Early life and education
John J. Filippelli (born April 19, 1951), commonly known as "Flip," was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Rose Mary and John Filippelli. He has one younger brother, Rick. Filippelli's father operated a bar called Doubles, located near Ebbets Field, the home stadium of the Brooklyn Dodgers. [1]
Raised in a neighborhood where baseball players lived and socialized, Filippelli was exposed to the sport from a young age. He began his career in baseball at 16, working as a vendor at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. [2]
Filippelli attended Abraham Lincoln High School, graduating in 1969. He later attended the City University of New York (CUNY) Richmond, where he earned a bachelor's degree in history in 1974.
Career
Beginnings
In 1974, Filippelli's interest in television developed during a tour of NBC's headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City. Coincidentally, 1974 marked the year that television executive Dick Ebersol, who would eventually become the president of NBC Sports, joined the network in the entertainment division.
Filippelli has referred to his experience walking through the NBC offices at 30 Rockefeller Plaza as "love at first sight." This experience contributed to his interest in pursuing a career in television [2]
NBC Sports (1974-1990)
Filippelli began his career at NBC as a desk assistant in the News division. His first on-air credit was as a desk assistant covering the resignation of Richard M. Nixon in August 1974.
Seeking to move into the sports division, Filippelli secured a meeting with Chet Simmons, the director of programming who would become the first president of NBC Sports. During the interview, Simmons tested Filippelli's sports knowledge, asking him to name the starting lineup of the 1961 World Series champion New York Yankees. Filippelli successfully named the entire roster, impressing Simmons and so began his career in sports broadcasting. At NBC Sports, he rose through the ranks to become a lead producer for: Major League Baseball Game of the Week telecasts, the Major League Baseball (MLB) All-Star Game, MLB post-season playoff events, including the League Championship Series and World Series. [2]
Filippelli co-produced the 1986 World Series alongside George Finkel, which featured the widely remembered Game 6 error by Boston first baseman Bill Buckner. He also produced the 1988 World Series, including game 1, in which Los Angeles Dodgers' Kirk Gibson hit a walk-off home run against Oakland Athletics ace reliever Dennis Eckersley.
Michael Weisman, the executive producer at NBC Sports from 1982 to 1989 served as Filippelli's mentor. Among the sports properties at NBC that Filippelli worked on were the Summer Olympic Games in 1980 and 1988, the Super Bowl, PGA Golf and Wimbledon.
The Baseball Network (1993-1995)
Beginning in the 1994 regular season, Major League Baseball (MLB) opted to bring its national television package in-house and with NBC Sports and ABC Sports serving as distribution partners launched. The resulting venture, The Baseball Network was launched at the conclusion of the 1993 World Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Toronto Blue Jays. Among the first key hires was Filippelli as the Executive Producer of the new enterprise. The Baseball Network was tasked with increasing the appeal of regular season baseball in prime time on network television and attracting advertisers and sponsors. Instead of airing one national game on ABC or NBC during the summer months, the strategy developed was to create a "Baseball Night in America" format, regionalizing between eight and 12 games on either Saturday or Monday evenings starting in July. The regional broadcasts were intended to increase viewership and enhance the sport's value.
Filippelli's responsibility was to develop in less than a year a production plan that would efficiently deliver the regionalized games with a dedicated broadcast and production team. A feature implemented by Filippelli was the hiring of established broadcasters from local clubs and pairing them with broadcasters from opposing teams to create a distinctive presentation. Filippelli secured commitments from broadcasters including Al Michaels, Bob Costas, Joe Buck, Dick Enberg, Tom Hamilton, Tim McCarver, Jon Miller, Brent Musburger, Jim Palmer, Suzyn Waldman and Bob Uecker. In addition, Filippelli collaborated with the executive producers at NBC Sports and ABC Sports to ensure the standardized look of "Baseball Night in America" was consistently applied across network affiliates.
