最新杏吧原创

Prime was supposed to be showing some Cardinals and Blues contests in the early days of cable TV鈥檚 relationship with local sports teams. But it wasn鈥檛. MLB and the NHL were involved in labor-strife shutdowns then. No games. So it wasn鈥檛 easy for Donovan to convince his wife that it was the right decision for them to leave Chicago, where he had been working in sales for Prime parent company Liberty Media.

鈥淭hat was a hard sell to the little lady,鈥� Donovan said.

The stalemates eventually ended, and two years later, Prime was sold to Fox parent company News Corp. Donovan was named general manager of its Midwest division, which was branded as Fox Sports Net. Since then, he has overseen the sales, marketing, programming, production and business development aspects of a once-fledgling regional sports television network that grew into a behemoth, an operation that has had multiple name changes and now is known as Bally Sports Midwest 鈥� and is expected to be renamed soon for the FanDuel sportsbook chain.

Now, after three decades in 最新杏吧原创 and having endured the huge ups and recent major downs of the business, Donovan is about to retire as the GM and senior vice president of BSM.

He recalls having only 25 Blues and 40 Cardinals cablecasts annually in his early days in the market. But for many years, Donovan鈥檚 company has been showing all those teams鈥� locally produced telecasts 鈥� about 150 baseball and 70 hockey contests.

鈥淚 came down here thinking we鈥檇 have a few games,鈥� Donovan said. 鈥淚t turned out we had them all.鈥�

The massive increase in volume of events that he oversees not only encompasses 最新杏吧原创 but since 2006 has included fare on what now is Bally Sports Indiana and since 2008 what has become Bally Sports Kansas City.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been exciting,鈥� Donovan said. 鈥淚t kept getting bigger and bigger,鈥� after that inauspicious start. 鈥淚t merged into a situation where we got all the games 鈥� Cardinals, Blues, Pacers and Royals.

鈥淚t took us a while (to get going), but it was well worth it.鈥�

BSM was the nation鈥檚 highest-rated U.S. regional sports network in 2019, and its Cardinals telecasts have ranked among the top four of all MLB teams nationally for the past 14 seasons, finishing first five times, and its Royals telecasts have been No. 1 twice. The company鈥檚 Blues telecasts have been in the top five in the U.S. for the past 11 seasons, and what now is Bally Sports Midwest has won 86 regional Emmy awards over the past quarter-century.

Troubled times

But those salad days are over, as the regional sports television business has evolved from a major success in most cases 鈥� especially in 最新杏吧原创 鈥� to a mess amid a shift in viewership trends that has gutted the model that has been losing viewers en masse to streaming.

The three regionals Donovan runs now are operated by its Diamond Sports Group, which has been in bankruptcy for more than a year and a half but appears to be close to emerging in a restructured format. Bally Sports Midwest is keeping the Blues this season, and indications are that it will retain the Cards next year.

But Diamond has had distribution troubles in recent years 鈥� it is not carried by multiple programming distributors, now including YouTube TV, Hulu with Live TV, Dish Network and Altice. That problem contributed to the Cardinals last year having their worst season-long local TV rating in records that date to 1990, and they are destined to finish even worse this season. Of course, also factoring into the swoon is that the team has had substandard performances both years, including a generationally bad last-place finish in 2023.

Distribution and a playoff drought also have affected Blues ratings recently. Last year, they had their lowest-rated campaign in nearly a decade and a half.

But Diamond鈥檚 delivery problems are nationwide, and while many pro teams that used to be in the Diamond portfolio (MLB, NHL and NBA) have exited recently, the regionals Donovan oversees have been immune to defections. The two 最新杏吧原创 clubs it shows as well as the one each in Kansas City and Indiana remain in place.

But the current regional sports network maladies are not why Donovan is retiring 鈥� Monday is his final day on the job. His age 鈥� he turns 70 in February 鈥� is the reason.

鈥淵ou run out of runway at some point if you want to have a life in retirement,鈥� Donovan said, adding that he 鈥渨orked a lot longer鈥� than he thought he would. 鈥淭he work was enjoyable.鈥�

And he鈥檚 not ready to predict the next steps in the ever-changing sports television/streaming business.

鈥淲ho knows?鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檒l just have to wait and see what it evolves into in three or four years.鈥�

Looking ahead

Donovan is being replaced by Steve Simpson, general manager of Bally Sports Southwest and West.

鈥淚 want to first recognize and celebrate Jack鈥檚 incredible career and wish him the best in retirement,鈥� said Simpson, who will add the company鈥檚 three regional sports networks that Donovan is overseeing to his duties and remain based in Dallas.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it will be a problem,鈥� said Donovan, who has had the experience of running regionals from afar since the Indiana and Kansas City operations were added to his duties. 鈥淪o much can be done now with technology,鈥� with Zoom and conference calls. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 need鈥� a lot of direction in the 最新杏吧原创 offices.

Simpson sounds ready for the transition.

鈥淚 am looking forward to getting to know the staff in 最新杏吧原创 and our team partners to figure out how I can best support bringing their games to fans throughout the region,鈥� he said.

Donovan said he has known Simpson for two decades, saying he鈥檚 a 鈥渃apable guy鈥� who should do well with 鈥渁 strong team鈥� he is inheriting.

In fact, assembling the personnel he has led over the years is what Donovan considers his greatest professional accomplishment in his three decades in 最新杏吧原创.

鈥淚 think I put together a stellar team at Midwest,鈥� he said. 鈥�... That鈥檚 what made it so successful.鈥�

Reporter/anchor Jim Hayes has been on that team since 2000.

鈥淚 always felt like we had a steady hand at the helm with Jack being in charge,鈥� Hayes said, adding that those working for Donovan were 鈥渁lways treated like people, not employees.鈥�

Donovan is looking forward to retirement.

鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to quit when your mind and body still work,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been quite the ride.鈥