FROM SATURDAY NIGHT TO SUNDAY NIGHT

The celebrated TV executive reflects on his illustrious career.

From co-creating Saturday Night Live with Lorne Michaels to his lengthy tenure as head of NBC Sports, leading Olympics coverage and creating Football Night in America, among other notable achievements, Ebersol (b. 1947) enjoyed a remarkably successful run working in the TV industry. The author entertainingly recounts inside stories about working in this fast-paced environment, especially as the business of televising live sporting events was rapidly building into a lucrative, global enterprise. After his early apprenticeship as an Olympics researcher, Ebersol landed the enviable role of assistant to “the legendary” Roone Arledge at ABC Sports. “Roone was my original model of what a leader and innovator looked like in the media world,” writes the author. “As a visionary, he was brilliant and ambitious, forever hungry for the next great idea, ever unwilling to compromise. And just as important, as a manager, he was always willing to rely on the star members of his team to see his plans through.” Ebersol provides countless examples of how Arledge’s key strengths would influence his ambitions and decisions and help mold his own leadership style. The author is an amiable storyteller, and he shares lively insights into the negotiations and personal dynamics that helped shape the many blockbuster business deals that transpired throughout his career, whether they involved the NFL, NBA, or professional wrestling. Along the way, he offers numerous sketches of a nice variety of larger-than-life personalities that crossed his path, from Michaels and Eddie Murphy to John Madden, Michael Phelps, and Peyton Manning. Ever the diplomatic executive, Ebersol resists making negative comments about anyone within these pages. On the personal side, he writes affectionately of his enduring marriage to actor Susan St. James and recounts the tragic details of a 2004 plane crash in which he lost his youngest son, Teddy, and suffered his own serious injuries.

Engaging insights into the business of televising live events, with special appeal for sports enthusiasts.