JON D. LITNER
EVP & Chief Operating Officer, National Hockey League
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Jon D. Litner, 40, was named Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, in December 1999. He is responsible for all business operations and strategic planning at the League office, including broadcasting, the Internet, digital media, public relations, special events, new business development, research and scheduling, and NHL Productions. Mr. Litner reports directly to the Commissioner. Among his NHL broadcasting responsibilities, Mr. Litner manages all national television and radio partnerships throughout North America. In the United States, he develops and executes the League’s national television strategy, which has resulted in record exposure for the League, including the highest broadcast television ratings for the Stanley Cup Final in over 30 years. Recently, Mr. Litner was the principal negotiator of the League’s new national broadcast agreement with NBC Sports and its national cable television agreement with ESPN. In Canada, he successfully negotiated new long-term television agreements with the CBC, the broadcast home of “Hockey Night in Canada”; TSN, a 24-hour sports channel; SRC, the French-language national broadcast channel; and RDS, the French-language 24-hour sports channel. Mr. Litner has also played a pivotal role in developing the League’s digital media businesses including its high-definition television strategy. In addition to spearheading the League’s innovative partnership with HDNet to televise NHL games in exclusive HD format, Mr. Litner was also instrumental in the adoption of HD format by the NHL’s local rights holders. Mr. Litner also guided the successful launch in October 2001 of The NHL Network, a 24-hour digital television channel owned by the NHL and distributed nationally in Canada. Serving on the Board of Directors, Mr. Litner is actively involved in the network’s operations, including negotiating carriage deals for the Network’s prospective launch in the United States in 2005. Mr. Litner also oversees the operation of NHL.com and initiated the creation of the NHL.com Network, a hockey Internet portal comprised of the 30 NHL club sites. Mr. Litner also has successfully managed the NHL’s radio broadcast business. In addition to negotiating a long-term renewal of the League’s national radio agreement with Westwood One, he also completed the League’s first satellite radio deal with Sirius Satellite Radio. Mr. Litner also oversees NHL Productions, the League’s in-house television production facility. In addition to footage syndication and its home video distribution partnership with Warner Brothers, NHL Productions offers a weekly magazine show on ESPN and recently produced ESPN’s “The Season” featuring reality series on the Detroit Red Wings (2003) and the Colorado Avalanche (2004). In the area of special events, Mr. Litner oversees the planning and management of the League’s All-Star festivities, Stanley Cup Final, NHL Awards Show and Entry Draft. He is also oversees the League’s regular-season and playoff schedule as well as the telecast schedule of its 30 member clubs. Mr. Litner began his career in sports television as General Attorney for Capital Cities/ABC, Inc., handling business affairs for ABC Sports and serving as lead counsel on all major programming acquisitions, sales and marketing agreements, and talent negotiations. After playing a pivotal role in ABC Sports’ acquisition of major league baseball television rights for the 1994 and 1995 seasons through the creation of the Baseball Network joint venture with NBC Sports, Mr. Litner joined the Baseball Network in January 1994 as Vice President of Business Affairs, reporting to the President and CEO. Mr. Litner returned to ABC Sports as Vice President of Programming in November of 1995, overseeing college sports, motor sports, boxing and Wide World of Sports programming. Mr. Litner was promoted to Senior Vice President of Programming in February 1998 where he was responsible for the acquisition, scheduling and promotion of over 500 hours of ABC Sports’ programming, including the creation of the Bowl Championship Series and a college football national championship game. Mr. Litner remained in that position until December 1999 when he joined the NHL in his current role. Mr. Litner is a 1985 graduate of Yale University where he was an Oklawn Foundation Scholar and a two-sport varsity athlete playing football and baseball. Mr. Litner earned his legal degree from Cornell Law School in1988. He is also a three-time recipient of the Sports Business Journal’s “40 under 40” Sports Executive Award and was named to the Sports Business Journal’s Hall of Fame in 2001.