Lydia Stephans

Last updated

Lydia Murphy-Stephans
Personal information
Birth nameLydia Stephans
NationalityAmerican
Born (1960-10-19) October 19, 1960 (age 63)
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Sport
Sport Speed skating

Lydia Murphy-Stephans (born October 19, 1960) is an American speed skater, television producer, sports media pioneer, and CEO of SportsBubble. [1] [2] [3] She competed in the women's 1000 metres at the 1984 Winter Olympics. [4] Following a short international career in speed skating, Murphy-Stephans worked for several television networks, including ABC Sports, [5] and has gone on to win multiple Emmy Awards. [6] She was the first woman to run a national sporting network in the United States. [7]

Contents

Biography

Murphy-Stephans was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1960. [2] She was inspired to take up speed skating, after watching the 1972 Winter Olympics on the television. [8] In 1976, Murphy-Stephans won the junior National Short Track Championship title. [8] Six years later, she won the senior National Short Track Championship title and the North American Short Track Championship in the following year. [8] In 1982, she graduated from National Louis University, and three years later, earned a master's degree at Northwestern University. [2]

Between 1980 and 1984, Murphy-Stephans won four medals, one silver and three bronze, at the World Short Track Speed Skating Championships. [9] At the 1985 Winter Universiade, she also won two silver medals. [2] At the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Murphy-Stephans competed in the women's 1000 metres event, finishing in 13th place. [10] Following the Olympics, Murphy-Stephans served as the national short track coach at the US Olympic Education Center. [8] In 1994, she was inducted into the National Speedskating Hall of Fame. [8]

In 1986, Murphy-Stephans began working at ABC Sports, [2] where she later became the first female vice-president of the organisation. [2] [11] While at ABC, she was in charge of their show Wide World of Sports . [12] By the end of the 1990s, Murphy-Stephans had moved to the television network Oxygen, in the role of President and Executive Producer. [2] Three years later, she moved on to the MSG Network as their Executive Vice-president. [2] In 2006, Murphy-Stephans had left MSG to form her own company, Peace Tree Media. [2] [13]

In 2022, Murphy-Stephans founded SportsBubble, an internet-based company that provides software, marketing and services. [1] With the launch of SportsBubble, Murphy-Stephans released the company's first product, the WatchSports app. [14]

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References

  1. 1 2 Steinberg, Brian (May 11, 2022). "SportsBubble's New App Helps Fans Navigate Maze of Games". Variety. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Lydia Stephans". Olympedia. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Women measure progress by what is to come". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  4. ↑ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Lydia Stephans Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
  5. ↑ "NETWORKS MAKE SURE WE'LL ALL GET OUR FILL OF FIGURE SKATING". Chicago Tribune. February 4, 1994. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  6. ↑ "Pac-12 Enterprises President Gary Stevenson Departs; Lydia Murphy-Stephans Elevated to President of Pac-12 Networks". SVG News. April 23, 2013. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Lydia Murphy-Stephans breaking ground in Pac-12". ESPN. July 17, 2012. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 "Lydia Stephans". Team USA. Archived from the original on May 7, 2016. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  9. ↑ "Hall of Fame". Northbrook Park District. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  10. ↑ "1,000 metres, Women". Olympedia. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  11. ↑ Elias, Justine (March 16, 1997). "From the Ice All the Way To Viewers". The New York Times. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  12. ↑ "Lydia Murphy-Stephans wants to lead Pac-12 Networks into the digital future". Los Angeles Times. September 9, 2016. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Lydia Murphy-Stephans Stepping Down As Pac-12 Networks Prez To Open Own Company". Sports Business Journal. April 20, 2017. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  14. ↑ JohnWallStreet (May 23, 2022). "Lydia Murphy-Stephans Launches TV Guide for Sports Streaming Age". Sportico.com. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
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