Mr. Ebersol's tenure at NBC sports spread over a flush era which frankly had as much to do with the cascading billions coming out of the professional sports leagues as it did with his acumen as an executive.
This is not to denigrate the man; he certainly has accomplished much, But regardless of the euphemized statements and releases sure to follow his departure, the hard truth seems to be that the golden days of tv sports are rapidly turning to silver, if not bronze, and other than the superpower exception of the NFL, perhaps even to dross. NFL owners can be accused of bare greed for certain, but it's equally true that there are disquieting tweets coming out of their protestations.
It's not entirely certain that the monstrous investments made in super-suiting stadiums will really pay off downstream. The NBA faces a tougher new financial landscape according to David Stern. Major League Baseball has become creaky and ungainly and Commissioner. Selig apparently does not appear to see himself dressed in the emperor's clothes. Hockey has been under stress for years. Golf without the stimulus provided by Tiger Woods, and more critically the economic downturn impacting participation and interest in golf will also take its toll. Tennis remains a blip. The bloated overprogrammed ESPN tv goldmine business model may be in for rough seas as more and more viewers take to the internet, a business model where dollars quickly turn to dimes.
But of all Mr. Ebersol's legacies the one which has never been really validated on naked dollar terms was the Olympics. In flush times one could argue branding, image,etc. In the no so brave new world of post 2008 frenetic media dollar chase against the likes of facebookworld, it's another story. Branding and image has become a totally fake, if not pathetically dated premise. But good luck to Mr. Ebersol, surely he'll find renewal some where in the digital wannabe companies proliferating out there.
