EDDIE EINHORN — 1936-2016 LEGENDARY NEGOTIATOR While Eddie Einhorn might not be a recog-
nized name to many in the figure skating com- munity, his imprint on the sport as the architect of U.S. Figure Skating’s most lucrative television contract is of sports programming lore. Einhorn, a sports television pioneer and
entrepreneur for nearly six decades, died Feb. 24 at the age of 80 from complications following a stroke.
U.S. Figure Skating’s most historic TV con-
tract — 10 years, $100 million — was actually an extension signed with ABC in 1997, a week after a meeting at the La Costa Golf Resort in South- ern California that included Einhorn, U.S. Figure Skating President Morry Stillwell, Executive Di- rector Jerry Lace and several of ABC Sports’ top executives. Einhorn, U.S. Figure Skating’s television
consultant, entered the talks with an impecca- ble reputation for being knowledgeable, fair and tough, Stillwell said. When the meeting began, Einhorn unflinchingly set the tone. “Jerry and I thought we were hotshots,” Still-
well said, “but Eddie just said ‘Follow my lead.’ Te guy instilled such confidence that Jerry and I did just that.” Einhorn knew the value of figure skating to
ABC executives, who after the 1988 Olympics in Calgary, watched the sport’s fan base grow behind the rivalries of Katarina Witt and Debi Tomas (Battle of the Carmens) and Brian Orser and Bri- an Boitano (Battle of the Brians). And while the absurdity of the 1994 attack on Nancy Kerrigan attracted throngs of new viewers to the sport, the meteoritic rise of a young skater named Michelle Kwan turned them into loyal and insatiable fans. Skating’s perfect storm was now in Einhorn’s
able hands. “We went around and around and I started to get some inkling of just how much money was going to be out there,” Stillwell said. “I was almost frightened about it, because it was bigger than anything I’d ever seen. “We were in this meeting and we started talking about numbers, and ABC threw out $92 million. Tat was a lot of money, and I could only say, ‘Umm ...’ Well, they thought I was rejecting the offer and they changed it to $100 million. I probably would have choked again, but Eddie kicked me in the shin under the table with a look that said ‘Shut up!’” Under the contract, ABC purchased U.S.
Figure Skating’s television and marketing rights to broadcast the U.S. Championships, Skate Ameri- ca, one fall event and one spring event every sea- son from 1998 to 2007.
Te ABC contract enabled the organization
to create the U.S. Figure Skating Foundation, which today holds a total balance of more than $70 million. Te Foundation has allowed U.S. Figure Skating to remain vibrant, enabling it to create and grow many programs over the years. “Te Foundation that I have the privilege of
30 APRIL 2016
HELPED TO INK U.S. FIGURE SKATING’S $100 MILLION TV DEAL by TROY SCHWINDT
fore its evolution into March Madness. After selling TVS in 1973 for $5 million,
Einhorn worked for CBS as the executive produc- er of the “CBS Sports Spectacular” and then made his way into sports ownership with his college friend Jerry Reinsdorf, who together headed a lim- ited partnership to buy the Chicago White Sox in 1981. While maintaining his leadership role with the Major League team for 35 years, he ventured into the TV sports brokering business. Einhorn is credited with being the architect of baseball’s first billion dollar-plus TV contract, and was instru- mental in the development of the MLB Network. In 1991, Einhorn began working with U.S.
Figure Skating to negotiate future television deals. He also brokered multimillion-dollar deals on behalf of the U.S. Olympic Committee and the International Skating Union, working with all the major broadcast networks (NBC, ABC, CBS and FOX).
“Eddie was the most engaging, enthusiastic
sports fan I ever knew,” George said. “If it wasn’t figure skating, it was basketball. If it wasn’t basket- ball, it was football. He just loved sports and was very fond of our sport.” Lace, who had met Einhorn prior to coming
Eddie Einhorn was especially fond of figure skating. He had many friends in the sport, including hall of famer Tom Collins and Jerry Lace, executive director at U.S. Figure Skating from 1993 to 1998.
heading up wouldn’t be what it is today if it wasn’t for Eddie Einhorn,” said Paul George, the Foun- dation’s president. “We have been able to provide a general stipend to the sport every year and we’ve been supporting some special initiatives as well. “It goes back to Eddie and that television
contract,” George, who also was a member of the U.S. Figure Skating TV committee during the ABC years, continued. “We were able to put extra monies away for a number of years because of it.”
‘HE JUST LOVED SPORTS’ Einhorn, who graduated from North-
western University School of Law in Chicago, became versed in the sports entertainment in- dustry at age 22 when he produced the first nationally syndicated radio broadcast of the NCAA Basketball Tournament in 1958. From there, he created TVS (Television Sports), which in 1968 broadcast college basketball’s “Game of the Century” between undefeated teams Hous- ton and UCLA, pitting Elvin Hayes against Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) at the newly constructed Astrodome in Houston. Tat tele- cast gave college basketball its TV roots way be-
to U.S. Figure Skating in 1993 during his roles with USA Cycling and the United States Olympic Com- mittee, called Einhorn one of the all-time great idea people he’d ever met, adding that Einhorn was en- tertaining and a fun travel companion. “He was the most loyal person you would
ever want to meet,” Lace said. While Einhorn’s skating legacy is the $100 million contract, he also played a vital role in U.S. Figure Skating’s current deal with NBC, which is entering its 10th year. “Eddie and Dick Ebersol [former president
of NBC Sports] knew each other for many years and it was that personal relationship that helped open the door for our current deal,” U.S. Figure Skating Executive Director David Raith said. Often cited for his creative vision, Einhorn saw the potential in a figure skating fan website and used his relationship with Major League Base- ball to pitch and develop icenetwork, which was launched in partnership with U.S. Figure Skating and MLB Advanced Media in 2006. Today, icenetwork is the premier online des- tination for figure skating fans, providing exclu- sive live and on-demand coverage of domestic and international competitions, exclusive backstage in- terviews and more. Last season, icenetwork boast- ed 1.24 million unique visitors and had more than 20 million page views. “From the early 1990s to today’s strong part- nership with NBC and our digital presence on ice- network, Eddie was there,” Raith said. “He was a great friend to this organization.”
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