This award recognises the body of work of an individual within the sports broadcast and OTT industry whose career has fundamentally shaped the industry and their legacy will continue to have an impact on the future.
Director of Sports
Barbara Slater took up her role as Director of Sport in April 2009.
She had previously been Head of Production and Head of General Sports for the department.
Her responsibilities include working with governing bodies to retain a broad portfolio of broadcasting rights, overseeing the planning and coverage of major sporting events and leading the sports journalism operation at BBC Sport’s home in Salford.
Barbara was responsible for the BBC’s acclaimed cross-platform coverage of the London Olympic Games – the most watched TV event in UK broadcasting history. Barbara was awarded the ‘Inspirational Woman Prize’ at the Women in Film and Television Awards in recognition of this achievement and has since been appointed as an adviser to the IOC Radio and Television Commission and the UK’s Sports Business Council.
Barbara joined the BBC in 1983 as a trainee assistant producer in the Natural History Unit in Bristol, but has spent most of her career as a producer in BBC Sport, specialising in outside broadcasts and overseeing the production of a range of sports including tennis and golf. Barbara was awarded the OBE in 2014 for her services to sports broadcasting.
She grew up in Birmingham, and was an international gymnast, competing for Great Britain at the Olympic Games in Montreal in 1976. Barbara is married with three children.
Managing Director
Timo Lumme is the Managing Director of IOC Television & Marketing Services, the marketing department of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
As Managing Director, Timo is responsible for the sale of all broadcast rights to the Olympic Games, the negotiation and sale of Worldwide Olympic Partnerships as well as the management of the IOC’s global sponsorship programme known as TOP. His responsibilities include the development and implementation of the IOC’s strategic marketing plan and oversight of Olympic marketing programmes worldwide.
Timo is on the board of directors for the following IOC Group Companies: IOC Television and Marketing Services; Olympic Broadcast Services; and Olympic Channel Services.
Timo joined the IOC in 2004 from ESPN where he worked as Vice President Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) since 2001. He combines a strong background in the worlds of marketing and broadcast with Olympic Games experience. He started his career in 1988 with the International Management Group (IMG) where he held marketing and management positions in London, Paris and Milan. Specific Olympic Games work includes the 1992 Albertville and 1994 Lillehammer Olympic Winter Games.
Other achievements include three years at Nike as European Sports Marketing Director, negotiating and overseeing commercial sponsorship arrangements with over 1,000 athletes, teams, events and federations. He also worked in new media for Quokka Sports, including as general manager for nbcolympics.com, complementing NBC’s coverage of the Sydney 2000 and Salt Lake City 2002 Olympic Games.
A qualified lawyer from the London firm of Slaughter and May, Lumme speaks five languages (Finnish, English, French, Italian and German).
Former, VP Women's Sports Programming & Acquisitions
Carol Stiff serves as an advisor for FAST Studios’ Women’s Sports Network and is the president of Stiff Sports Media Consulting, LLC, where she consults with brands and companies looking to get behind women’s sports. She is a 30+ year veteran of ESPN and Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame inductee credited with advancing the growth of women’s sports at the collegiate and professional level and was responsible for the acquisition and programming of a variety of sports including NCAA women’s basketball, various NCAA Men’s & Women’s championships, WNBA, and professional softball across multiple ESPN properties. Carol also served as Vice President of content integration for espnW, integrating women’s sports across ESPN platforms.
President, Acquisitions and Partnerships
Jon Miller is President, Acquisitions and Partnerships, NBC Sports where he oversees acquisitions, as well as linear and digital programming for NBC Sports. Previously, Miller served as Executive Vice President, NBC Sports since November 2006.
Miller, who is credited for creating the NHL Winter Classic – an event that the New York Times said “has stolen New Year’s Day” – oversees nearly 10,000 hours of annual programming on NBC Sports and NBC linear and digital channels including The Triple Crown, The Breeder’s Cup, Royal Ascot, the NFL, the NHL, French Open, Notre Dame Football, Tour de France, The America’s Cup, IndyCar and NBC’s golf properties, which include the PGA TOUR’s Players Championship, The Open Championship and President’s Cup, as well as the PGA of America’s Ryder Cup. Miller is also responsible for NBC Sports’ original programming and works closely with SKY Sports on international programming opportunities.
Most recently, Miller created the strategy and led the negotiations that delivered BIG TEN Saturday Night to NBC, as well as leading the team that acquired the Premier League, the preeminent soccer league in the world. He also was responsible for bringing the USGA Championships back to NBC. He has been instrumental in the acquisition of some of the world’s top sports properties, helping solidify multi-year agreements for The Indianapolis 500, the top open-wheel racing series and one of the biggest events in all of sports, NASCAR, America’s top Motorsports Franchise, IMSA, MotoGP, Supercross, USFL, The Rugby World Cup, Rugby 7’s World Series, Six Nations Rugby Championship.
An innovative and resourceful leader, Miller created the successful NBC Sports Properties unit which generates income from non-traditional revenue streams and does not rely merely on advertising as the sole source of income. The unit acquires and develops new and existing sports properties, and is actively involved in the creation, organization, marketing, production and execution of the events. Properties under that umbrella that he created include the highly successful American Century Golf Championship, The PNC (Father/Son) Championship, the annual high school football showcase, The All-American Bowl and The National Dog Show, which has become a Thanksgiving Day tradition.
He is also actively involved with the programming and execution of NBC Sports properties on PEACOCK which serves as the vertical streaming extension of several major NBC Sports’ properties (i.e. Premier League, MLB, USGA, Rugby, Tour de France, Supercross).
Jon has served as a board member for the NY/NJ Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and is actively involved as an advisory board member for the Tom Coughlin Jay Fund, as well as the NYC Chapter of the March of Dimes Sports Division.
Miller, who was born in Washington, D.C., and raised in Bethesda, Md., graduated from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He and his wife, Jan, have two sons, Jeff and Robby.