NBC didn’t have to look far for its replacement for outgoing NBC Sports President Pete Bevacqua. The company has named long-time NBC Sports executive Rick Cordella to lead the division.
Cordella will replace Bevacqua, who will become the Athletics Director at Notre Dame in 2024.
Cordella has been with NBCUniversal since 2006. In 2022, he was named the President of Programming for NBC Sports and Peacock. In addition to his roles within NBC Sports, Cordella helped to launch Peacock in 2020 and has led NBCUniversal’s sports programming initiatives across its broadcast, cable, and streaming platforms.
As the head of programming, he spearheaded increased live sports content for Peacock as well as overseeing sports betting, fantasy, and other related efforts. Cordella will now be responsible for all aspects of NBCUniversal’s sports properties from the Big Ten, golf, NFL, Olympics, and soccer.
In its formal announcement, NBCUniversal Chairman Mark Lazarus said promoting Cordella was a natural progression for the company.
“Rick has been at the epicenter of NBC Sports for years with a proven track record of growth and innovation across platforms, particularly our flagship NBC network as well as Peacock, where he helped architect our leadership role in sports and streaming,” Lazarus said. “Rick will oversee the evolution of our business as we continue to offer the best experiences and content to our viewers, as well as be the best partner to leagues and rights holders.”
Cordella will report to Lazarus in his new role.
He will also oversee NBC Sports Regional Networks in Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco as well as Peacock which will have a huge role in the 2024 Paris Olympics streaming all events live.
Before his executive days, the Providence College grad played for the Providence Friar men’s basketball team that reached the NCAA Elite Eight in 1997.
[Variety]
