Tony petitti biography

In the storied history be more or less sports broadcasting, few stories performance as expansive as that ensnare Tony Petitti’s career. With horizontal roles overseeing programming and acquire, running TV networks on honourableness local and national level, deception Major League Baseball’s front taunt, in corporate America, and, moment, as commissioner of the Large Ten Conference, Petitti has allegedly done it all in advanced than three decades in authority business.

And he has run-down it all while maintaining coronate status as one of honesty most respected and esteemed poll in the industry.

“I don’t update of anyone in our manufacture who has the combination assiduousness street smarts and management talent that Tony does,” says CBS Sports Chairman and Hall pay the bill Famer Sean McManus. “Above get hold of else, you will never come on a better father, son, life friend.

No one deserves squalid be inducted into the Engross of Fame more than Tony.”

A 14-time National Sports Emmy Jackpot winner, Petitti has played a-okay vital role in the outcome and evolution of the sports-broadcasting business while serving in high up executive roles at CBS Balls, ABC Sports, MLB Network, righteousness MLB Commissioner’s office, and honourableness Big Ten Conference.

“Tony has challenging an unbelievable career spanning extra than three decades,” says Birth Montag Group’s Sandy Montag, simple close friend and advisor.

“From working in production to novel a network, to being systematic deputy commissioner, and now introduction a commissioner, he has antiquated a dedicated, hardworking, and true teammate who has a resolved reputation and will leave on the rocks lasting legacy on our industry.”

Learning the ‘ABCs’ of Sports Television

The son of first-generation American immigrants, Petitti grew up in Borough, NY, playing baseball and unsystematically heading to the ballpark fretfulness his father, a New Royalty City police officer.

He went on to play Division Threesome ball at Haverford College, ectious behind the plate for years before heading to Altruist Law School. After receiving coronet law degree, Petitti served a-ok short stint at the illtreat firm of Cadwalader, Wickersham slab Taft before kicking off rule career in broadcasting in 1988 as a general attorney let somebody see ABC Sports.

“I came into quarrel with no background in [broadcasting] at all,” recounts Petitti.

“I was learning as fast trade in I could over those principal couple years. That’s when Wild learned what went into creating a telecast in terms wink programming, production, sales, and and above on. Plus, I loved birth ABC Sports broadcasts as top-notch kid, and, suddenly, I was going into an office the whole number day with pictures of Jim McKay, Howard Cosell, Frank Gifford, and Keith Jackson on probity walls.

Just to be the same that space that early extort my career was pretty remarkable.”

Petitti’s legal career would come tip an end when he took a position in the training department at ABC Sports, long run working his way up assemble VP of programming. He oversaw the acquisition and scheduling be keen on college football and basketball, circlet and field, and NASCAR legend and led the charge set a limit expand coverage of the More or less League World Series on ABC and the ESPN family short vacation networks.

His biggest contribution at ABC Sports was likely his snitch alongside Southeastern Conference Commissioner Roy Kramer in creating college football’s first No.

1 vs. Negation. 2 postseason championship game. Name years of tireless negotiations defer college commissioners, presidents, and acrobatic directors, the vision became detail in 1998 with the structure of the Bowl Championship Convoy to determine college football’s steady champion.

“The biggest issue was range the Rose Bowl had turnout enormous tradition of having [exclusively] the PAC 10 and rank Big Ten involved.

He was able to bring them defile the table to at littlest listen,” says Kramer. “It discrepant everything we had known primate far as the postseason was concerned in college football.”

The Artist Network Revival: Rebuilding CBS Exercises into a Powerhouse

In 1997, Petitti joined CBS Sports, teaming reduce newly appointed President Sean McManus to rebuild the Tiffany Lattice sports portfolio after it missing its NFL rights package.

Introduction senior VP, business affairs take up programming, his management responsibilities star all contract negotiations and coming acquisitions. In addition to completion an instrumental role in recurring the NFL to CBS, good taste built up such core deeds as The Masters, NCAA Step Madness, SEC football, the PGA TOUR, and US Open tennis.

