Those Guys Have All the Fun - James Andrew Miller [231]
It turned out fine. The analysts really developed a quick respect for him. People saw who he was, how engaging he was, and how down-to-earth. My interest was making him look good, in making the company look good. They came to find out he was about the roots of the company, about never forgetting where we came from, and he doesn’t seek the glory. It’s always about the team. That’s George.
HOWARD KATZ:
I was really supportive of George getting the job. I thought he was the right choice. At one point, Steve had asked me if I wanted to be considered as a candidate for that job, and I was sort of flattered that he asked, but at the time I felt that I really didn’t have any background in the revenue side of the business. I knew programming and production, but I didn’t know the affiliate or advertising side at all, and I thought that would be a huge drawback. So I just thought George was better suited than I was for the job.
Many believed that Katz took the top job over at ABC Sports, where he had labored and learned under Roone Arledge, as a way of dealing with the disappointment of not succeeding Bornstein. But to Katz, it seemed like a dream position—a step up in many ways. Maybe he should have remembered the wise old adage “When the Lord wants to punish you, He answers your prayers.”
STEVE BORNSTEIN:
It was a nice solution for me, because I needed a grown-up to run that business, and Howard was very good at that. And it got him out of a circumstance of working for George, which I don’t think his ego was comfortable with. I felt that ESPN suffered because of it, because Howard was a damn good production executive.
HOWARD KATZ:
There are people who have said to me over the years, “God, it’s too bad, I wish you had never left. I wish you had stayed. A lot of things would’ve been different. I know you, Howard, you wouldn’t have allowed this to happen, you wouldn’t have allowed that to happen.” And I’m flattered when people say that to me. I just want to set the record straight that I didn’t leave because I didn’t get that top job. I think that was a coincidence of timing. The notion that I was upset that George got it and I left as a result couldn’t be further from the truth.
In hindsight, maybe I should’ve stayed at ESPN. Years and years later, I say to myself it was probably a bad career move not telling Steve I was interested in that job at ESPN. Maybe I could’ve done it and maybe I sold myself short. Maybe I would have found out for myself if I was a capable leader.
STEVE BORNSTEIN:
When Howard took the job, he thought there was still an ABC Sports. I think he was a little naive, but it’s hard to take a person of that age who has toiled that long in the business of sports television and not have him romanticize about it. It was a legacy that was unparalleled. There were three sports divisions and the greatest ever was ABC. They made a lot of money in those days and had a hell of a lot of fun, and you’re being able to be the president of that division? That’s pretty compelling.
HOWARD KATZ:
I started my career at ABC Sports. It had been the gold standard for so many years in sports television that I thought Disney could have two effective sports brands: ABC Sports on network and ESPN on cable. When I had the opportunity to go back there and try and rebuild it, it was something I couldn’t say no to. But I was foolish enough to think I’d actually have the chance to try and do that. I did some things I was really proud of at ABC Sports, but eventually it became really clear that they were going to shut it down. They just didn’t need ABC Sports anymore, and it went beyond union issues. It was at the Super Bowl in San Diego that I realized it was the end when I couldn’t look ABC