NESN President/CEO Sean McGrail Retiring After 40 Years at the Helm; Industry-Vet David Wisnia To Take Over in October
23/09/2024
Monday, September 23, 2024 - 3:07 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
NESN announced today the appointment of David Wisnia as the new President & CEO. Wisnia will succeed Sean McGrail, who is retiring after 40 years of service at NESN. McGrail, who joined NESN shortly after its inception, has served as President & CEO since 2000 and led SportsNet Pittsburgh, the broadcast and streaming home of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Pittsburgh Pirates, which has been managed by NESN since its acquisition in October 2023. He will continue as Senior Advisor to NESN's Board of Directors.
Wisnia, who will begin his new role on October 28, is an industry veteran with extensive experience with some of the most well-regarded companies in the network business, including 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. Wisnia will oversee both NESN and SportsNet Pittsburgh.
McGrail Leaves Behind a Legacy of Innovation Sean McGrail is retiring after 40 years of service at NESN.
During his tenure as NESN's President and CEO, McGrail transformed the network into one of New England's premier sports media properties. Under his stewardship, NESN became the first regional sports network (RSN) to broadcast in HD and UHD, establishing the network as a pioneer in RSN technology. He is an inductee to the Cable Pioneers Hall of Fame and has a deep connection to charitable endeavors, including helping to create the NESN Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon, and serving as a member on both the Red Sox and Bruins Foundation Board of Directors.
I am incredibly grateful to all of my colleagues over the years who have helped establish NESN as one of the nation's preeminent sports destinations, says McGrail. After 40 years, it was bittersweet to announce my retirement last March, and leading NESN & SNP has been one of the great joys of my life. I am confident that David will lead NESN & SNP into an exciting next chapter of sports broadcasting.
During his 24-year tenure as President & CEO, NESN introduced a second channel, NESN+, expanded its distribution to a national audience via its NESN National product, and launched the first-ever direct-to-consumer streaming product for a regional sports network, NESN 360. Under his leadership, the network has won over 50 Emmy Awards, and has been ranked by Forbes as one of the Top 10 Most Valuable Sports Brands in the world.
Wisnia Brings a Global Perspective' to NESN Wisnia will begin his new role as President/CEO of NESN on October 28
Wisnia brings a wealth of global experience in the media industry to NESN, having built, scaled, and turned around media assets for some of the world's most prominent companies. Throughout his career, Wisnia has held senior roles at major media organizations, including Fox Sports, CBS Corporation, STAR TV, and MGM Studios. As Executive Vice President at MGM Studios, he led the Global Networks Group, overseeing the operational and growth strategy for MGM's domestic and international direct-to-consumer and linear networks. His leadership spanned programming, affiliate and advertising sales, partnerships, marketing, traffic, engineering and operations.
Prior to his role at MGM, Wisnia served as President of Business Operations for TV Guide Network (currently known as Pop TV), where he managed the strategic growth of a network that reached over 80 million households. At CBS Corporation, he worked closely with the CEO as Executive Vice President of Business Development, leading strategic initiatives to expand CBS's media portfolio. Wisnia has served on the Board of Directors for numerous media and entertainment companies, including Telecine, Big Play Scoring, TV Guide Network, and the Championship Gaming Series.
I am honored to join NESN and build on the incredible foundation that Sean has established over the last two decades, says Wisnia. NESN has long been a leader in sports broadcasting, and I look forward to working with ownership and the talented team here to drive continued growth and deliver world-class sports coverage to our fans.
Wisnia earned a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Irvine, and a J.D. from Tulane University. He also holds a leadership and management certificate from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Fluent in both English and Spanish, Wisnia brings a global perspective to NESN and its future endeavors.
Wisnia's appointment as NESN's new President & CEO took place after a nationwide search conducted by NESN's Board of Directors and McGrail, led by search firm CAA.
