Mike McCarley

Last updated

Mike McCarley is an American media executive and the founder and CEO of TMRW Sports, a company which he founded with Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. In a 20-plus year career working closely with various sports organizations on many of the biggest events in sports including the NFL, Olympics, Kentucky Derby, golf and many others, developed a track record of amassing some of the largest audiences in television history. Previously, he was president of golf and global strategy for the NBC Sports Group after leading marketing for NBC's Olympics and Sunday Night Football franchises. He is a protégé of former NBC Sports & Olympics Chairman Dick Ebersol and has had close connections to several sports icons, including the late Arnold Palmer, Jim McKay, John Madden and golf superstars Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler.

Contents

TMRW Sports and TGL

TMRW Sports (pronounced "tomorrow sports") was founded by McCarley in August 2022 in partnership with professional golfers Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. The organization's first project, TGL, is a virtual golf league in partnership with the PGA Tour [1] and broadcast on ESPN.

Golf Channel

Under McCarley’s leadership, Golf Channel expanded beyond its origins as a television network.

According to Forbes, in 2017 and 2018, "Golf Channel seems to continuously evolve as a new media technology platform" and "Golf Channel is far more than a 24-hour television network devoted to golf. [2] “It’s a technology company more than anything,” he said.  Golf Channel has embraced golf businesses that have little, if anything, to do with television. When McCarley started (in 2011), Golf Channel had 330 employees. Today it has close to 1,200. Golf Channel has jobs today that didn’t exist a few years ago. “We like to talk about being at the intersection of golf and technology,”  He described the Golf Channel culture as more entrepreneurial, which helps employees embrace change more than others. [3]

McCarley's leadership style is collaborative and he has been recognized for creating a positive culture inside the company. “Most people who work here would be able to tell you why the things that they do every day matter, and why they help the company succeed. You feel like you’re part of a team. And when the team wins, you win," said McCarley. [4]

The Golf Channel has pivoted to projects outside of its TV properties. It has made 21 acquisitions over the past decade to fuel that diversification. [4] Steve Case, AOL founder who now runs investment company Revolution, made Orlando his first stop of his 8th Rise of the Rest bus tour, which aims to showcase startups and industries in cities that are often overlooked by venture capitalists. [5] When addressing the GOLF Channel leadership team, Case said, "Smartly, (you) said 'OK, we could just continue to do that but how do we imagine a broader platform – a bigger brand, a broader company?' – and having now a whole slew of products and services is a great example of the reinvention that's required." However, what's even more impressive, according to Case, was that GOLF kept the entrepreneurial spirit intact. [6]

In February 2019, McCarley was joined by McIlroy on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” program to announce GOLFPASS, a new joint venture subscription service. [7] The National Golf Foundation described McCarley as overseeing “all of NBC Sports’ golf-related businesses and content — an ever-growing portfolio. [8] McIlroy told the Australian Financial Review upon launching the GolfPass direct-to-consumer service with McCarley and NBC, "I want to work with good people, with people who have similar values to what I have." [9]

Golf Channel came under the umbrella of NBC Universal when its owner, Comcast, acquired control of NBCU on January 28, 2011. [10] On February 2, NBC Sports Group announced that McCarley would take the reins as Golf Channel president. McCarley said his mandate was to integrate and grow the golf assets of the newly combined company, which includes NBC and digital tee-time booker GolfNow. [11]

In 2011 Golf Channel started a trend of several years of growth, setting viewership records every year from 2011-14. In 2012 Golf Channel became the fastest-growing network on U.S. television among networks serving 80 million or more homes, according to the Nielsen Company. [12] [13] Also in 2012, Golf Channel launched programming for the first time in India and other markets across South Asia. Today Golf Channel is available to nearly 500 million viewers in more than 80 countries and nine languages around the world. [14]

In addition to increased viewership, McCarley steered continued growth by adding younger-skewing programming, partnering with the NCAA for the college golf championship and Augusta National Golf Club, home of the Masters, for the Drive, Chip and Putt Championship for children [15] and extending the flagship “Morning Drive” program to seven days a week with a broader focus to include the lifestyle of golf and increased the focus on quality. The network received the most Emmy nominations in its history in 2014. McCarley said Golf will invest in more high-quality originals that will keep its viewers returning. [16]

In a landmark, 12-year agreement in 2015, NBC and Golf Channel won the rights to televise the British Open, which had been held by ABC for more than 50 years [17] and became the first major golf championship on Golf Channel. In 2018, the audience for the British Open topped the audience for the U.S. Open for the first time in history [18] and was the most-watched British Open in 18 years. [19]

