NASCAR has hired TV veteran Steve Herbst to help drive its upcoming TV rights negotiation.
NASCAR Media Group has named Herbst as vice president of broadcasting and global media strategy. He begins his NASCAR gig on May 2.
In his new role, Herbst, who most recently was executive vice president and general manager of CBS College Sports Network, now known as CBS Sports Network, will be responsible for all aspects of the sport's broadcast division, including management of the day-to-day relationship with NASCAR's broadcast partners, Fox, Speed, ESPN/ABC and Turner. He also will have supervision responsibilities over all future media rights negotiations. The checkered flag waves on NASCAR's current agreements after the 2014 season.
"Steve Herbst is an accomplished veteran that brings years of media and network experience to NASCAR," said Paul Brooks, president of NASCAR Media Group, in announcing the hire. "From programming and production to strategic planning and rights negotiations, Steve has done it all as it relates to the world of television. We're thrilled to have him join the team and are excited about our broadcast future under his leadership and guidance."
At CBS College Sports, Herbst managed all aspects of the 24-hour network, including programming, production, operations, affiliate sales, advertising sales, public relations, marketing and strategic planning. Reporting to CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus, Herbst helped grow the network's subscriber base by 75%, while advertising sales increased by 56%. In addition to overseeing all broadcast partner relationships, Herbst also negotiated contracts with U.S. Military Academy, Conference USA, Patriot League and Hockey East.
Before moving over to the college ranks in 2008, Herbst spent 19 years with the National Basketball Association in a number of broadcasting positions, including senior vice president of broadcast and general manager of NBA TV, reporting to NBA deputy commissioner Adam Silver. Herbst was responsible for managing the league's relationships with ABC, ESPN and TNT; served as head of production, programming, marketing and scheduling for NBA TV after launching the network in 1999; and played a key leadership role in the NBA.com news operation, NBA's video-on-demand productions and the league's production and programming relationship with SIRIUS (now SIRIUS XM Satellite Radio).
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