PBS' Nightly Business Report Teams Up with Rick Horrow to Launch New Sports Business Programming

MIAMI, Nov. 4, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- PBS' Nightly Business Report (NBR), the award-winning business news television program, today announced a new partnership with the leading expert in the business of sports, Rick Horrow. NBR and Horrow will develop programming that focuses on the multi-billion dollar sports industry and its impact on the economy.

The new weekly segment entitled "Beyond the $coreboard" gives viewers in-depth analysis of the biggest sports stories of the day and what they mean for Wall Street. Horrow is co-author of "Beyond the Box Score: An Insider's Guide to the $750 Billion Business of Sports." Horrow is a visiting expert on sports law at the Harvard Law School, where he also received his JD degree, and is Of Counsel with the global law firm of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey L.L.P. He has been a contributor to Nightly Business Report since the 1980s.

"The programming will look at sports through the Nightly Business Report business lens and study how sports business impacts our lives, from the places we live to the products we buy," said Mykalai Kontilai, Chairman and Chief Executive of NBR Worldwide. "The highlights we cover on 'Beyond the $coreboard' happen in the boardroom, not on the playing field."

The first segment will air on November 8. One of the topics it will explore is how "athletic arrogance" can produce big bucks.  The segment will be teamed with the written "Beyond the $coreboard: Bust, Boom and Hope" posted on the NBR website (www.pbs.org/nbr/) – providing a weekly look at the good, the bad, and economically creative sports business deals of the week. The Monday night segment will then explore many of these in greater detail.

"Most sports fans are kept in the dark about to what degree this 'pastime' is an incredibly complex multinational operation on par with the biggest Fortune 100 companies," Horrow said. "Nightly Business Report's iconic brand and unparalleled experience covering sophisticated business issues make it a natural partner."

Through his company, Horrow Sports Ventures, Horrow has crafted over 100 sports deals valued at more than $13 billion. His experience goes beyond deal-making, Horrow is also a Founding Director of the National Sports Lawyers Association, has covered events from the Super Bowl to the Olympics, and has appeared on numerous national television and radio shows. He is planning a fall rerelease of his book, "When the Game Is on the Line:  From the Man Who Brought the Heat to Miami and the Browns Back to Cleveland, an Inside Look at the High-Stakes World of Sports Deal-Making.

"As America's most watched daily business news program, the is the ideal venue to showcase unique and unparalleled programming devoted to one of the largest and fastest growing industries in the world – sports business,"  Kontilai said. "Rick is simply the best at what he does. We expect our viewers are going to love what 'Beyond the $coreboard' has to offer."

About Nightly Business Report: For more than three decades, the award-winning Nightly Business Report has provided business news in a fast-paced format. Timely investment information helps viewers manage their money and stay abreast of the news that affects their portfolios. Nightly Business Report premiered as a Miami regional program on January 22, 1979, with national distribution beginning in 1981. Underwritten by Franklin Templeton Investments, Nightly Business Report is distributed live to public television stations at 6:30pm ET every weeknight. Local broadcast times vary.

About Rick Horrow: Rick Horrow is the leading expert in the business of sports.  As CEO of Horrow Sports Ventures, he has been the architect of 103 deals worth more than $13 billion in sports, performing arts, and other urban infrastructure projects.  A popular speaker, writer and commentator on the business, law and politics of sports, he is nicknamed "The Sports Professor" because he has served as Visiting Expert on sports law at The Harvard Law School. Horrow is also a Founding Director of the National Sports Lawyers Association.

SOURCE Nightly Business Report