Technology subsidiary GolfNow, expanded to Europe and opened new headquarters in Belfast. According to the Belfast Telegraph, its Belfast city offices now house 71 staff. [20]

In 2018, the network announced a partnership with St. Andrews Links and its seven golf courses, including the Old Course where golf has been played since the 1400s. [21]

In November 2019, the NBC Sports Group acquired EZLinks Golf, the parent company of TeeOff.com. The merger means that tee time booking industry titans GolfNow and Teeoff.com are now under the same umbrella. [22]

In March 2020 NBC Sports struck a new nine-year deal with the PGA Tour, the organizer of the main professional men’s golf tours in the United States. [23]

Also in 2020 mid-COVID-19 pandemic, NBC completed “one of  the most complicated TV Deals in golf history”  requiring rights to the U.S. Open from Fox. [24]

Arnold Palmer Relationship

McCarley was careful to maintain Golf Channel co-founder Arnold Palmer's original vision when leading the business through years of unprecedented growth, Golfweek noted in the days following Palmer's passing. “Palmer became an adviser and confidante of Mike McCarley…who was less than half of Palmer’s age. McCarley has said that he leaned on Palmer for insight about how the golf industry has evolved, in hopes of gleaning lessons to direct Golf Channel’s future course. [25] He often paid homage and invoked Palmer’s influence even as the media company moved into new business ventures and expanded.

A Sports Business Journal profile said, "McCarley doesn't talk about ratings, ad sales or the new shows he's overseen. Rather, he talks about Arnold Palmer. The relationship McCarley has forged with Palmer is indicative of how the network executive operates in the business." [26]

As Golf Channel renovated its offices, the network created more ties to its founder. The Associated Press listed several at the time of Palmer's passing.

Arnold Palmer still had a parking spot outside his old office at Golf Channel, the network he co-founded more than two decades ago. Hours after the golfing great died at age 87, the space was filled with flowers, candles and pictures as rain poured down on the makeshift memorial at the Orlando, Florida, headquarters. [27]

NBC

McCarley started at NBC in 2000, as communications director for its Olympic division. He is credited as the architect of the network's "big event strategy," which evolved into NBC Universal's promotional initiative known as "Symphony," and has resulted in record television audiences for a variety of sports events, including the Olympics, NFL, Kentucky Derby and NHL. [28] He is also credited with NBC's successful "Sunday Night Is Football Night" campaign. [29]

In 2006, after several roles working with numerous sports leagues, McCarley was elevated to senior vice president, strategic marketing, promotion and communications, adding oversight of all NBC Sports advertising and promotions. [30] McCarley had been considering leaving NBC to get a masters of business, but Ebersol "frowned and said, 'Stay here and get your MBA from me." [31]

The Wall Street Journal reported that, "Promotion, in the world of McCarley's mentor, NBC Sports Group Chairman Dick Ebersol, is not just fluff, it's key to the master plan." [11]

NFL

Under McCarley in 2010, Sunday Night Football became the only regularly scheduled sports program of any kind to be the No. 1 primetime program of the television season in 2010, [29] a statistic that has continued ever since and in 2018 became the longest-running No. 1 primetime television program. [32]

He told Sports Business Daily that he knew his football campaign was a success when he heard his mother-in-law imitate Al Roker's weather forecast for Sunday games. [33] Super Bowl XLIII (2009) became the most-watched single program in U.S. television history with a record 152 million viewers. [34]

Olympics

Beijing 2008

In August 2008, McCarley was promoted to senior vice president following NBC's coverage of the Beijing Olympics. On all 17 nights of the games, NBC had more viewers than ABC, CBS, and FOX combined. The Beijing Games became the most watched U.S. television event of all time, with 215 million viewers. [35]

Vancouver 2010

The Vancouver Winter Olympics was the second most-watched Winter Olympics in history with 190 million viewers, following the "tabloid-fueled" 1994 Lillehammer Games [36] and the only show to ever beat American Idol in ratings. [37]

Accomplishments

McCarley was named to the elite Sports Business Journal "40 under 40" Hall of Fame in 2013 [26] after selections in 2009, [31] and 2010. [38]

In 2012, he was named Sports Network Executive of the Year by Cynopsis Sports, noting that in his first year he'd led The Golf Channel to the most-watched year of its 17-year history in 2011 and the first of several years when the channel was the fastest growing network on American television. McCarley is regularly listed as one of the most powerful people in golf. [39] [40] Multichannel News named him one of the "Forty Under 40" in 2013 [41] and CableFAX has named him one of its Top 100 power players for cable programming since 2012. [42]