Words From FSG, Boston Bruins Leaders NESN has been home for Red Sox and Bruins fans for over 40 years, says Fenway Sports Group Principal Owner John Henry. We are grateful to Sean for guiding NESN's growth through significant technological changes and positioning it for continued success amid immense industry disruption. With David's appointment, we have a top-tier media executive with extensive experience, both domestically and globally, at leading companies in the network business. He shares our vision for NESN's future and will ensure that shifts in the media landscape do not change our core goals: to connect directly to our fans, to provide local businesses with valuable opportunities to associate with our great clubs, and to tell stories about our teams that fans want to hear. We thank Sean for his remarkable leadership and welcome David as we look forward to NESN's next chapter.
Sean has been an integral and formative part
LINK: | https://www.sportsvideo.org/2024/09/23/nesn-president-ceo-sean-mcgrail... |
See more stories from svg |
More from Sports Video Group
20/12/2024
The CFP Battle Begins: ESPN Covers First Round With Various MegaCast Options, Compact Tech Plan, Team Insights on Conference Networks
The CFP Battle Begins: ESPN Covers First Round With Various MegaCast Options, Co...
20/12/2024
SVG Summit 2024: Tata Communications' Elio Parente on Tapping Into the Company's Media Cloud Infrastructure
SVG Summit 2024: Tata Communications' Elio Parente on Tapping Into the Compa...
20/12/2024
SVG Summit 2024: LTN's Colin Moran on Enabling Customers to Maintain Higher Content Visibility
SVG Summit 2024: LTN's Colin Moran on Enabling Customers to Maintain Higher ...
20/12/2024
SVG Summit 2024: When Sports Became News A Look at the Munich Massacre Through the Golden Globe-Nominated Film September 5
SVG Summit 2024: When Sports Became News A Look at the Munich Massacre Through...
20/12/2024
Netflix Snags Exclusive U.S. FIFA Women's World Cup Rights for 2027, 2031
Netflix Snags Exclusive U.S. FIFA Women's World Cup Rights for 2027, 2031 By Ken Kerschbaumer Friday, December 20, 2024 - 10:08 am Print This Story | ...
20/12/2024
SVTA Announces First Industry Group, The Streaming Sports Council, To Capture Key Technical Challenges in Live Sports Streaming
SVTA Announces First Industry Group, The Streaming Sports Council, To Capture Ke...
20/12/2024
Usyk v Fury 2: How DAZN Will Produce a Cinematic World Feed and Authentic' Unilateral Coverage From Riyadh
Usyk v Fury 2: How DAZN will produce a cinematic world feed and authentic' ...
20/12/2024
World Aquatics 25m Championships: Record-Breaking Action and Cutting-Edge Broadcasts Shine in Budapest
World Aquatics 25m Championships: Record-breaking action and cutting-edge broadc...
20/12/2024
NBC Sports' EA Sports Madden NFL Cast Set to Merge Videogame and Live Broadcast Worlds
NBC Sports' EA Sports Madden NFL Cast Set to Merge Videogame and Live Broadc...
20/12/2024
Inside the EA Sports Madden NFL Cast With Producer Steve Greenberg and Director Geoff Butler
Inside the EA Sports Madden NFL Cast With Producer Steve Greenberg and Director ...
18/12/2024
Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame Inducts 10 Industry Icons in Emotional Ceremony
Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame Inducts 10 Industry Icons in Emotional Ceremony The Class of 2024: Hubie Brown, Charlie Carlucci, Jim Delaney, Phil Garvin, Ste...
17/12/2024
For Emirates NBA Cup Final, Big Sound Comes in a Small Package
For Emirates NBA Cup Final, Big Sound Comes in a Small Package New Q5X PlayerMic X lighter but more powerful than previous versions By Dan Daley, Audio Editor ...
16/12/2024
Sean McManus, Carol Stiff Join PPI Board of Managers Advisory Committee
Sean McManus, Carol Stiff Join PPI Board of Managers Advisory Committee By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director Monday, December 16, 2024 - 8:00 am Print T...
16/12/2024
Rob Menschel, Veteran Sports Camera Operator and Longtime Member of Vin Scully's Booth, Dies at 59
Rob Menschel, Veteran Sports Camera Operator and Longtime Member of Vin Scully...
