September 30, 2019 — NESN announced today that veteran digital executive Ariel Legassa has been hired as the network’s new VP Digital.
Ariel most recently was creative director, Digital Media, at NBC Sports, leading its suite of digital products, including the NBC Sports App, OTT, NBCSports.com, NBC Scores application, Regional Sports Network (RSN) web sites, as well as NBC Sports Tokyo 2010, Website, OTT and apps.
In his role at NESN he’ll be charged with recasting NESN’s digital strategy, leading new product development, as well as collaborating with production, advertising sales, and marketing in order to identify new business opportunities.
Prior to NBC Sports, the Patagonia, Argentina, native has worked in a variety of digital management roles the past 20 years at Kaulike Digital, ESPN, Fusion Productions, and Palmsite.
“The media landscape is in the midst of tectonic change,” Legassa said. “NESN Digital is at the forefront of content convergence. It’s an exciting and pivotal time to join the network.”
“We’re delighted to bring on Ariel as VP of NESN Digital,” NESN COO/CFO Ray Guilbault said. “His range of digital experiences is perfect for NESN as we evaluate strategic opportunities, and further leverage our brand and relationship with our owners, the Boston Red Sox and Boston Bruins.”
Legassa will report to Guilbault and is part of the senior management team at the network.
NESN.com is consistently a top 20 U.S. sports web site. Compared to all other RSNs, the network has the most unique visitors and most pageviews. In addition, among RSNs, NESN has the most social media followers, most downloads of its streaming app, as well as the highest number of average unique streams per game among MLB and NHL teams for its Red Sox and Bruins telecasts.
NESN’s TV ratings rank No. 2 for all MLB teams over the past 15 years and in the top five versus all NHL teams over the same time period.