Filippelli was also responsible for the creative direction of the new prime time package and for overseeing the live transmission of the programming. With Hannah Storm anchoring the "Baseball Night in America" studio show for NBC and John Saunders hosting ABC's prime time broadcasts, The Baseball Network kicked off its coverage on July 11, 1994 with the Major League Baseball All-Star Game on NBC from Pittsburgh. The game delivered a 15.7 Nielsen household rating and was the highest rated sports program of the summer as well as network television's No. 1 rated show for the week. The "Baseball Night in America" schedule launched on Saturday, July 15 with regionalized coverage. Among the production features introduced was "the two-box" concept which used a split-screen to show two live games simultaneously at key moments along with occasional live studio cut-ins providing updates and analysis. In August, the Major League Baseball Players Association began a strike amid stalled negotiations with MLB management. The strike ended the regular season prematurely and resulted in cancellation of the 1994 MLB postseason, including the World Series.
The Baseball Network returned in 1995 following the signing of a new labor agreement. However, it became evident that the partnership would not continue past the 1995 season, as FOX Sports expressed interest in acquiring the national television rights for a substantial fee. After broadcasting the entire 1995 postseason, including the first ever shared World Series coverage between ABC and NBC. the Baseball Network ceased operations shortly after the conclusion of the 91st World Series.
FOX Sports (1995-1999)
Following a two-decade run at NBC Sports and two full years at The Baseball Network, Filippelli was hired by the newly established FOX Sports division in 1995, to lead a reimagining of the Game of the Week telecasts for Major League Baseball. Filippelli's credits include serving as coordinating producer of the FOX's first World Series broadcast, in 1996, when the New York Yankees won their first world title in 18 years, defeating the Atlanta Braves in six games. Filippelli was the producer when, for the first time, full-speed replay with sound was introduced during live game action, as FOX followed Joe Girardi of the Yankees recording a triple during the New York vs. Atlanta post-season showdown. [3]
Filippelli was involved in several industry firsts, including of the permanent on screen baseball scorebug and notably, the use of regular-speed instant replays during live broadcasts. These innovations influenced how viewers perceived the athleticism, speed and power of Major League Baseball players.
ABC Sports (1999-2001)
In 1999 Filippelli transitioned from FOX's headquarters in New York to ABC's midtown offices to join the network's sports division. The move added the anthology series Wide World of Sports to his production resume, which then included a mix of live sporting events such as the Indianapolis 500 and pre-taped specials.
YES Network
In 2001, Filippelli was recruited by George M. Steinbrenner, the majority owner of the New York Yankees, to join the startup team of the YES Network (Yankees Sports & Entertainment Network). Filippelli was the company's first hire and was tasked with developing the network's on-air presentation from the ground up. Five months after his hire, the YES Network launched in March 2002. As of today, YES serves as the television home of the New York Yankees and Brooklyn Nets. [4]
Under Filippelli's leadership, YES Network was recognized for developments in sports production and technology including:
- Becoming the first Regional sports network (RSN) to produce 3D and interactive MLB telecasts
- Introducing the continuous on-screen pitch count during baseball telecasts
- Launching a standalone 24/7 High Definition (HD) channel in 2007, which was a significant development in HD production.
- Producing and televising the first MLB game outside of North America by an RSN (New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Devil Rays, in March 2004 from Japan)
- Simulcasting a sports radio talk show, WFAN's Mike and the Mad Dog, in March 2002
Appointed to a senior management role in addition to heading production, Filippelli held senior positions in the production truck as well as in management. During his tenure, the YES Network has received:
Filippelli was also involved in the development and production of several original programs, including:
- "Yankeeography," a multi-part documentary series chronicling notable figures and seasons in Yankee history [7]
- "Center Stage" with Michael Kay, a studio interview program
- Live simulcasts of WFAN Radio's drive-time show "Mike and the Mad Dog" and ESPN New York Radio's "The Michael Kay Show"
Filippelli has worked with numerous prominent broadcasters and has contributed to the careers of various on-air talents. He collaborated with Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame broadcasters such as Vin Scully, Bob Costas, Joe Buck, Tim McCarver and Tom Seaver and contributed to the careers of Michael Kay, David Cone, Paul O’Neill, Ian Eagle, Ken Singleton, John Flaherty, Bob Lorenz, Sarah Kustok, Richard Jefferson, Michael Grady, Jack Curry, Buck Showalter, Ryan Rucco and Meredith Marakovits.
In February 2025 Filippelli transitioned to become senior advisor at the YES Network after 23 years with the company. [8]