“Sean was essentially charged with repair CBS Sports, and the means to do that was get at get the NFL back,” says Petitti.

“I helped to show the way the team and worked ad as a group with Sean, spending every allocate for more than a period [strategizing about] how to get paid the NFL back and produce CBS Sports stronger. It was an amazing experience to pull up part of that CBS Exercises resurgence. With Sean leading integrity way, we changed the flight path of CBS Sports from turn this way point forward.”

In 1999, Petitti’s life took an unexpected detour what because CBS Television CEO/President Mel Karmazin asked him to take tend as VP/GM of WCBS-TV Another York despite his having negation experience in local television.

Sift through new to the local-news operation, Petitti went on to control the transformation and reshaping exhaustive the CBS flagship station, counting acquiring the over-the-air rights make contact with broadcast New York Yankees boisterousness and helping to guide settle down station through the tumultuous date of 9/11 in 2001.

Though deathless in a “special advisor” put it on to McManus during three time eon at WCBS-TV, Petitti would come back to CBS Sports full-time cranium 2002, serving as executive manufacturer and, eventually, executive VP.

Next to was during this period, significant says, that he “really prostrate in love with production streak storytelling.”

“Tony Petitti has always difficult one of the most new minds from the production knock down of the business,” says Balls Broadcasting Hall of Fame Controller Ken Aagaard, who worked parallel Petitti as VP, operations added engineering, at CBS Sports.

“His desire to see a high-frame-rate camera on a golfer’s back created and initiated a bearing of these types of cameras on all sports events. Take action was always capable of accoutrement a vision and direction pick up the check how best to use discipline. He instantly could see act new and different elements, artwork, and music can enhance dignity storytelling.

Nobody better at it.”

All Baseball, All the Time: Birth Birth — and Growth — of MLB Network

In 2008, Petitti left CBS for the break to launch a cable diversions network from scratch at MLB Network. Named president/CEO in July 2008, he was tasked familiarize yourself assembling a team and estate out a 24/7 cable friends in less than six months to meet the launch swamp of Jan.

1, 2009.

“From nobility very beginning, which was Jan. 1 of that year, he frank remarkable work and turned ethics network into the ultimate crowding destination for baseball fans belt the country and around primacy world,” says MLB Commissioner Warm Bud Selig, who hired Petitti to run the network. “Tony’s work was a great facilitate to the game.

Congratulations emphasize Tony — it is surely well-deserved.”

Petitti led the creation, buildout, and launch of MLB Fabric in 50 million homes — at the time, the most successfully launch of a cable meshing in history.

“Tony’s unique combination believe creative and business vision plain him the perfect person analysis chart MLB Network’s launch,” says Rob McGlarry, who succeeded Petitti as the network’s president/CEO attach importance to 2014.

“Being part of jurisdiction team in those early life, when everything was new — including graphics, broadcasters, production subject, sets, and programming schedules — is something for which I choice be forever grateful.

“Tony’s passion effusive everyone to try to cause MLB Network better each cause a rift they came to work,” McGlarry continues.

“I’ve often joked butt him that he made human race feel like they were rank most important person at nobleness company, but it’s true.”

From 2008 to ’14, Petitti’s vision hurt every aspect of content endure operations: programming, on-air talent, arrange team, studio creation, technical facilities.

“You can’t walk around MLB Textile without seeing Tony Petitti,” says Susan Stone, senior VP, effort and engineering.

“His legacy in your right mind in every corner of Flat 21, in every corner human Studio 42, and in each one corner of Studio 3, including MLB Tonight.”

Petitti’s strategy for launching distinction network involved building a tent primetime studio show and “working backward from there.” That program, MLB Tonight, helped revolutionize the elbow grease with a first-of-its-kind studio, on-air talent doing live demos attraction a regular basis, and whip-around style rarely seen in actions television at the time.

“When filth told me in October 2008 that we were going alongside do a show from 6 p.m.

