Hong is hitting it out of the park this year. His elevation to his current, newly created role in March was a direct result of his success in growing and guiding Turner Sports’ foothold in strategy, rights acquisitions, marketing and digital. He was a key player in the original NCAA multimedia rights agreement and recent enhanced deal extending the partnership through 2032. He was heavily involved with the renewal of Turner’s partnership with the NBA, broadening the multimedia rights agreement through the 2024-25 season. He also led the company’s acquisition of Bleacher Report in 2012. “Three years ago our sector was very focused on 24/7 sports linear networks; today the main focus is OTT,” he says. Hong’s schedule includes overseeing the extensive NBA Digital portfolio co-managed by Turner Sports and the NBA; programming the division’s sports assets across TNT, TBS and truTV; and managing relationships with the NCAA, MLB and PGA of America.
