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Norby After McAfee

When veteran ESPN producer Norby Williamson took over production at Main Street Sports early this year, he had no intention of maintaining the R.S.N.s’ status quo. Today, he rolled out his plan for sports-specific production silos while recruiting four execs from Bristol. But can it all possibly work?

Norby Williamson espn
Norby Williamson told me he’s confident that his sport-specific production arrangement will preserve the hometown terroir of each broadcast—a tough needle to thread in a media environment that’s predicated on both platform economics and customization. Photo: Yana Paskova/For The Washington Post/Getty Images
John Ourand
March 14, 2025

A few months into his new gig as president of production and programming at Main Street Sports, Norby Williamson has started implementing his plan to remake the company’s FanDuel Sports’s regional networks. On Tuesday, the former ESPN exec, who infamously lost a power struggle with Pat McAfee last year, brought on four production executives from his former stomping grounds: former Monday Night Football producer Jay Rothman (who will lead Main Street’s NHL productions), Ed Placey (MLB), Mark Summer (studio), and Larry Holm (NBA). The reorg also included laying off nine high-profile executives, including three production V.P.s (including Nick Davis and Ron Gralnik) and six FanDuel E.P.s, while leaving Brett Opdyke in place to handle the NBA with Holm.