Damon Phillips has been at the intersection of media, sports and technology over the past two decades. He has successfully developed and operated businesses as an executive at top-tier media brands.
Phillips was elevated to Senior Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, NBC Sports Group in 2020. He leads strategic initiatives across NBC Sports Group and its collection of assets and platforms. He also serves as the company’s head of diversity and inclusion.
Phillips joined NBCUniversal in 2018 as Senior Vice President & General Manager of NBC Sports Washington, NBC Sports’ regional sports network available in Washington D.C., Maryland and Virginia. He set the strategy and led day to day operations for NBC Sports Washington, which serves as the official network of the Washington Capitals (NHL), Washington Wizards (NBA), and Washington Football Team (NFL). He was responsible for content, sales, marketing, finance, technology, operations and team partnerships.
Under Phillips’ leadership, NBC Sports Washington became an innovator in sports betting, esports and digital media. The network developed the NFL and NBA’s first live predictive-gaming telecasts. NBC Sports Washington was the first domestic network to present NBA and NHL video-game simulations, as well as live NBA 2K League matches. Phillips launched original digital shows and expanded digital editorial coverage to establish NBCSPORTSWASHINGTON.com as a top destination for DC sports fans.
Prior to joining NBCUniversal, Phillips spent 10 years at ESPN in executive roles. Phillips was a driving force behind ESPN’s expansion of live video streaming on mobile and TV connected devices while serving as Vice President, WatchESPN & ESPN3. He led product management for large scale video streaming apps on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, XBOX, iOS and Android. As Vice President, Digital Direct-to-Consumer Services, Phillips led the launch of ESPN’s first domestic subscription-streaming service (Cricket Pass). He also served as Vice President, Technical Product Management, reporting to ESPN’s Chief Technology Officer.
Previously, Phillips held roles at USA Football, DIRECTV, Disney and the NBA. He also founded, Sports TV Insider, a sports technology company.
Phillips earned a football scholarship to Stanford University and graduated with honors. He has been named to CableFAX’s Most Influential Minorities in Cable list and was a Sports Business Journal “Forty Under 40” selection. In 2022, Phillips was appointed by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to the Board of Directors of the National Fitness Foundation.
