Mark Shapiro recalls meeting ‘genius’ Howie Schwab and launching ‘Stump the Schwab’
"He's going on and on and on, and I just realized, it kind of hit me, this guy, he's a genius. Like, he's a savant."
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UFC, ESPN reportedly ‘motivated’ to continue partnership
Amazon and Netflix are expected to take meetings with the MMA promotion as well.
MLB exec Mark Shapiro still frustrated by ‘Moneyball’ portrayal
"How come Brad Pitt played Billy Beane, and you got Reed Diamond playing you?"
Former ESPN exec recalls Max Kellerman’s ‘Around the Horn’ departure: ‘He wanted too much money!’
"I don’t know if at the time he... thought ultimately we’d cave and he was too integral to the success of the show, but we didn’t believe that was the case."
Prior to launch, ESPN sales team thought ‘Around the Horn’ would ‘never do ratings’
"All the sales guys were telling us, 'It's gonna hurt SportsCenter. We can't sell it. It'll never do ratings. It'll never hit critical mass.'"
Stephen A. Smith’s agent says he will not run for president
"He's going to continue to entertain those conversations, but he will not run for president."
TKO’s Mark Shapiro: UFC’s future on pay-per-view is ‘flexible’
"Life has changed on the pay-per-view front."
TKO nearing partnership with Saudi Arabia for boxing promotion
"It’s the right strategic place for us to be."
WWE no longer interested in legalizing betting on matches
"It just doesn't jive."
TKO’s Mark Shapiro: UFC could have multiple partners in next media rights deal
"I mean, there's a lot of options here, we're going to explore all of them."
Former ESPN exec Mark Shapiro reveals Mike Lupica turned down ‘PTI’
"Mike was not interested in doing a daily show."
Former ESPN exec Mark Shapiro reveals pursuit of Troy Aikman to replace John Madden for ‘Monday Night Football’
"What went wrong is, I couldn't close the deal with Aikman."
TKO President Mark Shapiro: Sports rights are ‘as hot as I’ve seen’
"But it is about timing."
Endeavor’s Mark Shapiro: ESPN-Fox-WBD streaming bundle ‘a big nothing’
"You're going to be missing a lot of stuff that's on NBC and CBS. So why would I get it?"
Endeavor president Mark Shapiro: UFC is now one of the four major sports
"UFC is now not only mainstream, it's one of the four majors."
TKO exec: WWE could wait until night before current ‘Raw’ deal expires to make new TV deal
"We can be flexible, we can be patient. Our job is to maximize the rights value of Raw."
Looking back at ESPN’s scripted sports content, from ‘A Season on the Brink’ to ‘Playmakers’ and ‘Tilt’
“Consider them rolled”—A look back at the Big Ten-ESPN meeting that changed sports media and college football forever
Toronto Blue Jays’ president Mark Shapiro had his dog Cleoh pop up in the middle of his press conference
Shapiro's press conference had a surprising guest come into frame.
Papa John Schnatter says former ESPN exec Mark Shapiro should be in jail, promises “day of reckoning”
Papa John also claims to have eaten 40 pizzas in 30 days, which could go a long way towards explaining his aesthetic.
Awful Classics: 15 years has done little to stifle our obsession with ESPN’s Playmakers
We’re at the part of the story where Papa John accuses his board, including WME-IMG’s Mark Shapiro, of being sex creeps
Our divorced pizza dad is back with more disturbing allegations in his attempt to get back at mom.
John Skipper’s abrupt exit opened the door for ESPN to strike a UFC deal
Skipper reportedly "wasn’t a fan of the sport and didn’t believe it fit into ESPN’s schedule."
HBO unveils teaser trailer and details for “Being Serena,” a five-part behind-the-scenes documentary series on Serena Williams
"Being Serena" will air Wednesdays on HBO beginning May 2.
