SEATTLE— DirecTV Sports Networks has appointed sports industry veteran and former ESPN executive Jim Noel as senior counsel of the company and its three Root Sports-branded regional sports networks: Root Sports Northwest, Root Sports Rocky Mountain and Root Sports Pittsburgh. He will report to DirecTV Sports Networks President Patrick Crumb and will be based at corporate headquarters in Seattle.
Noel will oversee legal affairs and support business functions, including affiliate distribution and television rights agreements with team and league programming partners.
He joins DirecTV Sports Networks with more than 30 years of legal and business experience in the sports industry. Most recently, he was the chief legal officer of the United States Golf Association. Prior to the USGA, Noel spent 19 years at ESPN Networks, where he held both legal and business positions, including vice president, business affairs and programming and assistant general counsel. Previously, he worked for the National Football League as director of legal affairs for NFL Properties and as assistant counsel to the Commissioner and NFC Coordinator.
Noel holds a Bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Oregon and a J.D. from the University of Alabama School of Law.
Root Sports Northwest, Root Sports Rocky Mountain and Root Sports Pittsburgh are distributed in 18 different states and hold exclusive telecast rights to more than two-dozen professional and collegiate teams and conferences.
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