The Why: Co-chair of Showtime’s DEI Council, Espinoza helps foster an inclusive and representative environment across the organization while ensuring its content resonates. He’s built Showtime into a destination for world-champion boxing, last year drawing fans to 23 live events. He’s also expanded basketball content and produced four docs, including the Sports Emmy-nominated “NYC Point Gods” and “McEnroe.”
He Says… “The NBA has consistently had a strong track record on DEI, stronger than any other professional sport. Currently 50% of team GMs and 50% of team head coaches are people of color, and nearly a third of team CEOs or presidents are women or people of color. The league’s prioritization of DEI is also reflected in players’ and teams’ freedom to express themselves on a range of societal issues.”
Do you think there has been significant progress on DEI in the industry in the past year? No; if anything, there has been regression. The corporate DEI pledges relating to content and employee hiring and promotion have largely been hollow, with little substantive progress. The 2023 UCLA Diversity Report, among other surveys and analyses, reflects a stunning lack of progress throughout the industry. And a recent wave of layoffs of very senior DEI executives threatens to completely derail any positive momentum that may have existed in individual organizations.
Place I would love to retire to: Zihuatanejo or Croatia. Or both.
