Damon Phillips: Creating Inclusive Opportunities in NBC Sports

Damon Phillips is SVP, Strategic Initiatives and Head of Diversity & Inclusion, NBC Sports Group. In his role, Damon is responsible for identifying and incubating new business and content opportunities. In addition, he oversees NBC Sports Group’s diversity and inclusion efforts aligned with DE&I initiatives across the full NBC Sports portfolio. Damon previously served as the Senior Vice President & General Manager of NBC Sports Washington.

Damon was recently interviewed for The NIL Deal, The Washington Post, FBScheudles, and On3NIL. Read excerpts from those conversations and learn more about Damon below.

Q: Can you tell us about your sports career journey?

A: “I’ve worn many different hats throughout my career. Curiosity has always been a driver, and sports has always been my passion – dating back to my days as a student-athlete at Stanford University.

I began my career in marketing at the NBA, Disney, and then DIRECTV. Based on these experiences, I became interested in content and technology and sought opportunities that intersected those two interests. So I joined a sports media start-up and eventually founded a sports technology company. Along my journey, I also tried my luck at real estate development and helped launch a chain of sports bars.

I then spent 10 years at ESPN in executive roles where I led product management and content strategy for live streaming, and ran business operations for ESPN’s digital direct-to-consumer products. I also oversaw technical product management.

In 2018, I joined NBCUniversal as the SVP & General Manager of NBC Sports Washington. It was an opportunity to run a television network, own a P&L, and work with professional sports franchises. When you work and live in Washington D.C., you’re tangentially at the epicenter of politics, social justice, and so many other things that impact society. This experience fueled my passion for DE&I work and was a catalyst for my new role as SVP, Strategic Initiatives and Head of Diversity & Inclusion for NBC Sports Group.

In my current job, I wear two hats. I have a ‘business role’ where I’m using innovation to incubate new businesses like NBC Sports Athlete Direct. And I have a ‘culture role’ where I’m shaping our workforce, content, and products through a DE&I lens.”

Q:  What was the motivation to create the NBC Sports pilot program, Athlete Direct, which creates advertising opportunities for student-athletes?

A: “One of the goals here is to reach a younger audience and to build a Gen Z network of student-athletes. We’re learning from the pilot, but our goal is to pour rocket fuel on this program and expand to student-athletes from all schools.

There are smaller [social media] audiences of student-athletes that are highly engaged. If we can aggregate athletes from across the country — and maybe they only have 2,000 or 3,000 followers — but now you’re talking about a national Gen Z influencer network that’s very engaged. And that’s what advertisers want.”

Q: How is NBC Sports partnership with the Bayou Classic helping to meet DE&I goals?

A: “The importance of this partnership extends well beyond the football field. The Bayou Classic has become a tentpole for our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion program, and we’re excited to continue to work with Southern University and Grambling State University, both HBCUs, to educate students on careers in journalism and media, while offering hands-on experience opportunities through NBCU Academy.”

Q: How is Athlete Direct and the new NCAA policy to allow student-athletes to monetize their Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) providing opportunities to student-athletes who are not currently being spotlighted?

A: “Inclusivity is a big part of what we want to do. A lot of the deals you see are for the top one percent of student-athletes. What we’re focusing on is the other 99 percent. We think there’s an opportunity to bring deals to those student-athletes.”

Q: In addition to NIL opportunities, how is NBC Sports providing resources to guide these student-athletes to succeed?

A: “Student-athletes want to get better. They want to know how things work. Best practices are a big piece of our offering. Going back to NBC Sports, we have experts in social media. We have experts in marketing and brand. We’re trying to make sure that we can bring these best practices to student-athletes and that’s important.

But it all starts with curiosity. The best NIL programs are going to be learning experiences for student-athletes and so we’re hoping we can be a part of that process.”

Q. Why is this work – supporting diversity in student-athletes – important to you?

A: “We want to make sure we are providing opportunities for all student-athletes. We know sports participation provides young people with so many valuable life lessons and helps build character. At NBC Sports, we are also mindful of the importance of gender equity in sports. The monetary benefits of NIL have been well documented. There is also another benefit – student-athletes are learning about business. They’re learning about marketing, customer acquisition, data and analytics. They’re becoming mini entrepreneurs. Creating these inclusive opportunities is what’s important to me.”