January 25, 2023
Longtime Ad Vet Bratches Exits ESPN
- by Wayne Friedman , April 20, 2015
Longtime ESPN senior advertising/marketing
executive Sean Bratches is departing the sports media company. Bratches -- who is executive vice president/sales and marketing and has been with the company for nearly 30 years -- will leave at the end of 2015. No replacement has been named.
Some key accomplishments include starting up the first live, streaming cable channels online and for mobile devices through WatchESPN platform. Earlier, in 2003, Bratches was instrumental in getting distribution for ESPN HD.
He has been in his current position since 2005, which oversees advertising sales, research, consumer marketing, consumer products and special events areas.
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Previously, he held different senior positions leading affiliate sales groups at both ESPN and Walt Disney Company. Bratches joined ESPN in 1988 as an account executive in affiliate marketing.
In recent years, Bratches lead his team in negotiating wide-ranging distribution agreements with a number of TV-media distributors, including into broadband and Internet connectivity.
ESPN President John Skipper stated: "He told me recently he wants to take on new challenges, after achieving so much with us -- an understandable goal given his vision, business savvy and relentlessly positive impact on people.”
Interesting to hear about the career of Sean Bratches at ESPN. ESPN was one of the first cable stations to put their content free online for subscribers. ESPN is still ahead of the curve in some ways by offering all of its content from all of its networks live online. Bratches business model has been frequently replicated by other major networks like HBO and Showtime. In order for ESPN to retain value it has to be a live service, especially with the nature of sports, so the fact that Bratches masterfully created the platform while working within the rights ESPN has in their contracts. Interested to see what he does next.