Sports Valuation Expert Michael Ozanian Joins CNBC as Senior Sports Reporter
ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J., July 2, 2024 – CNBC, First in Business Worldwide, today announced the launch of CNBC Sport. The new vertical will harness the strength of CNBC’s reporting and its access to the most influential voices in business, focusing on the intersection between business and sports. The sports industry is increasingly seen as an investible asset and CNBC Sport will deliver the latest news and in-depth analysis to those looking to stay on top of emerging trends and get ahead of the game.
“The spotlight on sports has never been brighter with more money at play than ever before,” said KC Sullivan, CNBC President. “CNBC Sport will offer the highly engaged sports business audience and those looking to invest in this rapidly growing sector, a trusted destination where they will get analysis, updates and insider insights to help them get in on the action.”
Michael Ozanian, best known for his unique rankings of the most valuable sports leagues and teams, has been hired as CNBC Senior Sports Reporter, where he will create a new valuation program that dynamically provides audiences with an understanding of how the money is moving across franchises and leagues. In addition to showcasing his data-driven rankings, Ozanian will provide breaking news, insights, and analysis of the inner workings of the business across all CNBC platforms. He will follow the money reporting updates when sports franchises change hands, enlist new sponsors and when leagues strike media deals, among other topics.
“Mike’s work has been the gold standard for years,” said Sullivan. “Now as sports franchises have grown to attract new kinds of owners and partners, his unique coverage of the industry will give our audience the same kind of insights and reporting CNBC has brought to stocks, bonds and other financial markets for more than three decades.”
Ozanian joins CNBC from Forbes where he has been compiling team valuations since 1998 and was Managing Editor and Co-Host of Forbes SportsMoney, a four-time Emmy Award winning television show on the YES Network since 2008.
CNBC has already gained momentum in this area, with the success of its business of sports conference, Game Plan, produced in partnership with Boardroom. The event, which has included news making interviews led by Andrew Ross Sorkin, explores the dynamics between business, sports, music and culture.
Marshaling its deep resources, CNBC Sport will utilize the organization’s unmatched roster of journalists to provide distinctive insights and breaking news on this fast-paced industry, including:
Alex Sherman will expand his role to become CNBC’s Media & Sports Reporter focusing on the intersection of sports and media. Sherman who joined CNBC.com in 2018 as a Media Reporter, has built an impressive record of breaking news and interviewing the biggest names in media and sports, most recently getting an inside look at ESPN.
Contessa Brewer, who has been covering the fast-growing sports gambling world for CNBC, will continue to focus on the money, data statistics and strategy behind the sports gaming industry. The companies on her watch list include big Las Vegas players like Caesars, and MGM Resorts, regional casinos Penn Entertainment and Boyd, online gambling juggernauts DraftKings and Flutter’s FanDuel and global luxury casinos Wynn and Las Vegas Sands.
Renowned for his knowledge of the trends influencing decisions and access to the decision makers, Scott Wapner will deliver news making interviews with league commissioners, team owners and investors who are driving the business of sports today.
Jessica Golden, who serves as Senior Sports Business Producer, will bring her extensive experience reporting and producing sports content to the vertical. Golden has a pulse on the sports world having interviewed the commissioners of all the major sports leagues as well as some of the biggest players on the field, court, and ice. She has covered high-profile sporting events such as the Super Bowl and Olympics and follows the big money behind them. She also closely watches the intersection of sports and retail from Adidas to Nike to Under Armour.
CNBC Sport will also lean into many of CNBC’s world class journalists to contribute content to the vertical particularly where it crosses over with other coverage beats such as retail, travel, technology and wealth. Some featured reporters will include Dominic Chu on golf, Sara Eisen on Formula 1, Brian Sullivan on motor sports, and Lillian Rizzo on media rights, among others.
Don’t miss the upcoming action from CNBC Sport including:
- Scott Wapner’s live interview with Boston Celtics’ Lead Owner and Governor Wycliff “Wyc” Grousbeck Monday, July 8 during “Closing Bell” (M-F, 3PM-4PM ET).
- CNBC live from the Paris Olympics beginning Friday, July 26 with Andrew Ross Sorkin and Carl Quintanilla leading the network’s coverage. “Squawk Box” (M-F, 6AM-9AM ET) will broadcast Friday, July 26 through Friday, August 2 with co-anchors Becky Quick and Joe Kernen joining Sorkin July 29-July 31. Quintanilla will co-anchor “Squawk on the Street” (M-F, 9AM-11AM ET) and “Money Movers” (M-F, 11AM-12PM ET) Monday, August 5 through Friday, August 9.
- Second annual Game Plan conference will take place on September 10 in Los Angeles, CA.
For more information contact:
Jennifer Dauble
CNBC
t: 201.735.4721
m: 201.615.2787
Erin Kitzie
CNBC
t: 201.735.4739
m: 201.753.8107
About CNBC
CNBC is the recognized world leader in business news, providing real-time financial market coverage and business content consumed by more than half a billion people per month across all platforms. The network’s 15 live hours a day of news programming in North America (weekdays from 5:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. ET) is produced at CNBC’s global headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., and includes reports from CNBC News bureaus worldwide. CNBC at night features a mix of reality programming, CNBC’s highly successful series produced exclusively for CNBC and a number of distinctive in-house documentaries.
CNBC also offers content through its vast portfolio of digital products such as: CNBC.com, which provides financial market news and information to CNBC’s investor audience; CNBC Make It, a digital destination focused on making you smarter about how you earn, save and spend your money; CNBC PRO, a premium service that provides in-depth access to Wall Street; a suite of CNBC mobile apps for iOS and Android devices; Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple Siri voice interfaces; and streaming services including Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV and Samsung Smart TVs. To learn more, visit https://www.cnbc.com/digital-products/.
Members of the media can receive more information about CNBC and its programming on the NBCUniversal Media Village Web site at http://www.nbcumv.com/programming/cnbc. For more information about NBCUniversal, please visit http://www.NBCUniversal.com.
