Steve Bornstein

Bornstein joined ESPN in 1980 as a programming executive and eventually served as its president. During his tenure, the network launched SportsCenter, NFL Primetime, and channels such as ESPN2. He joined the National Football League in 2002 and was vital in launching the NFL’s in-house network, which he publicly fought to place within the cable ecosystem, and the RedZone channel. In August, Bornstein, 69, joined London-based data and technology company Genius Sports as president of North America operations. Genius provides data to set betting lines to sports gambling services, such as DraftKings, FanDuel and Caesars. The firm offers data to create next-generation stats for on-screen graphics during sporting events. In 2021, it landed an exclusive data rights deal with the NFL valued at roughly $1 billion and acquired Second Spectrum, which uses cameras to collect data on players in real-time, for $200 million. Genius made two key moves in 2021 by landing deals with the National Basketball Association’s Africa operation and the Canadian Football League. The agreements allow Genius to further innovate and test gamification concepts and multiscreen experiences such as Romo Vision.