SVG Sit-Down: Incoming NESN President/CEO David Wisnia on the Future of the RSN Business, DTC vs. Cable, and the Power of Great Content Having started out his career at FOX Sports, the industry vet is returning to sports By Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S. Wednesday, October 2, 2024 - 3:53 pm
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Last week, NESN announced that CEO Sean McGrail will be retiring after 24 years at the helm and that his successor, David Wisnia, will officially take over on Oct. 28. It's a momentous changing of the guard not only for NESN but also for SportsNet Pittsburgh, which has been operated under the NESN umbrella for the past year.
NESN's David Wisnia: The reality is that you need to start developing new revenue streams and start laying that foundation for the future. And that's direct-to-consumer.
Wisnia is an industry veteran with plenty of experience in the network business, including extended stints at FOX Sports, CBS, and MGM Studios. He joins NESN from Alvarez & Marsal, a global management-consulting firm, where he was a managing director, specializing in media and entertainment operations and strategy.
SVG sat down with Wisnia to discuss how he sees the RSN market evolving, NESN's and SportsNet Pittsburgh's respective positions in the market today, and what his roadmap looks like for the future.
What appealed to you about this position overseeing NESN and SportsNet Pittsburgh?
Lots of aspects appealed to me. Given that I started my career at FOX Sports, I always wanted to get back into sports at some point. Sports is unparalleled in its ability to bring people together and create genuine passion. Then add in the fact that you have iconic brands - the Boston Red Sox and Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins and Pirates - and a great ownership group between Fenway Sports Group and Delaware North. And I think, most important, I've been able to get to know the tremendous team here throughout the process. It just seemed like an amazing opportunity and one that I feel really fortunate to move forward with.
The RSN business is undergoing seismic change right now, and the industry is facing numerous challenges. How do you plan to navigate these issues, and how do you foresee the regional-sports business evolving in the coming years?
You're absolutely right, but I think that is the case if you look across the entire media ecosystem, not just [RSNs] - [from] theatrical, which is down 20% since 2019 from $39 billion to $32 billion; to the larger cable market, which is down from 100 million pay-TV households to 65 million; to broadcast, which has its own set of challenges across the board. If you look at streaming, other than Netflix, which is the exception, everybody else is struggling to get to profitability, although some companies are now barely reaching that point. Everybody has challenges ahead of them, not just [RSNs].
But, as I look at NESN and SportsNet Pittsburgh, I'm very confident because of one primary reason: great content. As I look at nearly all the businesses I've ever run, the big question first and foremost is What is your content? And the fact that [NESN and SportsNet Pittsburgh] offer such tremendously popular and in-demand content is always going to be appealing.
The challenge at that point is just how to adapt to the evolving business models and ever-changing media ecosystem. That's the fun part, and we're all still figuring that out. We already know that we have the best content in the world, so now it's just a matter of working with the team and figuring out what the future looks like.
We know cable still pays the bills and the future is digital, but those [digital] dollars aren't necessarily there just yet to support or subsidize the deficiency you have on the cable side. It's up to our team to figure out the right mix between continuing to run on cable while also developing digital initiatives - whether it's direct-to-consumer initiatives, FAST channels, etc. But again, I'm a big believer in you go where the money is. Money right now is in digital, and that's where we have to be moving as we look toward the future.
NESN has long been considered one of the leaders among RSNs in terms of production quality and the resources dedicated to live game broadcasts and studio shows. How big a focus is that for you, and will that continue to be a priority under your leadership?
Ultimately, the consumer experience is paramount, right? At the end of the day, everything we do, everything we produce, everything we license, everything we create is so that we present our best self to the consumer. Whatever's required for us to continue to do that is at the top of the list, in my estimation. I don't foresee any significant changes on that front. I think Sean [McGrail] and the team have done a tremendous job of being market leaders in that space, and I intend to continue that legacy and build off what they've done.
Same question for that fan-viewing experience, especially as it relates to streaming. Will you continue to invest in the DTC product and other fan-facing digital products despite the business challenges you mentioned earlier?
Yes, 100%. Given where the cable and MVPD ecosystem is, the reality is that you need to start developing new revenue streams and start laying that foundation for the future. And that's direct-to-consumer. I think one of the things that we will focus on going forward is making sure we partner and bundle our direct-to-consumer offering with some other compelling distributors and streaming partners. That is a focus of mine going forward, and it's something that we hope to execute on in the near term.
How does SportsNet Pittsburgh factor into your overall roadmap for the business? How do you plan to make sure that both