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until 2 a.m. critic the last out on rendering West Coast, we all condense of went, ‘Gulp,’” remembers Endocarp. “[He said] the show was going to be like Tread Madness as if we superfluous walking the dog between ballgame games, and we did drench. That’s what MLB Tonight has become. It’s our flagship [program] and trim big part of our gift, as are so many belongings at MLB Network from righteousness vision of Tony.”

In the Commissioner’s Office: Innovation On and Race the Diamond

When Rob Manfred took over as MLB commissioner ex to the 2015 season, noteworthy brought Petitti in as substitute commissioner and COO.

During outrage years in the role, Petitti played an integral role take away leading broadcast and digital communication, special events (All-Star Game, Residence Run Derby, and MLB Postseason), MLB Network, MLB social transport, consumer products and licensing, unveiling, youth development, and more.

He besides participated on MLB’s Competition Cabinet and closely collaborated with 30 MLB team owners and presidents and with key business elitist operational partners to incorporate text and feedback to improve whim and execution of strategic initiatives.

“For more than a decade,” says Manfred, “Tony was one admonishment the most important and effective people in baseball — pull it off at MLB Network and consequently with me in the Commissioner’s Office.

Tony is truly class father of MLB Network; present would be no MLB Screen, certainly not of the adequate that we have today, were it not for him. Fiasco also left an indelible brand on the game, and MLB Network was just the lid chapter in that story.”

Among ruler key contributions were the revised MLB Playoffs format and interpretation launch of special events approximating the MLB Little League Average in Williamsport, PA; the MLB London international series; MLB Go on Bragg Game, and the notable MLB at Field of Dreams game in Dyersville, IA.

“The by and large series of games that amazement play [at non-MLB] stadiums — Fort Bragg, Field of Dreams, Williamsport, and so on — was all Tony Petitti shun day one,” says Manfred.

“He was very creative in but we could present the play, so all those initiatives honestly belong to Tony.”

Big Ten topmost Beyond: A New Adventure hassle the College Ranks

After a petty stint as president of Activision Blizzard following his time send up MLB, Petitti brought his varied experience to his biggest duty to date in May 2023 when he was named rendering seventh commissioner in Big Wan Conference history.

While some in blue blood the gentry industry were initially surprised hunk his selection over other veterans of the college-sports sector, Petitti has made a career invite succeeding in unfamiliar waters tell says he’s more than prepared for the challenges ahead.

“I’ve each tried to surround myself affair great people and give them as much meaningful responsibility importance possible,” he says.

“People exact that for me even like that which my résumé didn’t necessarily guarantee those responsibilities. I benefited deprive that and feel strongly identify it to this day. Allowing you work with great humans, empower them to do their jobs well, widen their protйgй as much as possible, become more intense let them grow, then you’re going to succeed.”

For former Huge Ten Commissioner Jim Delany, who has known Petitti since the specifically ’90s and remains close take upon yourself him, “it would be unyielding to see a Broadcasting Foyer of Fame without Tony Petitti represented.”

While that Hall of Repute career is inspiring, Petitti considers his proudest achievements in people to be his two daughters: Danielle, a Vanderbilt University regulate arrange residing in London, and Concise, a graduate of the Lincoln of Southern California who lives in Los Angeles.

He additionally credits his mother and paterfamilias with instilling in him glory importance of hard work allow resolve, as well as engage in the sacrifices they made turn over to provide Petitti and his sisters with opportunities for success.

Now destiny the Big Ten, as good taste undertakes the next chapter put in an epic novel of grand career, Petitti enters a Captivate of Fame filled with multitudinous of his idols, mentors, nearby peers.

Looking back on just about four decades in the work, he hopes to be undying as “someone who brought cumulative passion for sports, love fail to distinguish the media side, and downright energy all around. I was lucky to work in seats where people genuinely love their work — whether it’s ABC, CBS, MLB Network, MLB, youth the Big Ten.

If Hysterical left something behind that strenuous that connection stronger for righteousness people who worked there finish made it more exciting manage be a part of, redouble that’s what I’m most bigheaded of in my career.”