David Levy

Founder of Horizon Sports and Experiences and architect of transformative sports media rights deals.

Claims

As speaker

Mentioned in

Key positions and views

Media rights for women's sports currently offer a superior return on investment for media companies compared to more established men's sports.

To attract top-tier talent and ensure the success of new sports leagues, it is essential to offer athletes compensation comparable to lucrative overseas contracts and provide them with an equity stake in the league itself.

The most successful large-scale media partnerships are structured as true 50/50 ventures where all major revenue streams are pooled and divided equally, aligning all parties toward a common goal.

Modern sports broadcasting must empower the consumer by providing comprehensive, live access across multiple platforms, allowing the viewer to control their own experience.

Co-CEO leadership structures are fundamentally flawed and have a failure rate of approximately 90%.

Podcast consensus on Levy

Points of consensus

▶David Levy architected a landmark, multi-billion dollar media rights deal between Turner and CBS for the NCAA March Madness tournament, which is set to last until 2032.Apr 2026

▶Levy is a major investor and advocate for women's professional sports, creating new leagues and tournaments like Unrivaled and the Women's Champions Classic.Apr 2026

▶A core component of Levy's strategy for new women's sports leagues is providing equitable compensation, including appearance fees equivalent to men's events and offering players equity stakes in the league itself.Apr 2026

▶Levy's business model for large-scale media deals, exemplified by the NCAA tournament partnership, emphasizes a 50/50 revenue split between partners to ensure mutual investment and success.Apr 2026

Points of debate

▶While Levy is celebrated for the massive and successful $11 billion NCAA deal, he also acknowledges a history of overpaying for digital rights for properties like NASCAR and the PGA Tour in the early days of building Turner's digital portfolio.Apr 2026

▶Levy's current focus is on creating and investing in new sports formats like the Pickleball Slam and Unrivaled three-on-three basketball, a contrast to his previous work which centered on securing rights for established, legacy sports properties.Apr 2026

▶Levy champions a philosophy of equitable pay for female athletes in his new ventures, a progressive stance that implicitly critiques the existing compensation structures in the broader sports industry where he previously operated.

Key themes

▶Revolutionizing Sports BroadcastingApr 2026

Levy is credited with fundamentally changing how major sporting events are consumed. His landmark NCAA March Madness deal with CBS introduced the innovative concept of broadcasting all games live simultaneously across four networks, shifting control to the viewer.

This demonstrates a long-standing focus on consumer experience as a driver of value, suggesting that his future ventures will likely prioritize accessibility and user choice over traditional, curated broadcast schedules.

▶Championing and Commercializing Women's SportsApr 2026

A significant portion of Levy's current work involves creating and investing in professional women's sports. Through ventures like the Unrivaled league and the Women's Champions Classic, he is implementing models that feature equitable pay, athlete equity, and new sponsorship opportunities.

Levy is betting that the market has historically undervalued women's sports, and by creating premium products with proper financial backing and athlete incentives, he can generate a significant return on investment as ratings and interest grow.

▶The Art of the 50/50 PartnershipApr 2026

Levy's approach to large-scale deals is rooted in creating true 50/50 partnerships. The Turner/CBS deal for March Madness pooled all major revenue streams to be split equally, aligning the interests of both media giants.

This philosophy mitigates risk in high-stakes ventures and suggests a preference for collaborative, mutually beneficial structures over zero-sum, competitive acquisitions, a key consideration for potential partners.

▶Building New Sports EcosystemsApr 2026

With his company Horizon Sports and Experiences, Levy is not just buying media rights but building entire sports properties from the ground up. This includes investing in leagues (Unrivaled, Pickleball Slam), owning tournaments (Women's Champions Classic), and managing sponsorship sales and media rights negotiations.

This vertically integrated approach allows his company to capture value at multiple points in the sports value chain, indicating a strategy that is less dependent on the established media rights market and more focused on creating wholly-owned, high-growth assets.

Source episodes

Timeline

1984

Began his career at advertising agency SSC&B in New York, earning a starting salary of $9,000 as an assistant network buyer.

Early Turner Sports Digital Era

While building Turner Sports' digital portfolio, Levy acknowledges that the company overpaid for the digital rights for major properties like NASCAR and the PGA Tour.

Landmark NCAA Deal

Forged an $11 billion media deal between Turner and CBS for the NCAA March Madness tournament, introducing a multi-network broadcast format that gave viewers unprecedented choice. The deal is expected to last until 2032.

Present

As the leader of Horizon Sports and Experiences, Levy is focused on creating and investing in new sports properties, particularly in women's basketball (Unrivaled, Women's Champions Classic) and emerging sports like pickleball.

Suggested prompts

How does David Levy's experience with the Turner/CBS partnership inform his current strategy for structuring deals for emerging sports leagues? &nearr;What are the primary financial risks and potential rewards of Levy's strategy of offering athletes equity in new leagues like Unrivaled? &nearr;How sustainable is the high-ROI proposition for women's sports media rights as they become more mainstream and competitive? &nearr;Based on his acknowledgement of overpaying for digital rights in the past, what safeguards might Levy be implementing in his current media rights negotiations for new properties? &nearr;

Key concepts

Women's Sports Investment 7 ep NCAA March Madness 5 ep Media Rights Deals 5 ep Unrivaled League 5 ep Horizon Sports and Experiences 5 ep Athlete Compensation & Equity 3 ep Partnership Models 2 ep Sponsorship 2 ep

Notable quotes

“...the idea we came up with which was unheard of at the time was to put all the games on live at the same time and so what we did is we we we let the viewer the consumer be the control of what game they wanted to watch.”

David Levy · Inside the Mind of the Leader Who Changed How We Watch Sports

“i'm willing to put up the money as if it was the same as the men's so i'm willing to take connecticut's women's team and and put up the money as well as all the other teams.”

David Levy · Inside the Mind of the Leader Who Changed How We Watch Sports

“...every player got an equity position so they own a piece of this league um and uh and were paid you know as if they were being paid overseas”

David Levy · Inside the Mind of the Leader Who Changed How We Watch Sports

“...the way we structured this deal was a true 50 50 partnership And it didn't matter where a commercial that ran on TBS or a commercial around CBS, all the dollars fell into one big pot. So all the revenue streams were just divided 50-50.”

David Levy · Inside the Mind of the Leader Who Changed How We Watch Sports

Report last updated: May 5, 2026

Get started free

Back to Entities Intelligence Report