13/12/2024
VIDEO: Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer Geoffrey Mason Goes Inside Production of September 5, Reflects on ABC Sports' Coverage of Munich Massacre
VIDEO: Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer Geoffrey Mason Goes Inside Production of September 5, Reflects on ABC Sports' Coverage of Munich Massacre By Jason...
13/12/2024
SVG Summit 2024: In Day 2 General Sessions Networks, Leagues, and Tech Providers Offer View From the Top
SVG Summit 2024: In Day 2 General Sessions Networks, Leagues, and Tech Providers...
13/12/2024
NEP's Mike Werteen on Rebranding NEP's American-Based Services, Facilities as One Brand
NEP's Mike Werteen on Rebranding NEP's American-Based Services, Faciliti...
13/12/2024
2024 SVG Summit Technology Exhibits Preview
2024 SVG Summit Technology Exhibits Preview By SVG Staff Friday, December 13, 2024 - 12:10 pm Print This Story | Subscribe Story Highlights The 2024 SV...
13/12/2024
VICE Media Launches VICE Sports Brand
VICE Media Launches VICE Sports Brand VICE TV will shift primetime programming to sports-first By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director Friday, December 13, 2...
13/12/2024
ESPN, TNT Sports Tag-Team on Emirates NBA Cup Production in Las Vegas
ESPN, TNT Sports Tag-Team on Emirates NBA Cup Production in Las Vegas The broadcasters will share resources, compound space at T-Mobile Arena By Kristian Hern ...
13/12/2024
VIDEO: Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer Geoff Mason Goes Inside Production of September 5, Reflects on ABC Sports' Coverage of Munich Massacre
VIDEO: Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer Geoff Mason Goes Inside Production of S...
13/12/2024
SVG Sit-Down: DAZN's Zander Berlinski on the Quick International Success of NFL Game Pass
SVG Sit-Down: DAZN's Zander Berlinski on the Quick International Success of ...
13/12/2024
Behind the Scenes of September 5: How the Acclaimed Film Re-Creates ABC Sports' Historic Live Coverage of the Munich Massacre
Behind the Scenes of September 5: How the Acclaimed Film Re-Creates ABC Sports...
12/12/2024
SVG Esports Production Summit 2024: All Sessions Now Available to Watch on SVG PLAY
SVG Esports Production Summit 2024: All Sessions Now Available to Watch on SVG P...
12/12/2024
Anthem Sports Group Names Carlos Silva President
Anthem Sports Group Names Carlos Silva President Silva will oversee development of TNA Wrestling promotion, other properties By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Dir...
12/12/2024
EMG/Gravity Media Opens Nashville Office; Taps Nathan Spencer as MD of U.S. and Chris Marting as U.S. Commercial Director
EMG/Gravity Media Opens Nashville Office; Taps Nathan Spencer as MD of U.S. and ...
12/12/2024
ESPN Teases Look for Dunk the Halls' NBA Animated Altcast With New Player Animations
ESPN Teases Look for Dunk the Halls' NBA Animated Altcast With New Player A...
12/12/2024
OS Studios' Ethan Spencer on Using Broadcast to Drive FOMO for Esports Events
OS Studios' Ethan Spencer on Using Broadcast to Drive FOMO for Esports Event...
12/12/2024
SVG NEXT: AI, XR, and Beyond 2024: All Sessions Now Available To Watch on SVG PLAY
SVG NEXT: AI, XR, and Beyond 2024: All Sessions Now Available To Watch on SVG PL...
12/12/2024
All Sessions from the SVG Esports Production Summit Now Available to Watch on SVG PLAY
All Sessions from the SVG Esports Production Summit Now Available to Watch on SV...
11/12/2024
SVG Summit 2024: Day 1 Afternoon Workshops Include More Live Production, Cloud Production, Audio Production/Distribution, and SPORTEL Talks
SVG Summit 2024: Day 1 Afternoon Workshops Include More Live Production, Cloud P...
11/12/2024
Premier Rugby Sevens Finds Record-Breaking Success at 2024 PR7s All-Star Tourney in Portland
Premier Rugby Sevens Finds Record-Breaking Success at 2024 PR7s All-Star Tourney...
