Mike McCarley

Mike McCarley is an American broadcasting executive and the president of Golf Channel, a post he assumed in February 2011 after more than a decade with NBC. He is a protégé of former NBC Sports & Olympics Chairman Dick Ebersol. McCarley was named one of Sports Business Journal's "40 under 40" in 2009, 2010, and 2013. With his third placement among this elite class, McCarley earned recognition as a member of the “40 Under 40” Hall of Fame Class of 2013.

In 2012, he was named Sports Network Executive of the Year by Cynopsis Sports.

Golf Channel came under the umbrella of NBC Universal when its owner, Comcast, acquired control of NBCU on January 28, 2011. On February 2, NBC Sports Group announced that McCarley would take the reins as Golf Channel president, along with several other leadership changes in their broadcasting and web-based assets. Ebersol combined these assets to increase viewership, and McCarley said his mandate was to incorporate more of the NBC "sports sensibility" into Golf Channel's programming.

McCarley told Broadcasting & Cable, "There are resources available within the new, larger company that we'll deploy when it's appropriate and when it makes sense for the audience. We're never going to stray from the core of the mission, which is to serve the viewer, the golf fan." One example is he's added CNBC business reports to the network's Morning Drive show.

In its first year as part of the NBC Sports Group, Golf Channel set several records: 2011 was the most-watched year in its 17-year history, Feherty premiered as its most-watched original series, and its coverage of the final round of the 2012 Pebble Beach National Pro-Am was the most-viewed round of any tournament in the network’s history. The 23% increase in viewership of PGA Tour coverage in 2011 came despite Tiger Woods playing in just 10 events on Golf Channel, with no wins until the final tournament of the year.

Continuing this trend in 2012, Golf Channel scored its most-watched year ever in the 18-year history of the network. This marked the second consecutive most-watched year after a record-breaking 2011. The continued surge in viewership since joining the NBC Sports Group early in 2011 retained Golf Channel’s status as the fastest-growing network on U.S. television (among networks serving 80 million or more homes throughout that span), according to data released by The Nielsen Company. Golf Channel carried the momentum into 2013 with its most-watched quarter ever in the year’s first three months.

In March 2012, Golf Channel launched programming for the first time in India and other markets across South Asia, bringing its international reach to 83 countries.

In addition to increased viewership, McCarley steered the continued growth of Golf Channel by extending the flagship “Morning Drive” program to seven days a week and expanding its digital platforms to include 24/7 live streaming via Golf Live Extra.

After his first year with the network, PGA Tour Radio described McCarley as “at least in the top 10 in terms of most powerful in the game of golf.” Multichannel News named him one of the “Forty Under 40” in 2013 and CableFAX named him one of its Top 100 power players for cable programming in 2012.

McCarley started at NBC as communications director for its Olympic division. While at NBC, McCarley was credited with developing the network's "big event strategy," which has resulted in record television audiences for a variety of sports events, including the Olympics, NFL, Kentucky Derby and NHL. He is also credited with NBC Sports’ successful "Sunday Night Is Football Night" campaign.

In 2003, he was promoted to Director, Marketing and Communications, NBC Olympics while he continued to lead the network's communications strategy as "America’s Olympic Network," a $5.5 billion commitment that includes seven consecutive Olympics from 2000 to 2012. In 2004, he was promoted to vice president and in 2006 McCarley was elevated to senior vice president, strategic marketing, promotion and communications, adding oversight of all NBC Sports advertising and promotions. At the time, McCarley had been considering leaving NBC to get a masters of business, but Ebersol "frowned and said, 'Stay here and get your MBA from me.'"

The Wall Street Journal reported that, "Promotion, in the world of McCarley's mentor, NBC Sports Group Chairman Dick Ebersol, is not just fluff, it's key to the master plan."

NFL

Under McCarley, Sunday Night Football became the only regularly scheduled sports program of any kind to be the No. 1 primetime program of the fall television season in 2010.

He told Sports Business Daily that he knew his football campaign was a success when he heard his mother-in-law imitate Al Roker's weather forecast for Sunday games. “If my mother-in-law knows about the Sunday night game, then there are people all across the country who aren’t big football fans that know about the game,” he said. In September 2009, NBC Sports’ broadcast of the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium opening became the most-watched primetime NFL game in 12 years, and the 2010 kickoff from New Orleans became the most-watched primetime NFL game in 14 years. Super Bowl XLIII (2009) became the most-watched single program in U.S. television history with a record 152 million viewers.

Olympics

Beijing 2008

In August 2008, McCarley was promoted to senior vice president following NBC’s coverage of the Beijing Olympics. He collaborated with the network’s broadcast partners and led all NBC Sports brand-related activities. On all 17 nights of the games, NBC had more viewers than ABC, CBS, and FOX combined. The Beijing Games became the most watched U.S. television event of all time, with 215 million viewers.

Vancouver 2010

The Vancouver Winter Olympics was the second most-watched Winter Olympics in history with 190 million viewers, following the "tabloid-fueled" 1994 Lillehammer Games, and the only show to ever beat American Idol in ratings.

Other records

McCarley was coordinating producer for the 2009 NHL Winter Classic's promotional campaign, which won the first-ever Emmy Award for sports promotion. The 2011 Classic was the most watched NHL contest in the United States since 1996.

In 2012, he was named Sports Network Executive of the Year by Cynopsis Sports, noting that he'd led The Golf Channel to the most-watched year of its 17-year history in 2011.