The National Hockey League has tapped Charles Coplin to be executive VP of content. Coplin joins the NHL from the National Football League, where he had been VP of programming.
In his new role Coplin will be charged with overseeing all media and content for the league, including NHL.com, NHL Network, managing TV rights and broadcaster relationships and all of the league’s programming and production units.
“Charles Coplin is among the most respected senior executives in sports content, programming and production, and will take our relationship with fans across all platforms and events to the next level,” said NHL Chief Operating Officer John Collins in a statement. “Charles is a proven innovator who will drive a very ambitious content development schedule that meets fan demand for news, video, all-access programming and 24/7 NHL on every platform.”
At the NFL Coplin oversaw programming for NFL Network, and also produced the league’s special events programs, such as the Super Bowl halftime shows.
The full release, with more information about Coplin and his new position, is after the jump.
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE NAMES NFL PROGRAMMING EXECUTIVE CHARLES COPLIN
TO NEWLY CREATED POSITION AS EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF CONTENT
Emmy Award Winner And Producer Of Historic TV Programs, Including Super Bowl Halftime Shows, Coplin Will Lead Effort To Unify The League’s Message To Fans Across Multiple Media Platforms, And Optimize Television Programming and Production
NEW YORK CITY (August 31, 2010) – The National Hockey League today announced that it has appointed Charles Coplin to the new position of executive vice president of content. Coplin had been with the NFL since 2001, most recently as the NFL’s vice president of programming, where he shared Emmy Awards for his work on the America’s Game documentary series, and where his Super Bowl halftime productions were among the most acclaimed in NFL history.In his new role at the NHL, Coplin will integrate and focus the efforts of all League media and content, including NHL.com; oversee and optimize programming and production for NHL Network; manage all television broadcast and rights-holder relationships; and direct the NHL Digital Studios and original broadband productions.
“Charles Coplin is among the most respected senior executives in sports content, programming and production, and will take our relationship with fans across all platforms and events to the next level,” said NHL Chief Operating Officer John Collins. “Charles is a proven innovator who will drive a very ambitious content development schedule that meets fan demand for news, video, all-access programming and 24/7 NHL on every platform.”
“The NHL is very well positioned to capitalize on its maturing media products and big event strategy, unprecedented fan consumption, and the trends in multi-platform digital consumption,” said Coplin. “By focusing and tightly integrating all of our media products, and bringing best-in-class production value, we will continue to drive fan behavior by providing the best content and access across all events and media platforms.”
Award-Winning Television Programmer
Coplin had served a dual role at the NFL as both a television programmer and producer of special NFL events. Coplin was responsible for programming the NFL Network since prior to its launch in November 2003. In this role Coplin hired the heads of production and was responsible for the NHL Network’s development, content acquisition, budgeting and scheduling. He was nominated for several Emmys for his work on America’s Game and the NFL Network Game of the Week and has worked with different members of the NFL to produce such programming concepts as inside coverage of the NFL’s annual scouting combine. Ratings for the NFL Network improved every year under Coplin’s watch.
Producer Of The Most Watched Events In The World
In 2004, the NFL turned to Coplin to oversee and executive produce all aspects of its live special-event television performances. Coplin was responsible for the selection of talent, budget, and all other aspects of such performances including set lists, wardrobe and staging.
Over the last three years Coplin worked with Paul McCartney, Elton John, Lenny Kravitz, Beyonce, Green Day, Ozzy Osborne, Jessica Simpson and many others. In 2005 he negotiated an unprecedented deal for a season-long relationship between the NFL, ABC and the Rolling Stones which culminated in their performance at Super Bowl XL. In 2006, Coplin was responsible for the production of the U2 and Green Day performance for the re-opening of the Louisiana Superdome in an effort to raise money for Music Rising to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina. At the time, this was the second highest rated television program in the history of cable television and named by Entertainment Weekly as the top live television moment of 2006.
Later that year, the NFL’s season concluded with a Super Bowl halftime performance by Prince, which was cited by The New York Times, USA Today, Rolling Stone and others as perhaps the best NHL Super Bowl Halftime Show ever. This Super Bowl broadcast was, at the time, the second most watched show in the history of television.Prior to being the NFL’s vice president of programming, Coplin served as the NFL’s senior director of broadcasting, where his responsibilities included the creation of the NFL’s playing schedule, administration of the NFL’s television contracts wit the NFL’s broadcast partners, producer for NFL Films live event television shows that aired on CBS, ESPN and ABC Sports, and acted as a consultant for NFL clubs regarding broadcast matters ranging from programming and production to local rights acquisitions for television and radio.
A Long History In Programming In Sports And Multiple Platforms
Prior to joining the NFL in 2001, Coplin worked for one year in the digital building video into websites for purposes of exploiting content. Web sites served included the television show The Soprano’s and HBO’s Boxing.
From 1990 to 2000 Coplin worked at ABC Sports. He produced such shows and events as the Bowl Championship Series, Super Bowl Pre-Game Shows, ABC’s Wide World of Sports, Monday Night Football, ABC’s College Football, The World Cup, The Little League World Series, the Daytime Emmy Awards and ABC News Special Events. At the same time he was responsible for managing ABC Sports production personnel.
Prior to 1990 Coplin worked for MTV, ESPN and Martin Scorsese.
About the NHL
The National Hockey League, founded in 1917, is the second-oldest of the four major professional team sports leagues in North America. Today, the NHL consists of 30 Member Clubs, each reflecting the League’s international makeup, with players from more than 20 countries represented on team
rosters. According to a Simmons Market Research study, NHL fans are younger, more educated, more affluent, and access content through digital means more than any other major professional sport. The NHL entertains more than 250 million fans each season in-arena and through its partners in national television (VERSUS, NBC, TSN, CBC, RDS, RIS, ESPN America, ASN and NHL Networkâ„¢) and radio (NHL Radioâ„¢, Sirius XM Satellite Radio and XM Canada). Through the NHL Foundation, the League’s charitable arm, the NHL raises money and awareness for Hockey Fights Cancerâ„¢ and NHL Youth Development, and supports the charitable efforts of NHL players. For more information on the NHL, log on to NHL.com.