2024 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Mark Lazarus, a Paragon of Sports-Media Excellence

Leading up to the 2024 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame ceremony on Dec. 17 at the New York Hilton, SVG is profiling the 10 inductees in this year’s class. For more information, CLICK HERE.

There aren’t many universal truths in the sports business, but here’s one for you. You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone more respected and trusted and well-liked than Mark Lazarus.

NBC Sports lead announcer Mike Tirico puts it this way: “Mark has a really great way of making you feel very important, very significant. That’s the quality of a special leader, and that’s what Mark is.”

During more than three decades in sports media, he has helped shepherd the industry through the changing media landscape as well as being a key player in landmark sports-rights deals as president of sports at two major media companies: Turner Broadcasting and NBCUniversal.

“I’ve met many commissioners and owners of teams, and there’s one commonality: everybody loves Mark,” says Brian Roberts, chairman/CEO, Comcast. “I think Mark is one of those people who let other people give their ideas, show their passion, and thrive under his leadership.”

Growing Up: Sports Media Runs Deep in the Lazarus Gene Pool

Born on a U.S. Army base in Germany when his father was in the service, Lazarus grew up in a media-minded household in New York City. His father, John, was VP of marketing and sales at ABC Sports during the glory days under Roone Arledge.

The media tradition dates even further back in the Lazarus family. In addition to two uncles who worked in Hollywood, Lazarus’s grandfather, Paul, worked in advertising and publicity for Warner Bros. and headed the advertising-publicity department for United Artists. In addition, Lazarus’s brothers Peter and Craig are, respectively, EVP of sales for NBC Sports and VP/executive producer of original content and features for ESPN.

“My brothers and I always had an interest in media. How could we not growing up in that household?” Lazarus recounts. “We all looked up to and respected my dad — and continue to today. I learned a lot about the business just looking at how he conducted himself.”

While studying political science at Vanderbilt University, he spent his summers learning the business as a vacation relief engineer at ABC. After a year pulling cable for golf, he worked as a boom mic operator on All My Children, a utility on Ryan’s Hope, and a camera op for WABC-TV New York’s Eyewitness News.

His first job after graduating from college was in the media department at an ad agency, where he learned the nuts and bolts of buying and selling media. After three years there and a short stint as a sales manager for Cablevision and NBC’s fledgling SportsChannel joint venture, Lazarus joined Turner Sports in 1990.

Turner Sports on the Rise: Building a Sports-Media Empire in Atlanta 

One of the original members of Turner’s sports-specific sales team, Lazarus served a variety of roles over the next nine years before being named president of Turner Sports in 1999. During his four years in the role, he played an integral role in recruiting one of the most iconic sports-media personalities of all time for Inside the NBA.

“When we had our first meeting,” says Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer Charles Barkley, “I said, ‘I understand our job is to talk about sports, but I want to be able to talk about social issues, too.’ He said, ‘Pick the fights that you want to fight.’ Him having faith and trust in me really helped me. And I consider him my friend to this day.”

In 2003, Lazarus was named president of Turner Entertainment Group, continuing to oversee the company’s sports business while also overseeing advertising sales, TBS, TNT, TCM, and truTV, as well as the Turner Animation, Young Adults, & Kids Media unit, including Cartoon Network, Cartoon Network Studios, Adult Swim, and Boomerang.

At Turner, he spearheaded a multitude of major rights deals, including renewing NBA on TNT multiple times and adding Major League Baseball, NASCAR, Wimbledon, and the Open Championship to the company’s portfolio. Lazarus also held onto the PGA Championship and expanded TBS’s Atlanta Braves coverage nationally.

“Cable was a major disruptor of the media landscape in those days, especially sports, where we were vying for high-profile rights,” he notes. “Between sports and the original programming we launched on the entertainment side, we significantly added to subscriber value and changed the way advertisers looked at us. At the same time, I think, we built a great culture of people that loved working at Turner.”

Lazarus left Turner in 2008 and spent two years as president of media and marketing at CSE (Career Sports & Entertainment). Along with company founder Lonnie Cooper, he helped launch a variety of new ventures, including Bounce TV, and advised on major deals, such as NASCAR’s rights agreements with NBC Sports and FOX Sports.

