Durant & Sobieski Promoted to Vice President at ESPN

Rosalyn
Durant and Julie Sobieski have each been promoted from senior director, programming
& acquisitions to vice president, programming & acquisitions in ESPN’s
programming department. Each joined the company after graduating from
college in 1999, having served as an intern with ESPN during the summer of 1998.

Durant’s
current responsibilities include the day-to-day management of ESPN’s
relationships with the National Basketball Association (NBA), Major League
Lacrosse, Major League Soccer, FIFA,

UEFA,

US Soccer and
Olympic sport leagues. She played a significant role in the eight-year
contract extension with the NBA announced in June 2007, which begins during the
2008-09 season and includes ESPN’s most-comprehensive digital rights package
negotiated with any major professional sports league. The new pact also
includes more exclusivity in the post-season on ESPN and expanded television
and digital media rights for ESPN International.

After
interning with ESPN in affiliate sales and marketing in the summer of 1998,
Durant joined that department full-time in 1999 as a coordinator. She
rapidly advanced becoming regional account executive (January 2000); account
executive, southeast region (June

2000); senior account executive, western division (March 2002); manager,
national accounts (October 2004); and senior director, national accounts
(October 2005). In February 2006, she transferred to the programming
department as a senior director, programming.

Durant was
graduated in 1999 from the

University
of

South Carolina with a
bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism and a minor in marketing. While
in college, Durant was an on-air personality with WYNN-FM from June 1996 to May
1998 and a news reporter/anchor with WCFG-TV and WUSC-FM from August to December
1998.

Sobieski
is responsible for the strategic and day-to-day management of the company’s
business relationship with motorsports properties airing on ESPN or ABC,
including NASCAR, the IndyCar Series, NHRA, Champ Car and other sanctioning
bodies. She conducts and oversees programming acquisition, strategic
content planning and scheduling and management of client relationships.

After
serving as an intern in ESPN’s programming department in the summer of 1998,
Sobieski has spent her entire career with ESPN since graduating from

Springfield (

Mass.)
College in 1999 with a bachelor of science degree, including a major in general
studies and a double minor in biology/chemistry and business administration with a concentration
in sports management. For one year, she was a program planning
coordinator, and in June 2000 she was promoted to strategic programming planner.
In June 2001 was named program manager, programming and acquisitions, and
in October 2002, she was promoted to director, programming and acquisitions.
In 2004 she was promoted to senior director, television and media
platforms for ESPN Outdoors/BASS. In January 2006, she became senior director,
programming and acquisitions, overseeing motorsports.