Howard Katz
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Howard Katz (born November 30, 1949) is an American sports executive, best known for his work as the Senior Vice President of Broadcasting & Media Operations for the NFL.
Career
[edit]Raised in Livingston, New Jersey, Katz majored in economics and graduated from Colgate University in 1971, where he successfully directed the press room for the college hockey championships while serving as assistant to the university's sports information director.[1] began his career as a production associate for ABC Sports in 1971, where he worked on the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, Monday Night Football, and Wide World of Sports. From 1971 to 1993, Katz worked at Trans World International (the television arm of IMG Media) and as president of Ohlmeyer Communications Company (OCC), which was bought out by ESPN in 1993.
While at ESPN, Katz helped launch ESPN2 in 1993, and was promoted to executive vice president of production. In 2002, he hired John Madden to announce Monday Night Football for ABC. He also helped to launch ESPNews, ESPN Radio, ESPN International, ESPN Classic and the ESPY Awards.
In 2003, Katz joined NFL Films, and the same year he began the "flexible scheduling" model currently used by the NFL, which allows the league to move matchups to and from primetime to maximize visibility. He also played a role in the rise of streaming services carrying games, especially Amazon Prime.[2]
Awards and honors
[edit]In 2022, Katz was named the winner of the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award from the Pro Football Hall of Fame.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ Aquije, Omar Ricardo. "Turning Pro Football Into a Dominant Force", Colgate Magazine, Winter 2023. Accessed June 19, 2024. "'Howard has been sneaking into your homes for 40 years, and you haven’t known it,' Dick Ebersol, former chairman of NBC Sports and longtime friend, said when Katz was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame. (Katz grew up in Livingston, N.J.)"
- ^ "NFL's 'Scheduling Guru' Howard Katz Selected To Receive Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award". profootballhof.com. Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ^ "Howard Katz honored with Rozelle Radio-TV Award". espn.com. ESPN, Inc. Retrieved 21 June 2022.