“Mark has closed so many deals that, in this business, everyone universally respects him,” says Greg Hughes, EVP, communications, NBC Sports Group, who arrived at Turner Sports the same year as Lazarus and later joined him at the Peacock.

The Peacock Calls: Lazarus Heads to NBC Sports and Keeps Olympic Torch Ablaze

In late 2010, Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer Dick Ebersol, then-chairman, NBC Sports, recruited Lazarus to run the cable assets being added to the group as a result of Comcast’s buying NBCUniversal, including Versus (later NBC Sports Network), Golf Channel, and NBC Regional Sports Networks. Lazarus started in January 2011 and, when Ebersol abruptly left just four months later, was tapped to take over for the legendary exec.

“Mark had the unenviable task of replacing Dick Ebersol as the chairman of NBC Sports,” says Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer Fred Gaudelli, executive producer, NFL, NBC Sports. “Undaunted, Mark blazed his own trail and grew NBC Sports’ portfolio of big-time events and supported the network’s tradition of storytelling excellence. Mark did it his way, providing wisdom and championing others — with the humility and class of an authentic leader.”

His first task in the pilot’s seat would be no easy feat: renewing NBC’s Olympics rights deal and extending one of the most prolific partnerships in sports-media history. Despite having just months on the job, Lazarus and his team pulled it off: inking a $4.38 billion contract with the International Olympic Committee to broadcast the Olympics through the 2020 Games.

Says Gary Zenkel, president, NBC Olympics, “There were no bigger shoes to fill in the sports-media business than Dick Ebersol’s. Mark did it on a moment’s notice and led us immediately to the acquisition of four more Olympic Games.”

Four years later, under Lazarus’s leadership, NBC signed a $7.75 billion contract extension to air the Olympics through the 2032 Games. “Mark saw an opportunity to engage the widest possible audience with any means possible,” says Zenkel. “Ten years ago, that was bold and different.”

Lazarus has now overseen seven Olympics, including this summer’s landmark Paris Games, which led to record-breaking engagement and cross-platform viewership.

“In Mark I trust. That’s my motto,” says Molly Solomon, executive producer/president, NBC Olympics Production. “Over the years, I’ve learned that he’s always going to be there for you.”

Beyond the Games: NFL, Golf, and So Much More

Also during Lazarus’s first year at the helm, he was faced with renewing the invaluable rights to the NFL and Sunday Night Football. Yet again, he pulled it off, with a deal that ran through 2022.

“Mark’s the kind of partner who is looking for a solution that works for both sides,” says NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. “He has always been someone I appreciate negotiating with.”

Since those monumental NFL and Olympics deals, Lazarus and his team have forged dozens of new rights contracts, including landmark agreements with the Big Ten Conference, NASCAR, the Premier League, and, most recently, the NBA.

“Mark Lazarus has been a terrific partner to the NBA, both during his time with Turner Sports and, more recently, with NBCUniversal,” says NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. “He has a great sense for what fans, marketers, and leagues value and has been an industry leader when it comes to innovation in the sports-media industry.”

Also among Lazarus’s significant achievements is further establishing NBC Sports as a golf powerhouse. He has inked key rights deals for the PGA TOUR, U.S. Open, and The Open Championship.

“Mark Lazarus is synonymous with sports broadcasting,” says PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan. “We are honored to call him and his colleagues at NBC Sports partner and collaborator. His influence has helped grow the size and scope of many of the PGA TOUR’s biggest events, including THE PLAYERS and the FedExCup Playoffs. The TOUR congratulates him on this fantastic achievement.”

An Innovator to the Core: Opening the Streaming Gates

Lazarus operates at the intersection of art and commerce, but, whether he’s in a control room or a boardroom, he is always driven by innovation. Among his most groundbreaking initiatives has been NBC Sports’ commitment to live-streaming sports at scale.