McCarley was coordinating producer for the 2009 NHL Winter Classic's promotional campaign, which won the first-ever Emmy Award for sports promotion [43] combining winter images of Wrigley Field with Harry Caray's rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." The 2011 Classic was the most watched NHL contest in the United States since 1996. [44]

Personal

McCarley is a native of Memphis, Tennessee and a graduate of the University of Arizona. [45]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arnold Palmer</span> American professional golfer (1929–2016)

Arnold Daniel Palmer was an American professional golfer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport's history. Since embarking on a professional career in 1955, he won numerous events on both the PGA Tour and the circuit now known as PGA Tour Champions. Nicknamed "The King", Palmer was one of golf's most popular stars and seen as a trailblazer, the first superstar of the sport's television age, which began in the 1950s.

The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open national championship of golf in the United States. It is the third of the four men's major golf championships, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour. Since 1898 the competition has been 72 holes of stroke play, with the winner being the player with the lowest total number of strokes. It is staged by the United States Golf Association (USGA) in mid-June, scheduled so that, if there are no weather delays, the final round is played on the third Sunday. The U.S. Open is staged at a variety of courses, set up in such a way that scoring is very difficult, with a premium placed on accurate driving. As of 2024, the U.S. Open awards a $21.5 million purse, the largest of all four major championships.

CBS Sports is the sports division of the American television broadcaster CBS. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on W 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studios 43 and 44 of the CBS Broadcast Center on W 57th Street.

The men's major golf championships, commonly known as the major championships, and often referred to simply as the majors, are the most prestigious tournaments in golf. Historically, the national open and amateur championships of Great Britain and the United States were regarded as the majors. With the rise of professional golf in the middle of the twentieth century, the majors came to refer to the most prestigious professional tournaments.

Golf Channel is an American sports television network owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Founded in Birmingham, Alabama, it is currently based out of NBC Sports' headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NBC Sports</span> Division of American broadcast network NBC

NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its dedicated national sports cable channels. Formerly operating as "a service of NBC News", it broadcasts a diverse array of sports events, including the Premier League, the IndyCar Series, NASCAR, the National Football League (NFL), the NBA, Notre Dame football, Big Ten football and basketball, the Olympic Games, professional golf, the Tour de France, Thoroughbred racing, and the WNBA among others. Other programming from outside producers – such as coverage of the Ironman Triathlon – is also presented on the network through NBC Sports. With Comcast's acquisition of NBCUniversal in 2011, its own cable sports networks were aligned with NBC Sports into a part of the division known as the NBC Sports Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Papa</span> American sportscaster (born 1964)

Robert L. Papa is an American sportscaster who is currently the radio play-by-play voice for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). Papa also is the lead broadcaster for PGA Tour Champions events on Golf Channel and has been the blow-by-blow announcer on many professional boxing telecasts, notably for ESPN and for HBO’s Boxing After Dark series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rory McIlroy</span> Northern Irish professional golfer (born 1989)

Rory Daniel McIlroy is a Northern Irish professional golfer who is a member of both the European Tour and the PGA Tour. He is former world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking, and has spent over a hundred weeks in that position during his career. He is the only person to win the FedEx Cup three times, surpassing Tiger Woods' two. He is a four-time major champion, winning the 2011 U.S. Open, 2012 PGA Championship, 2014 Open Championship, and 2014 PGA Championship. Along with Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, he is one of three players to win four majors by age 25.

Kelly Tilghman is a former broadcaster for Golf Channel, and NBC Sports, and is the PGA Tour's first female lead golf announcer. On July 29, 2020, it was announced that Tilghman was hired by CBS Sports to host The Clubhouse Report on CBS Sports Network.

In the United States, sports are televised on various broadcast networks, national and specialty sports cable channels, and regional sports networks. U.S. sports rights are estimated to be worth a total of $22.42 billion in 2019, about 44 percent of the total worldwide sports media market. U.S. networks are willing to pay a significant amount of money for television sports contracts because it attracts large amounts of viewership; live sport broadcasts accounted for 44 of the 50 list of most watched television broadcasts in the United States in 2016.

