Flocasts Attracts Ad Industry Vets from ESPN and USA Today to Sports Media Startup

Secondary Sports Media Platform Looks to Expand Ad Reach

Flocasts, the sports media company that is the authority on die hard sports (running, cycling, gymnastics and wrestling), announced two top-notch hires to drive its aggressive growth strategy. David Weiss, formerly of ESPN and USA Today Sports, joins as Senior Vice President of Multimedia Sales, and Phil Wendler, formerly of USA Today Sports, as Vice President of Multimedia Sales. David and Phil bring to Flocasts a wealth of experience in high school and college sports media. They will report directly to Flocasts’ CEO Martin Floreani, and work in tandem to attract new brands and develop Flocasts’ reputation among brands.

“David and Phil bring with them a great experience from ESPN and USA Today sports,” said Martin Floreani, CEO of Flocasts. “As we look to continue our momentum and growth of Flocasts, we want people who are the best in the sports business with most relevant experience, and understand what it means to be die hard about sports. It is clear that David and Phil, both former Division 1 collegiate athletes, have what we are looking for and can help take us to that next level as an organization.”

David says he joined Flocasts because he is passionate about the world of authentic sports and emerging sports media brands, and he is “looking to take the Flocasts brand and expand its visibility to the advertising marketplace and strategic partners who would thrive in the space.”

Hiring David and Phil not only raises the experience level at Flocasts, but it also establishes two important, high-level leaders who can handle the increasing amount of sales activity that Flocasts anticipates as it tries to bring the likes of beverage, apparel, personal care and automotive advertisers onto its growing platform.

David Weiss comes to Flocasts after having spent the past 15 years as a leader in the world of sports multimedia sales. He started at the first-ever local high school sports multimedia brand (SchoolSports/RISE), which was acquired by ESPN in 2007. As Publisher and VP of SchoolSports, David managed an elite sales team and was responsible for many product launches across print, events, custom media and in-brand partnerships with Nike, Under Armour and many others. At ESPN, he was responsible for closing the first-ever multimedia High School Rankings Sponsorship deal with Powerade, as well as the first High School Olympics event called ESPN RISE Games, with Champion as the title sponsor. Most recently, David was charged with re-launching the High School Sports brand at USA Today Sports.

Phil Wendler comes to Flocasts from ESPN and, most recently, USA Today Sports. At both, he transformed their high school sports businesses into truly integrated platforms (TV, digital, print, event, social) that included the creation and execution of leading, multi-million dollar partnerships/franchises extending across each company. Phil came to ESPN with the acquisition of SchoolSports/RISE Magazine. There he served as the Director of Events, building a completely new business unit for the teen media company. Prior to that he had spent six years at The Gazelle Group, a sports marketing firm focused on college sports, coach representation and sponsorship sales.

ABOUT FLOCASTS
Flocasts changes the way athletes and fans interact with their passion in sports. They are a new media company that enables people to connect and engage in the sports and sports communities they love. Flocasts focuses on the untapped sports market neglected by traditional media. They cover sports with a focused vertical approach. This significant market of enthusiasts and passion driven participants are craving authentic and timely content. They do not want to dilute their passion. Traditional media models and content sources cannot and do not fill that need. These participants, fans, and enthusiasts are looking for content, a community to engage with and a platform with which to contribute to that community. They want to support the sport they love and make a lasting impact on that community.

Via Ad Operations Online