Director, Product Management - Sports Content

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PRISM's sports module is the platform's most technically demanding and commercially high-velocity product surface. Unlike film or TV, sports data degrades in value within milliseconds. The platform must ingest live player tracking, biometrics, and broadcast telemetry — and return actionable intelligence for betting operators, broadcast networks, league front offices, and brand sponsors — in under 500 milliseconds.

The Director, Sports Content Product owns the full sports data and monetization stack: real-time orchestration infrastructure, advanced predictive analytics, fan LTV intelligence, AI-driven highlight generation, global rights compliance, and sponsorship ROI measurement. This is a platform-within-a-platform — with its own enterprise client relationships, distinct revenue lines, and complex multi-territory compliance obligations.

Speed is the product. Managing upward for routine architectural decisions is not viable in this context. The Director must have the authority, judgment, and technical depth to operate independently across a function where latency, compliance, and IP stakes are all simultaneously high.
 

Responsibilities

Real-Time Data Infrastructure

• Architect and operate high-throughput, low-latency data pipelines serving mission-critical sports betting operations — sustaining sub-500ms latency from live event data ingestion to actionable output delivery

• Own the platform's real-time data orchestration infrastructure, including live player tracking, biometric feeds, and broadcast telemetry ingestion at scale

• Define infrastructure standards, reliability requirements, and incident response protocols for a system where latency or failure has direct legal and financial consequences for clients

Predictive Analytics & Proprietary ML Models

• Build and own proprietary ML models including dynamic win probability, player impact metrics, and injury risk modeling — these become Nielsen IP and serve as the quantitative basis for media rights negotiations, athlete contract valuations, and betting market operations

• Own model accuracy standards, validation frameworks, and continuous improvement roadmaps for all predictive analytics products within the sports module

Fan Intelligence & Direct-to-Consumer Monetization

• Lead fan ID and LTV modeling infrastructure across all consumer touchpoints — building a first-party data asset driving PPV, premium merchandise, and event ticket revenue

• Define the fan conversion attribution framework, enabling statistically verified forecasting of paid subscriber conversion from sports content consumption

Rights Compliance & Distribution

• Own the global rights and distribution compliance engine governing geo-fencing, windowing, and exclusivity across multi-territory media rights agreements — with a 100% adherence, zero-leakage standard

• Partner with Legal and Rights teams to translate complex multi-territory agreements into enforceable platform enforcement logic

AI-Driven Content & Highlight Generation

• Own the AI-curated highlight generation product, with performance benchmarked against elite human editorial standards

• Define editorial quality standards and AI model selection criteria for real-time content curation

Sponsorship Analytics

• Develop sponsorship exposure analytics that enable major brands and agencies to measure, justify, and renew large-scale investments — with accuracy validated against independently audited market rates

• Own the sponsorship valuation methodology and ensure analytical credibility sufficient to command premium pricing

Client & Commercial Leadership

• Represent the sports module in enterprise client relationships with betting operators, broadcast networks, leagues, and brand sponsors at the most senior levels

• Partner with Sales and BD on revenue strategy, contract structure, and expansion within key sports accounts
 

How Success is Measured

• Latency to Actionable Insight: sustained sub-500ms performance — governs viability for sports betting clients (highest-ARPU segment)

• Predictive Model Performance: ML model accuracy benchmarked against industry standards and third-party validation

• Fan Conversion Attribution Accuracy: statistically verified forecast accuracy for paid subscriber conversion from sports content consumption

• Sponsorship Valuation Accuracy: delta minimized between platform estimates and independently audited market rates

• Global Rights Integrity: 100% adherence — zero leakage across all territories and distribution windows

• 10–15+ years in product management, data engineering, or technical strategy, with at least 5 years in a senior or executive-level role

• Demonstrated experience building or leading real-time data products in sports, media, betting, or adjacent industries — hands-on ownership of low-latency infrastructure products strongly preferred

• Track record of developing or overseeing proprietary ML/predictive analytics products that generated defensible IP, not just commodity model implementations

• Experience with global rights management, geo-fencing, or multi-territory compliance in a media or broadcast context is a strong differentiator

Technical & Domain Knowledge

• Deep understanding of real-time data pipeline architecture (Kafka, Flink, or equivalent), low-latency infrastructure design, and reliability engineering at scale

• Proficiency with ML model development, validation frameworks, and productionization for sports analytics use cases (win probability, player valuation, injury modeling)

• Familiarity with sports betting regulatory landscape, media rights structures, and sponsorship measurement methodologies

• Understanding of fan identity resolution, LTV modeling, and first-party data strategy in sports and entertainment contexts

Leadership & Judgment

• Operates with executive-level independence in a high-stakes, high-compliance environment — routine architectural decisions do not require escalation

• Credible at the most senior levels with betting operators, broadcast networks, leagues, and investment firms

• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams (engineering, data science, compliance, commercial) around shared platform objectives

• Comfortable operating in greenfield conditions — no legacy infrastructure, no established playbook, high accountability

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Enabling your best to power a better media future.

Holistic Rewards: We are committed to an inclusive benefits package that supports our employees and their families. This includes comprehensive health and wellness plans, a 401(k) with a Nielsen company match, and a generous paid time off policy. Depending on the role, additional benefits may include a company-provided vehicle and/or discretionary incentive/bonus eligibility.

Compensation Transparency: The posted base salary range is a reasonable estimate that  may be adjusted based on the final work location of the selected employee. Individual pay within the range is determined by factors such as experience, training, geography, certifications, and business needs. Beyond base salary, this role may be eligible for bonuses, equity, or other incentives.

Nielsen makes hiring decisions without regard to disability status, protected veteran status, or membership in any other protected class.

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