11/12/2024
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Open Broadcast Systems' CEO Keiran Kuhnya on the Power of Software-based Encoding and Decoding For Live Video
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Open Broadcast Systems' CEO Keiran Kuhnya on the ...
11/12/2024
Spin Shot: How Infront Productions is Producing Coverage of the Women's European Handball Federation Euro 2024
Spin shot: How Infront Productions is producing coverage of the Women's Euro...
11/12/2024
OpTic Gaming's Corey Dunn on How an Esports Team Has Become a Production Powerhouse
OpTic Gaming's Corey Dunn on How an Esports Team Has Become a Production Pow...
11/12/2024
It's Official: FIFA 2030 World Cup To Be Hosted by Morocco, Portugal, Spain; Saudi Arabia Lands 2034 Edition
It's Official: FIFA 2030 World Cup To Be Hosted by Morocco, Portugal, Spain;...
11/12/2024
PWHL Reimagines Its Live Broadcast Graphics As New Team Identities, Logos Debut For Season 2
PWHL Reimagines Its Live Broadcast Graphics As New Team Identities, Logos Debut ...
11/12/2024
2024 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Mark Lazarus, a Paragon of Sports-Media Excellence
2024 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Mark Lazarus, a Paragon of Sports-Media E...
10/12/2024
SVG All-Stars: Pam Chvotkin, Remote Operations Management Freelancer
SVG All-Stars: Pam Chvotkin, Remote Operations Management Freelancer The D.C. native brings her skills to major broadcasts all over the country By Brandon Cost...
10/12/2024
SVG Summit 2024: Day 1 Morning Workshops Include SVGW, Live Production, Content Management, and Monetizing Video Production
SVG Summit 2024: Day 1 Morning Workshops Include SVGW, Live Production, Content ...
10/12/2024
ESL FACEIT Group's Guillermo Parga on How DreamHack Dallas Has Become an Esports Destination
ESL FACEIT Group's Guillermo Parga on How DreamHack Dallas Has Become an Esp...
10/12/2024
EditShare Names Brad Turner CEO, Succeeding Ramu Potarazu
EditShare Names Brad Turner CEO, Succeeding Ramu Potarazu Potarazu will continue as a member of the company's board By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director...
10/12/2024
Fred Gerling, Father of the Expando Chassis, Dies at 79
Fred Gerling, Father of the Expando Chassis, Dies at 79 His commitment to next-generation design helped transform truck operations By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editori...
10/12/2024
MLB Network Lights Up the Hot Stove With Live Coverage of the 2024 MLB Winter Meetings
MLB Network Lights Up the Hot Stove With Live Coverage of the 2024 MLB Winter Me...
10/12/2024
TNT Sports' NBA 2K25 DataCasts Blur Line Between Video Game and Live Broadcast During Emirates NBA Cup
TNT Sports' NBA 2K25 DataCasts Blur Line Between Video Game and Live Broadca...
10/12/2024
2024 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Andrea Kremer, the Journalist Who Spoke Truth to Power
2024 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Andrea Kremer, the Journalist Who Spoke T...
09/12/2024
SVG Summit 2024: Content Management Workshop Brings MAM and Storage Leaders Together For Morning Discussion
SVG Summit 2024: Content Management Workshop Brings MAM and Storage Leaders Toge...
09/12/2024
The Simpsons Funday Football: Sony's Beyond Sports CEO Sander Shouten Analyzes How Tracking Tech Enables Real-Time Animated Altcasts
The Simpsons Funday Football: Sony's Beyond Sports CEO Sander Shouten Analyz...
09/12/2024
The Simpsons Funday Football: ESPN Records Unique Twist on Monday Night Football Theme for Animated Alternative Broadcast
The Simpsons Funday Football: ESPN Records Unique Twist on Monday Night Football...
09/12/2024
The Simpsons Funday Football: ESPN Creative Studio's Michael Spike' Szykowny Pulls Back the Curtain on Creative Process
The Simpsons Funday Football: ESPN Creative Studio's Michael Spike' Szy...