or


[04/20/15 - 08:08 AM]
Sean Bratches to Depart ESPN at End of 2015
Bratches' career is defined by innovation and vision, and his contributions helped to fuel tremendous growth in ESPN's brand and revenue.

[via press release from ESPN]

Sean Bratches to Depart ESPN at End of 2015

ESPN Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Sean R.H. Bratches, whose leadership and accomplishments throughout his 27-year career with ESPN were instrumental to the company's growth, will depart at the end of 2015. He will serve in an advisory capacity to ESPN until that time.

Bratches' career is defined by innovation and vision, and his contributions helped to fuel tremendous growth in ESPN's brand and revenue. He has led the affiliate sales groups at both ESPN and The Walt Disney Company, as well as ESPN's advertising sales, research, consumer marketing, consumer products and special events areas since being named to his current position in 2005.

In recent years Bratches and his team successfully concluded the negotiation of wide-ranging agreements with virtually every distributor, buttressing the industry's existing business model while extending lines of business deeply into broadband and Internet connectivity. ESPN's integrated ad sales team sets the pace on Madison Avenue; the research group is in the vanguard of cross-platform media measurement, and the company's consumer marketing group is consistently award-winning, led by the iconic "This is SportsCenter" campaign.

When he joined the company, there was only one cable network - ESPN. Today, the company has eight domestic channels as well as dozens of additional products and services both in the US and abroad; Bratches has been instrumental to that evolution. He has also always had a keen eye for the trajectory of the industry and how ESPN could create win-win scenarios for growth.

Notable among his many innovative achievements: In 2003, Bratches was the catalyst behind securing extensive distribution of ESPN HD, which is considered the tipping point for the proliferation and adoption of high definition television - both from an industry and consumer perspective. In 2010, Bratches' team introduced the first live, streaming cable channels online and in mobile devices through WatchESPN. ESPN's newer, emerging networks and platforms like WatchESPN, ESPN3 and the SEC Network have achieved record-setting growth under his direction.

"Sean is an extremely well-respected and admired industry visionary whose contributions to ESPN's success cannot be overstated," said ESPN President John Skipper. "We have all greatly appreciated his energy, integrity and service to ESPN, our employees and our industry.

"He told me recently he wants to take on new challenges, after achieving so much with us -- an understandable goal given his vision, business savvy and relentlessly positive impact on people. He will certainly be missed, but through his efforts we are blessed with a wealth of executives well-qualified to keep ESPN moving forward."

Bratches added: "There is no more innovative, inventive, creative and collaborative company in the media business -- perhaps on the planet -- than ESPN. ESPN's future is bright, and my teams are performing at their highest levels. The time just felt right to pursue my next adventure."

Bratches joined ESPN in 1988 as an account executive in affiliate marketing. Over the years, his rapidly rising influence impacted not only ESPN, but an entire industry through his focus on finding "win-win" outcomes and his genuine concern for others, serving as a tireless mentor to a multitude of colleagues over the years.

He was inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame in 2014 for his significant contributions to the industry. He twice won the NCTA's Vanguard Award, in 2001 for Young Leadership and in 2009 for Marketing. He is a member of CableFax Magazine's Sales Hall of Fame, and has or currently serves on a variety of industry boards, including CTAM, WICT, The Cable Center, the T. Howard Foundation and The Ad Council. Very recently, he was instrumental in establishing a T. Howard internship at ESPN in honor of the network's Stuart Scott, who died in January after a lengthy battle with cancer.





  [april 2015]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
   


· SHOWATCH
(series past and present)
· DEVWATCH
(series in development)
· MOVIEWATCH
(tv movies and mini-series)





[11/26/24 - 12:03 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of Nov. 18: "The Merry Gentlemen" and "A Man on the Inside" Take the Top Spots
Season 2 of the animated series "Arcane" laid siege to #2 (6.4M views), while Season 1 took #5 with 2.2M views.

