Genius Sports today announced that Steve Bornstein will join the company in a newly created executive role of President in North America.
Bornstein will lead the company’s activities in the United States and Canada, building the capabilities and relationships of the existing team. He will assume the position with immediate effect.
In his background, Bornstein has held a number of prominent positions in the sports, media and consulting industries. In particular, he brings extensive broadcast experience to Genius Sports, building on his 20+ years at ESPN and ABC, where in 1990 he became ESPN’s youngest President and CEO at 38 years of age.
At ESPN he oversaw the launch of ESPN2, ESPN News, ESPN Radio, ESPN Classic, ESPN International, ESPN The Magazine, ESPYs and X-Games. He also created popular network programming staples, including: College GameDay, NFL PrimeTime, and Baseball Tonight.
He is also known for his time as President, CEO and Founder of the NFL Network and Executive Vice President of Media, where he oversaw the league’s media division and led negotiations on TV deals and sponsorships. In addition, he is past president of Activision Blizzard’s eSports division, where he created professional leagues and new ways to deliver the best fan experiences across games, platforms and geographies.
Bornstein continues to serve as a senior advisor to The Raine Group, a commercial bank that advises and invests in technology, media and telecommunications.
As head of North American operations, Bornstein will leverage Genius Sports’ regional business infrastructure to position the company for accelerated growth in existing and new areas, including streaming. This will include obtaining and unlocking value with new and existing sports partners, including the NFL, NCAA, NASCAR, NBA, and MLB.
In addition, he will work closely with the executive team to identify innovative acquisition goals and revenue growth; supporting the integration of newly acquired businesses, including Second Spectrum, which is the official data tracking and analytics provider for the EPL, NBA, and MLS.
“Steve is a successful, forward-thinking executive who brings more than 30 years of experience in sports media,” said CEO Mark Locke.
“As we continue to execute our growth strategy in North America, we look forward to benefiting from a visionary like Steve who played an important role in shaping the growth and success of iconic brands like ESPN and NFL. As a leader, he exemplifies values established at Genius and will help us advance our culture of collaboration and innovation,” Locke concluded.
“I’m excited to be joining Genius Sports at this point in the company’s growth,” said Bornstein. “And I’m delighted to partner with Mark and his outstanding team as Genius demonstrates and deepens their commitment to driving real value to their partners in the US and Canada. I can’t wait to get started.”
