Dick Ebersol

Duncan "Dick" Ebersol[1] (/ˈɛbərsɒl/; born July 28, 1947) is an American television executive and a senior adviser for NBC Universal Sports & Olympics.[2]

Dick Ebersol
Born
Duncan Ebersol

(1947-07-28) July 28, 1947
Torrington, Connecticut, U.S.
OccupationAmerican television executive NBC
Spouse(s)
Susan Stafford
​
​
(m. 1976; ann. 1981)​

Susan Saint James
​
(m. 1981)​
Children3, including Charlie

He had previously been the chairman of NBC Sports, producing large-scale television events such as the Olympic Games and National Football League (NFL) broadcasts.[1]

Early life

Ebersol was born in Torrington, Connecticut, the son of Mary (née Duncan) and Charles Roberts Ebersol, a former chairman of the American Cancer Society.[3][4][5]

He and Josiah Bunting III are half-brothers.[6] In 1967, at the age of twenty, Ebersol began his long history with the Olympics when he temporarily dropped out of Yale University to join Roone Arledge and ABC Sports as television's first-ever Olympic researcher.[7]

Career

Move to NBC

In 1974, he joined NBC as Director of Weekend Late Night Programming. In 1975 Ebersol and Lorne Michaels conceived and developed Saturday Night Live. Named as Vice President of Late Night Programming at age 28, Ebersol became NBC's first vice president under the age of 30. After a brief departure, he returned to SNL in 1981 as executive producer and remained until 1985, spanning the Eddie Murphy and Billy Crystal eras.[1][8]

In 1983, Ebersol formed No Sleep Productions, an independent production company that created Emmy Award-winning NBC shows Friday Night Videos and Later with Bob Costas.[8]

Together with Vince McMahon, Ebersol produced Saturday Night's Main Event.[1] When Ebersol left SNL in 1985, he devoted his time to his production company until rejoining NBC in 1989.[8] He served as senior vice president of NBC News.

NBC Sports

Ebersol became president of NBC Sports in 1989,[1][8][9] and was promoted to Chairman, NBC Sports & Olympics in June 1998.[8][9][10]

He served as executive producer for the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, his first Olympics since Munich in 1972 for ABC.[11]

Ebersol's early tenure at NBC Sports was highlighted by a string of sports-property acquisitions and renewals, including the NFL, NBA, Notre Dame football and MLB, through the formation of the joint-venture Baseball Network.[12]

During the 1995–96 television season, for the only time in history, the World Series, Super Bowl, NBA Finals and Summer Olympics were telecast by the same network. It was following this run in 1996 that The Sporting News named Ebersol the "Most Powerful Person in Sports."[12] By January 1998, NBC had become the home of four Super Bowls in six years.[13]

In 1993, he secured the rights to the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics.[14]

In August 1995, he acquired the rights for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. It marked the first time that rights for consecutive Olympics were awarded at the same time. Later that same year, he spearheaded NBC Sports' acquisition of the exclusive media rights for the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics, and the 2006 Winter Olympics.[15]

The agreements marked the first time that the same network had been awarded the rights to five consecutive Olympics.[12][16][17]

In 2003, Ebersol led NBC to acquire the exclusive U.S. media rights to the 2010 Winter Games and the 2012 Summer Olympics.[9][18]

In December 2003, Ebersol agreed to a nine-year contract to continue running NBC Sports & Olympics through 2012.[8] He assumed the title as Chairman of NBC Universal Sports & Olympics in May 2004 when NBC and Universal merged.[19]

Ebersol produced:

  • the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008 (the most-watched event in U.S. television history with a record 215 million viewers)
  • the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games in 2010 (second-most watched Winter Olympics in history with 190 million viewers)
  • Super Bowl XLIII in February 2009 produced, at the time, the largest-single audience in U.S. television history with a record 152 million viewers.[10][20][21][22][23]