“Streaming was in its early infancy when Mark took over NBC Sports,” notes Rick Cordella, president, NBC Sports. “The very first Olympics that Mark was in charge of, we streamed every event from London. Then, we streamed the Super Bowl for the first time in 2012. Beyond that, we streamed every Premier League game. A lot of that was due to Mark and his ability to take on risk.”

Last January, the Miami Dolphins–Kansas City Chiefs AFC Wildcard Game matchup became the first NFL Playoff game to be streamed exclusively — a monumental moment in the evolution of live sports coverage. The game averaged 23 million viewers on Peacock, local NBC affiliates in the teams’ home markets, and the NFL+ mobile app, making the game the most live-streamed event in U.S. history at the time.

“We have such great confidence in him,” says Goodell. “For us to put a Wild Card Game on Peacock was [largely] because we had that confidence.”

The Next Chapter: Gearing Up for SpinCo

Until last month, Lazarus was chairman of NBCUniversal Media Group, overseeing the company’s TV and streaming platforms, distribution, and monetization. That includes NBC and all NBCU cable networks, affiliate relations, content distribution, advertising sales, international networks, and NBCU streaming service Peacock.

In November, it was announced that Lazarus will head Comcast’s spinoff of its cable networks from the rest of NBCUniversal. He will lead development of an independent strategy, while also establishing SpinCo (as the company is being referred to) as a potential partner and acquirer of other, complementary media businesses. It’s just the latest chapter in a long line of media adventures for one of the most accomplished executives in the industry.

“Sports have always been part of my heritage, and I hope it will always be part of what I do,” he says. “I’ve been very fortunate to be given the opportunities to be in sports for this long. Even as I’ve done other things, sports have definitely been my passion and my constant throughout my entire career.”

Building a Foundation of Family — Both at Home and on the Job

For all his accomplishments, Lazarus’s biggest impact has been on the people he works with. During his three decades in the business, he has mentored dozens of future industry heavyweights and helped build strong cultures at both Turner and NBC that are unparalleled in the industry.

“He has been a boss, a mentor, a friend, and a big brother all rolled into one. I owe him an incredible amount in my career,” says Cordella. “He’s a walk-the-hallways kind of leader and wants to know what’s going on, and he’ll support you if you feel passionate about a strong point of view.”

Lazarus continues to operate primarily under two major philosophies. First, he says, leaders are obligated to mentor others and to give people an opportunity whenever possible. Second is to abide by “three T’s”: teamwork, transparency, and trust.

“Mark likes to say that you should share values with the people that you work for and with in your career,” says Hughes. “People should aspire to share Mark’s values, as he genuinely cares about people, always tries to make the right decision — no matter the benefit to him — and brings his sense of humor to everything.”

Among the key figures Lazarus credits with helping drive his career are Cooper; Ebersol; Roberts; former NBC Sports President Ken Schanzer; former NBCU CEO Steve Burke; Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer Ted Turner, founder of the Turner media empire; and former Turner Broadcasting System CEO (and current Atlanta Braves Chairman) Terry McGuirk.

Says Lazarus, “I was fortunate over the years to learn from a lot of amazing people and have mentors who gave me an opportunity to succeed.”

Of course, he readily acknowledges that none of his success would have been possible without the love and support of his family: his parents, Barbara and John; Liz, his wife of 35 years (they met freshman year of college and have been together for 41 years); and his grown children: Jack, Caroline, and Henry.

“In the sports world,” Lazarus notes, “families have to sacrifice a lot because sports don’t stop on nights, weekends, and holidays; you miss a lot of big holidays or birthdays or anniversaries. But our families let us follow our passion, and they’re supportive of us. I’ll be eternally grateful for that.”

Entering the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame, Lazarus is teeming with gratitude: for his family, his mentors, his employees, his partners, and others who have crossed his path during his storied career. But, after more than three decades in the business, the river of gratitude flows even stronger in his direction.

“When you sign up to work on one of Mark’s teams,” says Tirico, “you are part of a family. You are with really good people. You work hard; you also laugh hard. I’ve learned from Mark the power of being a great person and watching what leadership is. He does it all with great humanity, extraordinary humility, and a connection to the individual that resonates.”