Don McGuire was an American television sports executive. He was executive producer at Turner Sports' TBS and TNT, Raycom Sports, and The Golf Channel. He won multiple Emmy, Cine and CableAce awards and was executive producer for the startup of Raycom Sports in 1983. He also oversaw the fast growth of Ted Turner's sports TV operations from 1987 to 1995 as Executive Producer and then Senior VP. He served as executive producer at the Golf Channel from 1999 to 2000 and was senior vice president for programming and production at the Golf Channel when the channel became the exclusive cable outlet for the LPGA and PGA Tour.

Golf telecasts have aired on NBC since 1954, with some of its earliest telecasts having included the 1954 U.S. Open, and the first televised coverage of the Ryder Cup in 1959.

NBCSN was an American sports television channel owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It originally launched on July 1, 1995, as the Outdoor Life Network (OLN), which was dedicated to programming primarily involving fishing, hunting, outdoor adventure programs, and outdoor sports. By the turn of the 21st century, OLN became better known for its extensive coverage of the Tour de France but eventually began covering more "mainstream" sporting events, resulting in its relaunch as Versus in September 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NBC Sports Group</span> Division of NBCUniversal

NBC Sports Group is a division of NBCUniversal Media Group that is responsible for NBC Sports' media properties, encompassing the NBC television network's sports division as well as day-to-day operation of the company's sports-oriented cable networks and other properties such as NBC Sports Radio.

NBC Sports is the sports division of the NBC television network. Formerly "a service of NBC News", it broadcasts a diverse array of programs, including the Olympic Games, the NFL, Notre Dame football, the PGA Tour, the Triple Crown, and the French Open, among others. Assets currently include among others Golf Channel and NBC Sports Regional Networks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scottie Scheffler</span> American professional golfer (born 1996)

Scott Alexander Scheffler is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He is currently ranked world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking, and has held that position for over 100 weeks. He has won two major championships, both the 2022 and 2024 Masters Tournament.

The PGA Tour's broadcast television rights are held by CBS Sports and NBC Sports, under contracts most recently renewed in 2021 to last through 2030. While it considered invoking an option to opt out of its broadcast television contracts in 2017, the PGA Tour ultimately decided against doing so. Golf Channel has served as the pay television rightsholder of the PGA Tour since 2007, and its current contract will also expire in 2021. Under the contracts, CBS broadcasts weekend coverage for an average of 20 events per-season, and NBC broadcasts weekend coverage for an average of 10 events per-season. Golf Channel broadcasts early-round and weekend morning coverage of all events, as well as weekend coverage of events not broadcast on terrestrial television, and primetime encores of all events. Tournaments typically featured in NBC's package include marquee events such as The Players Championship, the final three tournaments of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, and the biennial Presidents Cup event. The 2011 contract granted more extensive digital rights, as well as the ability for NBC to broadcast supplemental coverage of events on Golf Channel during its broadcast windows.

Following the dissolving of USA Sports into NBC Sports after the 2007 Masters, USA Network began deemphasizing sports. During this time NBC Sports properties generally only aired on USA in special cases, such as during the Olympics, Stanley Cup Playoffs or the final week of the English Premier League season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TGL (golf league)</span> Golf league

TGL is a planned golf league created by TMRW Sports, a venture formed by sports executive Mike McCarley and professional golfers Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy in partnership with the PGA Tour. Its launch was delayed from 2024 to 2025, with events planned to be held on weeknights in conjunction with the PGA Tour schedule.