It is currently the second-most viewed program of all time.[24] The Super Bowl milestone was made possible in 2005 when Ebersol spearheaded the effort to return the NFL to NBC by negotiating a six-year agreement that included moving the NFL primetime broadcast package from Monday night to Sunday night, flexible scheduling for the first time ever, and Super Bowls in 2009 and 2012.[1][25]

On May 19, 2011, Ebersol resigned from NBC Sports. The New York Times stated that he intended to stay at NBC through the end of June 2011.[26] It was later reported that Ebersol would return to NBC Sports in time for the beginning of the 2011 NFL season to serve in a senior adviser role.[27]

Alliance of American Football

Ebersol served on the Board of Directors of the Alliance of American Football, a professional American football league co-founded by his son Charlie and Bill Polian.[28] Ebersol and his son were both ousted from the board of directors when Thomas Dundon purchased the league.[29]

Awards and honors

Ebersol has often been in the top 10 honorees on The Sporting News' annual list of the 100 most powerful sports figures, including in 1996 when he was named the Most Powerful Person in Sports.[12] In 1992, Ebersol was awarded the Olympic Order, an honor periodically bestowed by the International Olympic Committee to recognize remarkable contributions to the Olympic Movement.[30]

In 2005, Ebersol was inducted into both the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame and the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame.[31][32]

In 2008, NBC won the Peabody Award for its coverage of the Beijing Opening Ceremony along with Chinese film director Zhang Yimou, who served as the event's creative director.[33] At the 2009 SportsBusiness Journal awards ceremony, Ebersol won Sports Executive of the Year and NBC Sports won Best in Sports Television.[34]

On April 27, 2009, the six "Commissioners of American Sport" – Roger Goodell (NFL), David Stern (NBA), Bud Selig (MLB), Gary Bettman (NHL), Tim Finchem (PGA Tour) and Brian France (NASCAR) – were part of a presentation that concluded with Muhammad Ali awarding Ebersol the Emmy Award for Lifetime Achievement from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.[10]

In May 2010, Ebersol was the commencement speaker at Sacred Heart University for its graduating class of 2010. He was presented with a Doctor of Humane Letters by University President Anthony J. Cernera.[35]

Ebersol is the 2014 recipient of the Paul White Award, the highest award presented by the Radio Television Digital News Association.[36]

Personal life

Ebersol was previously married to former Wheel of Fortune hostess Susan Stafford from 1976 to 1981. They had no children. He has been married to actress Susan Saint James since 1981.[37] They have three sons together, Charlie, Willie, and Teddy, who died in a plane crash in 2004. Saint James has two children from a previous marriage.

2004 plane crash

On November 28, 2004, a private charter jet, a Bombardier Challenger CL-600,[38] carrying Ebersol and two of his sons, Charlie and Teddy, crashed during an attempted takeoff from Montrose Regional Airport in Colorado. The jet's captain, Luis Polanco, flight attendant Warren T. Richardson III, and Teddy Ebersol were killed. Dick and his older son, Charlie, along with the first officer, survived, though seriously injured.[39] Charlie was thrown clear of the plane and rushed back inside and managed to pull his father to safety.[40]

On June 10, 2006, Teddy Ebersol Field was dedicated along the Charles River in Boston.[41]

