Manager, Sports Brand Solutions

The Sports Brand Solutions group serves the Disney Advertising Sales team as experts on specific sports/properties (i.e. Fantasy Sports, Streaming, ESPN Films, College Football, NBA, etc). The group is vital to the sales process and drives significant advertising revenue via the creation of cross platform sponsorship opportunities and turnkey, customized marketing solutions. The Sports Brand Solutions group oversees the development and execution of all sponsorship deliverables, to ensure sponsorship elements and enhancements run correctly.

The group works closely with internal stakeholders including Sales, Production, Product, Programming, Editorial, Revenue & Operations, Consumer Marketing and Legal to strategically maximize the revenue and sales opportunities across our sport platforms.

The Sports Brand Solutions group is a team of experts that provide creative marketing sponsorship and integration opportunities across ESPN’s vast content portfolio. The team is responsible for the complete sponsorship process including, but not limited to, rights negotiations, strategy, ideation, and execution.

The SBS DTC & Streaming team plays a critical cross-functional role in driving ESPN’s sports sponsorship strategy, with a primary focus on Streaming. As the streaming landscape continues to evolve rapidly, this group is charged with staying at the forefront—developing, refining, and communicating sponsorship strategies that span multiple streaming endpoints, including ESPN DTC, the ESPN app, and broader Disney streaming platforms.

The team acts as the strategic bridge between content, product, and sales—translating complex, dynamic opportunities into clear, actionable solutions for internal teams and client-facing materials. Their goal is to make the value of ESPN’s multiplatform streaming environment easy to understand and compelling to sell, enabling Sales to move with confidence and speed.

What You Will Do

The Manager, Sports Brand Solutions will be tasked with supporting Disney Ad Sales in their effort to drive revenue against ESPN DTC/Streaming , ESPN Films, and ESPN Originals properties.  Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Assist Director and Senior Manager with their efforts to drive sponsorship opportunities across the Disney/ESPN platform for DTC & Streaming (including short form video), ESPN Films, and ESPN Originals

  • Includes development of cross-platform sponsorship packages including TV, Digital, Social, and On-Site Activations

  • Support and ideate strategy for new Sales opportunities tied to ESPN Direct To Consumer Partnerships and product enhancements

  • Maintain select digital video, streaming and storytelling insights and data projects to support sales efforts

  • Collaborate with SBS teams to guide streaming/video strategy and sport-specific opportunities, particularly focused on the evolution of DTC and it’s impact

  • Maintain current awareness of competitive sponsorship marketplace for Streaming, Films, and Original Storytelling

• Manage post-sale efforts related to sold sponsorships

  • Lead creation and distribution of linear and streaming sales obligations

  • Communicate with Account Management to ensure launch success for addressable sponsorships and troubleshoot issues as they arise

  • Manage the creation of sponsorship related graphics and similar assets from start to finish, in partnership with colleagues in Sports Brand Solutions, Product Design and Creative Services

  • Participate with Management in understanding more complex issues and resolutions

• Serve as Ad Sales liaison to Production/Content and Digital Product teams

  • Grow and develop relationships with content partners across linear, digital and social

  • Collaborate directly with content partners on sponsor opportunities, integrations and positions

  • Lead creative discussions between ESPN Production and ESPN CreativeWorks team in the development of custom content related to ESPN Films and Originals

  • Assist in the navigation of ESPN/ESPN+ Hosted projects with internal content and legal teams

• Collaborate with Ad Platforms, Sales Enablement and Addressable Solutions on new ad innovations and formats

  • Advise internal teams and third party partners on ad experiences and innovations tied to sports inventory

  • Collaborate with Revenue Yield Management on pricing and packaging strategies

  • Develop Sales materials to bring Sports ad innovations to market

• Assist Sales as they pitch and negotiate sponsorship deals

  • Provide recommendations on deal point letters on front end of negotiation

  • Attend client meetings and participate on client calls, as needed

Required Qualifications & Skills

• 5+ years related work experience

• Must be able to thrive in a fast-paced environment that requires a high level of responsiveness and attention to detail

• Experience working in digital ad sales with focus on sponsorship, monetization or operations

• Proficient with PowerPoint, Outlook, Word, and Excel

• Excellent written, verbal and listening communication skills

• An optimistic, solution-oriented professional who leads by example

• Ability to work independently, think proactively, and be accountable to the team

• Detail oriented and strong time management skills

• Strong written and presentation skills

• Professional maturity and executive presence

• Action oriented

#DisneyAdvertising

The hiring range for this position in New York, NY is $108,500 to $145,400 per year. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidate’s geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. A bonus and/or long-term incentive units may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to the full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the level and position offered.