Marie Donoghue, Who Helped Amazon Break Into Sports, Exits
variety.comBrian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Marie Donoghue, who parlayed a stint at ESPN into a job helping Amazon break into the U.S.
sports-media business, is leaving the company, according to a person familiar with the matter. Amazon declined to comment. Donoghue had been hired to oversee Prime Video’s global sports strategy, identifying and evaluating new sports opportunities, and led efforts to acquire the rights to “Thursday Night Football,” which has helped the tech giant gain traction among consumers and sports leagues over the last few years.
Amazon has tried to weave new elements into the traditional game-watching process, offering the chance to call up stats and replays at the click of a button, as well as watch a group of “alterna-casts” aimed at different audience niches. “We have already devoted a lot of time to thinking about how to use new technologies to drive viewing experiences,” Donoghue told Variety in 2021, in an interview. “We think this will be a great opportunity to continue to do that.
The opportunities are endless with this relationship.” Since that time, “Thursday Night Football” has become more of a sports-week staple.
Read more on variety.com