Selected list of shows produced by Ebersol

References
  1. Sellers, Patricia (April 18, 2006). "Playing with pain". CNN.com. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  2. "Executive Bios". Universal Sports. Archived from the original on December 27, 2010. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  3. "Charles R. Ebersol; Executive, 85". The New York Times. November 5, 2001. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  4. "Diana Cunningham Will Marry in Peru". The New York Times. August 17, 1965.
  5. "Mary Duncan Ebersol". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved August 20, 2017 – via Google.com.
  6. Neyer, Constance (November 2, 2001). "Charles Ebersol, 85". Hartford Courant. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  7. Guthrie, Marisa. "I Got My First Break at the Olympics". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
  8. Grossman, Ben (October 23, 2005). "Dick Ebersol profile". Broadcastingcable.com. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  9. Abrahamson, Alan (June 8, 2003). "Ebersol's Deal Had Some Familiar Rings to It". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  10. Reynolds, Mike (April 27, 2009). "NBC Leads Sports Emmy Pack". Multichannel.com. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  11. "NBC Sports to Join NAB Hall of Fame". TVtechnology.com. March 31, 2010. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  12. "The Sporting News: Most Powerful 100", Sporting News, December 30, 1996
  13. Vega, Michael (January 30, 2009). "Harrison safety valve: Super Bowl TV work". The Boston Globe. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  14. Sandomir, Richard (July 29, 1993). "OLYMPICS; Sure Thing: Ebersol Guarantees Profit on NBC's Winning Olympics Bid". The New York Times. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  15. Sandomir, Richard. "OLYMPICS;$2.3 Billion Deal To Give NBC Rights To Future Olympics". The New York Times. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
  16. Jenkins, Sally (January 1996). "Peacock Power--Dick Ebersol of NBC Sports has grabbed five more Olympics, in the years 2000–2008". Sports Illustrated. 83 (27).
  17. Carter, Bill (December 14, 1995). "TELEVISION SPORTS; Ebersol Is the Big-Play Man at NBC". The New York Times. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  18. Carter, Bill (August 24, 2008). "On TV, Timing Is Everything at the Olympics". The New York Times. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  19. Kay, Jeremy (May 13, 2004). "NBC Universal merger is complete". Screendaily.com. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  20. Reynolds, Mike (March 1, 2010). "NBC's Final Medal Count: 190 Million Olympic Viewers". Multichannel.com. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  21. Keveney, Bill (August 26, 2008). "Nielsens: Olympics on NBC capture ratings gold". USA Today. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  22. Toff, Benjamin; Stelter, Brian (February 3, 2009). "The Most-Viewed U.S. TV Event Ever". The New York Times. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  23. Finn, Chad (February 12, 2010). "NBC's universal coverage will be hard to miss". The Boston Globe. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  24. Kissel, Rick (February 8, 2010). "Super Bowl breaks ratings record". Variety. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  25. "Scorecard: Healer Dealer", Sports Illustrated, April 27, 2005
  26. Carter, Bill; Sandomir, Richard (May 19, 2011). "Dick Ebersol Resigns from NBC Sports". The New York Times. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
  27. Carter, Bill; Sandomir, Richard (August 30, 2011). "Ebersol to Rejoin NBC Sports as a Senior Adviser". The New York Times. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
  28. Barnett, Josh (March 20, 2018). "Bill Polian to help form new spring pro football league". The Buffalo News. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
  29. Orr, Conor (May 1, 2019). "League on Fire: The Curious Rise and Spectacular Crash of the Alliance of American Football". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  30. Olympic Order, la84foundation.org; accessed August 20, 2017.
  31. Mihoces, Gary (December 8, 2005). "Yamaguchi part of Olympic Hall class". USA Today. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
  32. "B&C Picks 10 for Hall of Fame", NextTV, July 17, 2005
  33. Peabody Awards (April 1, 2009) Archived May 1, 2011, at the Wayback Machine "Complete List of 2008 Peabody Award Winners" (press release)
  34. Eggerton, John (May 29, 2009). "NBCU, Dick Ebersol Honored By SportsBusiness Journal". Broadcastingcable.com. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
  35. "Sacred Heart University Summer Magazine, Summer 2010". Sacred Heart University. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
  36. "RTDNA Announces 2014 Paul White Award Winner". Radio Television Digital News Association. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
  37. "Dick Ebersol Biography". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
  38. "National Transportation Safety Board Aviation Accident Final Report, Accident Number DEN05MA029". NTSB. May 3, 2006. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  39. "Ebersol family discusses plane crash that killed son". USATODAY.com. Associated Press. February 2, 2006. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
  40. Upton, Mike (December 13, 2004). "Fatal Flight". People.
  41. "Dedication of Teddy Ebersol's Red Sox Fields". RedSox.com. June 8, 2006. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
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