There’s a notable new role for Russell Wolff, a long-time ESPN executive who left that company in April amidst wider Disney layoffs. As per John Ourand of Sports Business Journal, Wolff is now headed to private equity firm Sixth Street Partners:
SBJ Media:
* SportsNet LA’s ties to Ohtani’s deal.
* The worst local sports deals of all time.
* Former top ESPN exec lands with Sixth Street Partners.https://t.co/jC0YQyZKgR— John Ourand (@Ourand_SBJ) December 12, 2023
Here’s more from that piece:
Longtime ESPN exec Russell Wolff accepted a position with Sixth Street Partners, an investment company that manages $75 billion in assets. Wolff will start in January as a senior member of the sports, media and entertainment group.
…Wolff’s role will be to identify investment opportunities to a firm that already has significant sports and media holdings. In 2021, it became the majority investor in Legends and took a 20% stake in the Spurs. Last year, it was part of a $380 million partnership with Real Madrid, bought a 25% share of FC Barcelona’s domestic audio/visual rights as part of a 25-year deal and co-founded the NWSL expansion franchise Bay FC, which begins play in San Jose next year.
Wolff left ESPN in July following a 26-year career that had him overseeing ESPN+ and heading up ESPN’s international business. Wolff sat on ESPN’s board and headed up the company’s relationship with Special Olympics since 2014.
As we covered around Wolff’s exit in April, he was a crucial figure for that company for a long time. That includes with “crown jewel” ESPN+, where he was EVP and GM since November 2018 (after overseeing ESPN International before that). So he has a lot of experience in both the linear and streaming TV businesses. Here’s a quote on what he did before that ESPN+ role, from ESPN’s 2018 release on that move:
As part of his previous role, Wolff guided ESPN’s digital expansion around the world, including the launch of mobile, online and streaming platforms, helping it establish a position as the number one digital sports brand globally. He led ESPN’s digital media teams to grow their global digital media portfolio, which included more than a dozen localized editions of ESPN.com and the ESPN app, ESPNFC (global football vertical), ESPNCricinfo (global cricket vertical), ESPN’s streaming platforms (including WatchESPN) and multiple other digital initiatives.
He also was a key driver of ESPN’s continued growth and leadership in Latin America. Under his direction, ESPN’s offerings grew into a multimedia business that includes 13 television networks, the most diverse portfolio of programming and sports events, and the operation of production facilities and offices in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico.
Wolff first joined ESPN International in 1997 as vice president, managing the company’s business interests in the Pacific Rim. In 1998, he joined ESPN Star Sports, as vice president of programming and event management and was later promoted to senior vice president. Wolff returned to ESPN in 2000 as senior vice president, overseeing programming, marketing, and the company’s businesses in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
So Wolff has a lot of experiences in a wide variety of realms. And it will be interesting to see what he brings to Sixth Street Partners, and what other sports properties he spotlights as potential investments for them.
