SVG Summit: David Hill, Steve Bornstein Deliver Big-Time Opener for Record Crowd

In case you missed this year’s SVG Summit, Dec. 15-16 at the New York Hilton Hotel, SVG has assembled video highlights of every single Day 2 session, allowing you to see what you may have missed during the day’s keynote conversations and panels. Full videos of every session will be available on the SVG Members page in the coming days, but SVG will showcase the best moments in a series of stories this week.

A record high of more than 1,200 sports-technology pros turned out at the New York Hilton Hotel on Dec. 15-16 for the ninth-annual SVG Summit, which kicked off with a Morning Keynote Conversation with legendary sports media execs — and recently inducted Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famers — Steve Bornstein and David Hill, interviewed by ESPN reporter Jeremy Schaap.

Bornstein touched on everything from the early days at a fledgling ESPN – he was hired just fourth months after it launched – to his ascent to the post of President and CEO and the network’s rise as one of the most powerful media companies on the planet. He would later go on to utilize these ESPN experiences and knowledge to lead the launch of the NFL Network as President and CEO.

David Hill took SVG Summit attendees behind the scenes during the launch of Fox Sports in 1994, an effort in which he played an integral role. He also touched on topics ranging from his hiring of Terry Bradshaw, the launch of Fox Sports 1 last year, the current media-rights landscape, and his role in the creation of Sportvision’s 1st-and-10 line and DirecTV’s launch of the NFL Red Zone channel.

Check out all the highlights below…
Bornstein on the moment he knew ESPN would be a success:

Hill on winning the rights to NFL football and the “sheer bloody terror” he felt when launching Fox Sports in 1994:

Bornstein on the impact of Disney’s purchase of ESPN in 1991, and specifically the impact of Michael Eisner:

Hill and Bornstein on the rise of regional sports networks and their bright future ahead:

Hill on how everyone called him crazy for hiring Terry Bradshaw as the face of Fox’s NFL coverage:

Bornstein on using the lessons he learned at ESPN in starting the NFL Network:

Bornstein on the power of sports television and why it will continue to drive the media business:

Hill on building Fox Sports 1 and how the increasing length of rights deals are changing the business:

Hill and Bornstein on the creation of the Fox Box time-and-score graphic, the 1st-and-10 line, and how the Red Zone channel was Hill’s idea first: