RS End: The State of Regional Broadcasting at the Start of the NBA Season

Wednesday, October 16 | 12:30 PM ET

RS End: The State of Regional Broadcasting at the Start of the NBA Season

What we will discuss:

The most important storylines leading into the 2024-25 NBA season, including:

• Status of the RSN landscape in the NBA and across sports
• New content delivery methods in light of the decline of the RSN model
• Fan experience, both in arena and at home

Who should attend:

• NBA team and league representatives
• Media companies and brands working with the NBA and NBA teams
• Vendors working with the NBA and NBA teams
• Agencies doing business with the NBA, teams and associated brands
• Anyone else interested in learning more about the most important business storylines for the 24-25 NBA season

Featured Speakers (Additional to be announced)

Lee H. Berke specializes in collaborating with sports properties and media companies in developing multiplatform networks and enhancing the value of content rights across a growing array of distribution technologies. He founded LHB Sports, Entertainment & Media, Inc. in 2001, which has worked on media efforts with multiple broadcasters and streaming outlets, along with over 60 teams and properties across MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, NCAA, NASCAR, MLS, Premier League and international motorsports.

Company/career highlights include:

• Collaborating with:
• Gray TV and Kiswe in developing the Phoenix Suns & Phoenix Mercury OTA and streaming networks
• Kiswe in developing the Utah Jazz+ and Utah Hockey Club+ streaming networks
• Griffin Media in developing OTA distribution for the Oklahoma City Thunder
• TEGNA in developing OTA networks for the Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, Seattle Kraken and Indiana Fever
• Co-authoring the original business plan for the New York Yankees’ YES Network
• Collaborating with the San Francisco Giants in developing NBC Sports Bay Area with Comcast
• Working with the University of Oklahoma in re-inventing their multiplatform Sooner Sports media network three times over, first with Fox Sports, then with ESPN+, and now with Griffin Media
• Negotiating sports multimedia distribution agreements with ESPN, Fox, Comcast/NBC, AT&T/Turner, Verizon, CBS, Charter, Cox, YouTube, Roku, Facebook and Twitter
• Helping Verizon negotiate the first-ever streaming rights agreement for NFL Thursday Night Football
• Developing a range of media distribution agreements for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Dallas Cowboys, Carolina Panthers, Jacksonville Jaguars, St. Louis Blues, Cleveland Cavaliers, Formula E Racing and the Atlantic 10 Conference

Berke’s background also includes heading up marketing for Madison Square Garden and MSG Network. He received a BA in Economics & an MBA from the University of Michigan, and resides in Scarsdale, NY.

Dewayne Hankins enters his 12th season with the Trail Blazers and Rose Quarter in 2024-25, and third full season as President of Business Operations. Hankins was named to his current role in November 2021 and oversees all aspects of the Trail Blazers & Rose Quarter business operations while working closely with General Manager Joe Cronin and the basketball staff. Additionally, Hankins serves as an Alternate Governor for the NBA Board of Governors.

Since starting his current role in November 2021, Hankins has reshaped the senior leadership of the organization to drive revenue, build championship-ready infrastructure, center the experience of the fan while being indispensable to the community. From 2020 through 2022, Hankins was critical in leading the organization through the various waves of the COVID-19 pandemic both internally and externally. In 2023, he was instrumental in the development and launch of the Trail Blazers new G League affiliate, Rip City Remix, which begins play at the Chiles Center on the University of Portland campus in November 2023.

In 2024, Hankins led the organization through a transformative summer, closing key deals and fostering natural partnerships to ensure the future success of the organization. In August 2024, Hankins led the negotiating team that reached a five-year bridge agreement, with another five-year option, with the City of Portland for the Moda Center ground lease to ensure the Trail Blazers remain playing at Moda Center. Later that month, Hankins led efforts to form a historic partnership with Albina Vision Trust – the Albina Rose Alliance – to combine forces to with the goal of restoring the Lower Albina Neighborhood and building a vibrant hub for community.

In September 2024, Hankins was instrumental in completing two vital partnership agreements - a new broadcast partnership agreement with Sinclair Broadcast Group and local affiliate KATU to bring Trail Blazers basketball back to local TV and a jersey patch partnership with Brightside Windows to showcase their logo across all Trail Blazers game, practice and summer league jerseys. Additionally, the Blazers launched BlazerVision, a new direct-to-consumer streaming service, allowing fans to watch games on the go from their preferred device. Hankins also represented the organization in welcoming the new Portland WNBA franchise to the city and working with the league and Bhathal family to ensure the new franchise would play at Moda Center.

Hankins served as Chief Commercial Officer and Executive Vice President beginning in 2020, he oversaw the team’s Brand Marketing, Broadcast, Content, Commercial Partnerships, Creative Services, Esports, Fan Development, Game Operations and Retail departments. Under his leadership, the organization’s critically acclaimed social media team won the NBA’s Digital Innovation Award five times, with social engagement and web traffic performing higher than ever year-over-year. Hankins also played an instrumental part in utilizing the Trail Blazers’ data-driven digital strategy to achieve franchise records in ticket sales and corporate partnerships, specifically in digital media revenue.

By providing the marketing strategy for Rose Quarter events, Hankins assisted in bringing in an increasing number of concerts to the campus. He was named as one of the International Leaders Under 40 Class of 2018 by Leaders in Sports, based in London and was selected to speak at South by Southwest (SXSW) on three occasions, including 2020, 2017 and 2016.

Before joining the Trail Blazers organization from Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), Hankins oversaw the digital efforts of AEG’s sports properties worldwide, including the LA Kings and LA Galaxy, most notably the Kings’ cutting-edge social media initiatives from 2010-13. Prior to joining AEG, he spent time with the Minnesota Wild and Miami Marlins.

Hankins currently serves as a Director on the Oregon Business Council, Sport Oregon’s Board of Directors and as board member of the Trail Blazers Foundation. He also serves on the board of All Hands Raised, a local nonprofit focused on racial equity in Multnomah County’s education system. In early 2024, he served on Oregon Governor Tina Kotek’s Central City Task Force, supporting and driving efforts to revitalize Portland’s downtown and central city.

A native of Lockport, Ill., Hankins is a 2002 graduate of Iowa State University, where he majored in Journalism & Mass Communications. He and his wife, Gloria, and their sons, Hudson (12) and Grady (10), reside in Northwest Portland.

Andrew Saltzman currently serves as President, Business Enterprise and Chief Commercial Officer for the Atlanta Hawks & State Farm Arena. With more than 25 years of experience in building and executing initiatives for both sports and media properties, Saltzman is responsible for driving the local, regional, national and international business opportunities for the Atlanta Hawks, State Farm Arena and the club's affiliate properties, the College Park Skyhawks and Hawks Talon Gaming Club. His purview extends to all Global Partnership Business Development and Activation, Ticket Sales and Service for the Atlanta Hawks and all concerts, family shows and other events at the award-winning State Farm Arena. Saltzman also oversees all local broadcast partnerships including Bally Sports Southeast, the team's regional sports network home as well as Audacy (92-9 The Game and V-103), the Hawk's official radio broadcast partner. 

During his tenure with the Hawks, Saltzman led the team responsible for the development and execution of the Corporate Partnership strategy for the re-imagined arena which has catapulted the organization to the upper echelon of the league in terms of sponsorship revenue. One of the key drivers of this success was securing State Farm® as the naming rights partner for the award-winning new downtown Atlanta venue where the Hawks play their home games. In addition, Saltzman sourced and negotiated the team's multi-year jersey patch partnership with digital health company, Sharecare, Inc. which was highlighted by winning the NBA “Partnership of the Year” Award in 2017. 

Leading the monetization strategy for the new State Farm Arena, Saltzman's team has been responsible for bringing the organization to new heights in ticketing success. The team has seen record sales of full season tickets and is maximizing revenue for premium inventory from suites to club seats and loge boxes. In addition, Saltzman also oversees all arena programming and booking revenue resulting in State Farm Arena being ranked in the top 5 in worldwide ticket sales. 

Prior to the Hawks, Saltzman served as Chief Revenue Officer for PlayOn Sports and the NHFS Network. While there, he steered sales efforts to provide scalable national opportunities for fully integrated high school sports marketing campaigns using traditional media, digital/sponsorship assets, community access and content curation. Saltzman was previously President and Co-Founder of Big League Broadcasting and Sports Radio 790 The Zone, one of the highest billing and most recognizable sports radio stations in the country - at that time. Saltzman has cultivated an extensive and robust network within the sports media and marketing industries throughout his career, including his time as VP/General Manager at Lincoln Financial Media and as a Consultant for NBC Sports. 

Saltzman has given back to the local community by serving on several boards including the Atlanta Sports Council, the YMCA of Metro Atlanta and the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau. A native of New York City and a graduate of Georgetown University, he and his wife reside in Atlanta and have two sons. Registration is free. All registrants will receive a link to watch the recording once the session concludes.

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