Freelance Sports Network Jobs (NOW HIRING)

About Us
Powered by one of the largest global newsrooms in sports media, The Athletic brings sports fans the most comprehensive stories about the teams, sports and athletes they love. The Athletic's newsroom of 500+ full-time staff delivers in-depth coverage of hundreds of professional and college teams across more than 47 North American markets and all 20 football clubs in the English Premier League, as well as many Championship clubs.
About the Role
The Athletic is seeking a dynamic, Senior Manager, Video Production Operations to lead the ideation, creation, and execution of premium video series and specials. Sitting at the intersection of high-end sports journalism, data, and audience engagement, this role is responsible for overseeing daily operations. You will be taking over a scaled, global operation delivering 40+ weekly episodes and 60+ social-first clips across multiple shows in North America and Europe.
This will include strategic development, project management, creative ideation, and communication between talent, teams, and external partners. You will oversee full lifecycle production across multiple formats-including budgeting, stakeholder alignment, sponsorship integrations, team onboarding, post-production workflows, distribution strategy, and the development, launch, and scaling of new original shows and a weekly television series.
This role will also lead and mentor a team of internal video producers as well as have the ability to jump into filming and/or editing longform and shortform content, when necessary. The ideal candidate will be both a creative leader and someone who isn't afraid to jump into technical execution. You will need to be able to work around sports events, games, and occasionally around breaking news. You will need to be adaptable, flexible, and experienced in bringing both knowledge and connections to our existing and new shows. Experience in anything from podcast series to social media to broadcast television are all welcome.
Responsibilities
Team Leadership & Strategy

• People Management: Direct, mentor, and elevate a high-performing team of video producers and freelance editors. You will lead and scale a global production team delivering immense output across multiple continents. You will also be responsible for the execution of all content across multiple freelancers in different regions.
• Operational Execution: Oversee full lifecycle production across multiple formats, managing budgeting, team onboarding, post-production workflows, and distribution strategies.
• Growth Strategy: Understand our multiple distribution channels, across external platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, as well as our internal platforms of The Athletic app and The New York Times. Determine the best execution strategy for distributing content and how to grow each platform.
• Brand Voice: Define and enforce the distinct visual "voice" of our sports-based shows and analysis to ensure absolute consistency across all platforms while maintaining the unique brand of each series.
• Commercial Alignment: Partner closely with the commercial and revenue teams to ensure video formats support monetization goals without sacrificing editorial integrity. This includes driving and executing complex sponsorship integrations.
• KPI & Performance Management: Drive data-driven decision-making by tracking content performance against business objectives. Maintain deep subject matter expertise in social platforms, content formats, and algorithmic trends, including the YouTube ecosystem, creators and culture.

Innovation & Execution

• Tent-Pole Event Leadership: Own creative direction and operational execution for marquee tent-pole events (such as the Super Bowl, NBA Finals, and Drafts), tasked with sustaining and exceeding previous YoY audience growth.
• Platform Innovation: Stay ahead of social trends and algorithm shifts. You will identify how to leverage new YouTube features, TikTok trends, or emerging platforms.
• Tech Piloting: Evaluate and integrate emerging video technologies, AI tools, and data visualization software into the team's daily workflow.
• Hybrid Execution: Balance high-level executive strategy with a willingness to get hands-on with production when launching new pilots or breaking major news.
• Collaboration: Experience working cross-functionally with various stakeholders, teams, and talent across multiple shows and series.
• Ideation and Execution: When needed, be prepared to jump into technical execution, such as setting up a filming environment, managing a remote livestream, or editing an episode on short notice. At times, you will also be able to provide creative ideas to elevate a show, such as how to develop and execute vertical content for a broadcast show.

Requirements

• Experience: 8+ years of experience in video or social content creation, with a proven track record of scaling audiences for a sports network, digital media brand, or agency.
• Technical "Preditor" Skills: Proficient in Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects. Must possess basic field filming skills to effectively guide the team and execute pilots.
• Internet Fluency: Subject matter expertise in social platforms, content formats, and algorithmic trends (e.g., maximizing a YouTube Community post vs. optimizing an Instagram Reel vs. a TikTok hook).
• Editorial Judgment: Uncompromising journalistic standards. You know how to capture "viral" energy and algorithmic favor while strictly protecting The Athletic's reputation for elite, deeply-reported journalism.

The annual base salary range for this role is $90,000.00 - $105,000.00 USD. The total compensation offered for this position may vary based on factors such as education, experience, skills, and location.
For roles in the U.S., dependent on your role, you may be eligible for variable pay, such as an annual bonus and restricted stock. Benefits may include medical, dental and vision benefits, Flexible Spending Accounts (F.S.A.s), a company-matching 401(k) plan, paid vacation, paid sick days, paid parental leave, tuition reimbursement and professional development programs.
For roles outside of the U.S., information on benefits will be provided during the interview process.
We are excited to learn more about you and your experience. To keep our hiring process as fair and authentic as possible, we ask that you submit your own work and not use GenAI tools to generate substantive content during the application and interview process. If you are a candidate for a technical role, we will let you know what specific tools you are permitted to use for your technical assessment.
The Athletic Media Company is an equal opportunity employer and enthusiastically encourages people from all backgrounds and experiences to apply. The Athletic will consider all applicants without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical and/or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, age, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.
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