As it emerged from Chapter 11, Main Street Sports (formerly Diamond Sports Group) is ready for a fresh start. That includes new leadership in the form of former ESPN EVP Norby Williamson.
Awful Announcing has learned that Main Street plans to introduce Williamson in a senior role in which he’ll oversee production for FanDuel Sports Network (formerly Bally Sports), the regional sports network (RSN) broadcast home to 13 NBA teams, eight NHL teams, and eight MLB teams.
Main Street did not respond to a request for comment.
Williamson, who started with ESPN in 1985, working his way up from the mailroom to the role of Executive Editor and Head of Event and Studio Production, parted ways with ESPN last spring, reportedly due to a difference in vision with ESPN’s President of Content Burke Magnus.
After spending 20 months in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Main Street Sports (née Diamond Sports) and the FanDuel Sports Network will have 16 RSNs with a total of 13 NBA teams, eight NHL teams, and eight MLB teams, down from the pre-Chapter 11 figures of 19 RSNs and more than 40 teams. Now, however, Main Street Sports has digital rights for all the teams, which will be available to consumers through Amazon.
In December, Main Street’s FanDuel Sports Network parted ways with Michael Connelly, a Senior Vice President and Executive Producer, as part of what one source told Awful Announcing was related to cost-cutting measures said to potentially also include game cameras, broadcasters, and sideline reporters. That source claimed Connelly left involuntarily.
“As part of our reorganization, we are reassessing our organizational needs in order to modernize a company that has remained unchanged for decades,” read a statement from the company in December. “The needs and opportunities we face today demand a forward-looking approach, and we are fully committed to evolving to meet them with purpose and clarity.”
During his time at ESPN, Williamson was a polarizing figure with ardent supporters and detractors. He reportedly battled with some of the company’s biggest talents over the years, including Jemele Hill, Rachel Nichols, Stuart Scott, and The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz.
“We felt really undermined at a lot of different points,” Hill told The Awful Announcing Podcast in 2024 regarding the drama around SC6. “All of that was not on Norby, for sure. But I don’t think he helped, and I don’t think he stopped it.”
Four months before leaving the company, Pat McAfee publicly called him out, accusing the executive of “trying to sabotage” The Pat McAfee Show by leaking ratings data to the New York Post. While various insiders noted that the decision to let Williamson go was unrelated to McAfee’s comments, many in the industry noted it as a harbinger of the changing times.
Going forward it will be interesting to see if other current and former ESPN talent or production personnel follow Williamson and how he looks to evolve production during a time where cost efficiency seems paramount to his new role.
Update: Main Street Sports Group officially announced Williamson as President of Production and Programming on Wednesday afternoon. Williamson will begin his role on January 13th.
Per the release, Williamson’s responsibilities will include, “pre-game, game and post-game strategy and innovation, along with managing operations and content across linear and digital platforms.” He will report to Main Street Sports Group CEO David Preschlack.
“I could not be more excited to join FanDuel Sports Network,” Williamson said in the announcement. “The platform’s unique combination of valuable local sports rights with powerful, forward-looking content and distribution partnerships provides an incredible foundation that I am eager to build on. I look forward to collaborating with the talented Main Street Sports team to drive excellence in our productions and find new ways to deliver high quality content that resonates with fans across platforms.”
Read the full release here.