[11/26/24 - 11:44 AM]
TNT Sports to Debut "Evolve and Flex" with Lance Fresh Friday, Dec. 6, on truTV and Max
The show is hosted by sports-lifestyle expert Lance Fresh and features candid conversations with guests to discuss how life's events have contributed to their sense of style.

[11/26/24 - 11:19 AM]
MGM+ Announces 2025 Premiere Date for "NFL Icons" Season Four
In the upcoming fourth season, the docuseries will feature Pro Football Hall of Famers Joe Montana, DeMarcus Ware, Kurt Warner and Gale Sayers.

[11/26/24 - 10:24 AM]
Video: "Rogue Heroes" (MGM+ 2025 Series) Season 2 Tease
"Rogue Heroes" is a dramatized account of how the world's greatest Special Forces unit, the SAS, was formed under extraordinary circumstances in the darkest days of World War Two.

[11/26/24 - 10:09 AM]
Video: Acorn TV Releases Official Trailer for Second Season of Hit Australian Drama, "Darby and Joan"
The new season debuts with a two-episode premiere, exclusively on Acorn TV, on December 30, followed by weekly episodes through January 27.

[11/26/24 - 10:01 AM]
ABC News Studios Announces Fourth Season of Hit True-Crime Series "Wild Crime," Streaming Dec. 5 Only on Hulu
"Wild Crime: Eleven Skulls" delves into the haunting 2012 disappearance of Samantha Koenig, an 18-year-old Anchorage barista last seen leaving her place of work with an unknown man on a dark winter night.

[11/26/24 - 08:32 AM]
Bravo Greenlights "Vanderpump Rules" Season 12 with a New Group of SUR-vers
In addition, "Vanderpump Rules" will celebrate the past decade of heartbreaks, friendship rifts and scandals with a retrospective special highlighting the past 11 seasons.

[11/26/24 - 08:30 AM]
Video: Paramount+ and Nickelodeon Reveal Teaser, First-Look Images and Premiere Date for "Henry Danger The Movie"
"Henry Danger The Movie" will be available to stream in the U.S. on Paramount+ Friday, January 17, and premiere on Nickelodeon that same day at 7 p.m. (ET/PT).

[11/26/24 - 08:01 AM]
Video: "Makayla's Voice: A Letter to the World" - Official Teaser - Netflix
Makayla is a teenage girl who has spent her life grappling with a rare form of autism that rendered her essentially nonverbal until her parents, filled with unwavering belief in their daughter's potential, embarked on a transformative journey to discover the true depth of Makayla's inner world.

[11/26/24 - 08:01 AM]
HBO Announces Ian Bonhote & Peter Ettedgui's Award-Winning "Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story," Debuting December 7 on HBO and Max
The critically acclaimed film had its world premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and recently won six Critics Choice Documentary Awards.

[11/26/24 - 08:00 AM]
HGTV Greenlights Gutsy Las Vegas Renovation Series "Sin City Rehab" (wt) Starring Indomitable Designer Alison Victoria
The eight-episode series will document Alison, best known for her Emmy-nominated series "Windy City Rehab," taking the biggest gamble of her career as she expands her successful design business out West.

[11/26/24 - 07:01 AM]
Video: "The Manny" Season 2 - Release Date Announcement - Netflix
A busy executive hires a cowboy to care for her kids in a moment of panic. Little does she know he'll challenge her views of gender roles - and of love.

[11/26/24 - 06:58 AM]
"The Talk" Series Finale to Air Live on Friday, December 20
Over the show's 15 season run, "The Talk" will have aired 2,993 episodes, garnered over 70 awards/nominations, promoted over 10,800 guests, gifted over $103 million in giveaways, and welcomed over 250,000 audience members.

[11/26/24 - 06:01 AM]
"Star Wars: Skeleton Crew" Will Debut Early - Watch the Two-Episode Premiere Streaming December 2 Only on Disney+!
Look for new weekly episodes every Tuesday starting at 6 p.m. PT on December 10.

[11/26/24 - 06:01 AM]
Paramount+ Sets December 9 Premiere for Docuseries on American Soccer Star Christian Pulisic
The first episode will premiere in December, while episodes two and three will premiere in January.