencement The five-time Grammy-winning engineer and producer, known for her longstanding...
11/06/2026
Thursday 11 June 2026
Daisy May Cooper rallies the nation ahead of ICC Women's T20 World CupTurn on cookies to view this content. Go to Privacy options and...
11/06/2026
Back to All News
Hadewych Minis and Geert van Rampelberg to Star in New Netflix...
11/06/2026
Back to All News
Official Trailer for Anime Adaptation of Thunder 3' Unvei...
11/06/2026
Summer solstice shows from C il House and Late Date from 9pm on Saturday 20 Jun...
11/06/2026
The GeForce NOW summer sale kicked off today with limited-time savings of up to ...
10/06/2026
DAZN-owned digital-media company launches three fan-first series leaning into cr...
10/06/2026
Clear-Com has announced the appointment of Jason Dino as Southwest Regional Sales Manager USA, covering Southern California and the Southwest region. Dino joins...
10/06/2026
An 11% decrease in number of global broadcast deals reflects the organization...
10/06/2026
The Women Without Boundaries Awards recognize women whose work is advancing the future of media, broadcast, AV, workplace technology, digital experience, and re...
10/06/2026
Today is match day minus two for FIFA and HBS. On Thursday, there will be two ma...
10/06/2026
SES is supporting broadcast distribution of the world's biggest football tou...
10/06/2026
NDI has announced that BirdDog has become the first hardware manufacturer to achieve full NDI 6.3 compatibility across its complete lineup of cameras, encoders,...
10/06/2026
Vince Caputo and Scott Carter, winners of the 2026 Sports Emmy for Outstanding Post Produced Audio have been announced as presenters for the 2026 SVG Advanced A...