References

  1. ↑ "McCarley helps Woods, McIlroy launch tech-based venture TMRW Sports". www.sportsbusinessjournal.com. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
  2. ↑ Matuszewski, Erik. "Golf Channel Acquires Revolution Golf, Boosting Digital Audience To 15 Million". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  3. ↑ "As Golf Channel celebrates 25th anniversary, moves beyond traditional TV come into focus". www.sportsbusinessdaily.com. January 13, 2020. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  4. 1 2 "The Golf Channel". i4 Business Magazine. 2014-05-29. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  5. ↑ Hart, Kim (30 April 2019). "Orlando makes a play to be sports media capitol". Axios. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  6. ↑ "Golf course technology meets the Rise of the Rest". Golf Business Solutions. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  7. ↑ "Pro Golfer Rory McIlroy, NBC Sports team up to create subscription service GOLFPASS". CNBC. 2019-02-05. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  8. ↑ "Mike McCarley – President, GOLF, NBC Sports Group | National Golf Foundation". ngf.org/. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  9. ↑ "McIlroy to front Golf Channel's digital push down under". Australian Financial Review. 2019-10-13. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  10. ↑ Lafayette, Jon. “New Boss Tees Up Changes At Golf Channel”, “Broadcasting & Cable,” February 4, 2011
  11. 1 2 Paul, John. “Golf on Television Gets Supersized”, “The Wall Street Journal,” March 5, 2011
  12. ↑ "Golf Channel Scores Most-Watched Year Ever For 3rd Consecutive Year | Golf Channel". Golf Channel. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  13. ↑ Reynolds, Michael (January 6, 2015). "Golf Channel Maintains Ratings, Digital Momentum in 2014". Multichannel News . Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  14. ↑ "Golf Channel International". Golf Channel. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  15. ↑ "01/12/15: Mike McCarley talks shop as Golf Channel tees off on year 20". Cynopsis Media. 2015-01-12. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  16. ↑ Reynolds, Mike (February 27, 2015). "From Longshot to Leader in the Clubhouse". Multichannel News. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  17. ↑ "NBC, Golf Channel ending ABC/ESPN British Open reign". www.sportsbusinessdaily.com. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  18. ↑ "TV audience for final round of British Open tops that of U.S. Open". Golfweek. 2018-07-24. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  19. ↑ "Woods puts a Tiger in NBC's tank as British Open ratings hit 18-year-high" . Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  20. ↑ "GolfNow tee booking firm to 'double' Northern Ireland workforce". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  21. ↑ Matuszewski, Erik. "Golf Channel Teams With St Andrews As Official Media Partner". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  22. ↑ Dojc, Mike. "NBC Sports Acquisition Of EZLinks, Parent Of TeeOff.com, Creates A Golf-Round-Booking Goliath". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  23. ↑ Steinberg, Brian (2020-03-09). "PGA Tour Strikes Massive Golf-Rights Deal With CBS, NBC and ESPN". Variety. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  24. ↑ "U.S. Open 2020: Behind the scenes of one of the most complicated TV deals in golf history". GolfDigest.com. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  25. ↑ "Arnold Palmer's brand remains business royalty". Golfweek. 2018-03-14. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  26. 1 2 "Forty Under 40". www.sportsbusinessdaily.com. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  27. ↑ "Golf Channel presents special coverage of co-founder, legend Arnold Palmer's life". The Japan Times Online. 2016-09-27. ISSN   0447-5763 . Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  28. ↑ "NBCUniversal details Super Bowl big event strategy". Cynopsis Media. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  29. 1 2 Gorman, Bill. ““Sunday Night Football” No. 1 Show Of Primetime Season; Undefeated vs. Competition In 2010”, “TV By the Numbers,” January 5, 2011
  30. ↑ “Mike McCarley – Corporate Biography” Archived 2011-05-11 at the Wayback Machine , “NBCUMV.com,” February 2, 2011
  31. 1 2 “2009 Forty Under 40: Mike McCarley”, “Sports Business Journal,” March 23, 2009
  32. ↑ "Sunday Night Football claims top spot in primetime once again". Awful Announcing. 2018-05-24. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  33. ↑ "Mike McCarley". www.sportsbusinessdaily.com. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  34. ↑ "Super Bowl XLIII now most-watched EVER? Yes!". TV By The Numbers. 2009-02-03. Archived from the original on 2016-12-24. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  35. ↑ Gorman, Bill. “NBC Hopes For 200 Million Winter Olympics Viewers, Topping Torino and Salt Lake City”, “TV By the Numbers,” January 30, 2010
  36. ↑ Siedman, Robert. “190 Million People Watched Olympics in US, 2nd Most-Watched Winter Olympics in History”, “TV By the Numbers,” March 1, 2010
  37. ↑ “NBC strikes ratings gold — Olympics beat ‘Idol’”, “MSNBC,” February 2, 2010
  38. ↑ “2010 Forty Under 40: Mike McCarley”, “Sports Business Journal,” March 8, 2010
  39. ↑ "Golf Magazine" . Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  40. ↑ "Feature: The Most Powerful People In Golf". www.bluetoad.com. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  41. ↑ "40 Under 40: 'MCN' Selects Young Execs Helping Their Companies Grow". www.synacor.com. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  42. ↑ "CableFAX 100 2012". Cablefax. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  43. ↑ “Winners Of 30th Annual Sports Emmy Awards Announced By National Academy Of Television Arts & Sciences” Archived 2010-05-05 at the Wayback Machine , “Emmy Online,” April 27, 2009
  44. ↑ "Winter Classic On NBC Is Top NHL Regular-Season Audience In 36 Years". SportsBusiness Daily. Street & Smith. January 3, 2011. Retrieved 2011-01-16.
  45. ↑ "Mike McCarley | Golf Channel". Golf Channel. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.