In building some of the most iconic sports-television franchises ever and producing many of the most memorable sports telecasts of all time, Mike Pearl has helped redefine how fans watch sports on TV. Whether as an executive in the boardroom or a producer in the control room, he has maintained a flair for innovation, a knack for finding great on-air talent, and, most important, an unwavering sense of loyalty to his peers.<\/p>\n
\u201cMike\u2019s philosophy about life is all about personal relationships and friends,\u201d says former NBA Commissioner David Stern. \u201cIf you\u2019re a friend of Mike\u2019s, you\u2019re a friend for life, and there\u2019s nothing that he wouldn\u2019t do for a friend.\u201d<\/p>\n
Having studied mass communications\/media studies at University of Miami, Pearl broke into the television business as a reporter at WTVJ Miami in 1968. It was the start of a career that would span more than four decades at five networks and garner 16 Emmy Awards.<\/p>\n
\u201cI’ve known Mike for over 45 years, and nothing has changed from his years at WTVJ to his years doing network sports,\u201d says founding executive and former President of Fox Sports Ed Goren. \u201cHe has a passion for sports television and has a wonderful sense of talent. From the very beginning. Mike was more than just a producer and executive. He is a journalist with a fine sense of bringing a story and show to life.\u201d<\/p>\n
First Big Splash<\/b>
\nSoon after landing a job at CBS Sports in 1975, Pearl made his first big splash in the industry when he revamped the format of\u00a0The NFL Today<\/i> and added on-air talent Brent Musburger, Irv Cross, Phyllis George, and Jimmy \u201cThe Greek\u201d Snyder. The pregame show, which Pearl produced for four years, proved a massive hit for CBS, beginning an 18-year run as the highest-rated program in its timeslot (until the network lost its NFL rights in 1994) and paving the way for countless studio shows to follow.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have always believed that, with the right mix of [on-air] talent, anything is possible,\u201d says Pearl. \u201cWhen you find personalities that have great chemistry and complement each other, the rest is a walk in the park. That was truly the case with [The NFL Today<\/i>]. With personalities like that, you couldn\u2019t lose.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to his prowess in the studio, Pearl proved himself as a producer in the truck, working the front bench for CBS broadcasts of Super Bowl X, XII, and XIV, as well as the first live wire-to-wire coverage of the Daytona 500 in 1979. Pearl also headed up production on the\u00a0CBS Sports Spectacular<\/i> anthology series.<\/p>\n
\u201cMike was my very first partner in network television,\u201d says CBS Sports Lead Director Bob Fishman. \u201cFor more than three decades, as both a producer and executive, his leadership has made everyone better, whether working behind the scenes or in front of the camera. His ability to recognize new talent is unique, and, in the production truck, when things didn\u2019t go according to plan, his skill at holding it all together was impressive. Despite his mostly quiet demeanor, there was never a question as to who was leading the broadcast.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the Alphabet Net<\/b>
\nIn 1980, Pearl took his producing talents to ABC, where he would spend eight years and produce a string of high-profile events, including Super Bowl XIX and XXII,\u00a0Monday Night Football<\/i>, the Indianapolis 500 (three times), the New York City Marathon, and\u00a0ABC\u2019s Wide World of Sports<\/i>. Pearl also saw his first action at the Olympics \u2014 an event that would help to define his career throughout the \u201980s and \u201990s \u2014 serving as producer at the 1984 Sarajevo Winter Olympics, 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics, and 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics. In 1987, while at ABC, Pearl took home horseracing\u2019s highest honor, the Eclipse Award, for producing the all three legs of the Triple Crown.<\/p>\n
In 1988, Pearl returned to his roots at the Tiffany Network, serving as coordinating producer of CBS Sports\u2019 coverage of the 1992 Albertville and 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympics (still the highest-rated Olympics ever).<\/p>\n
\u201cI always believe in looking for the next challenge; I could never handle being stagnant,\u201d says Pearl. \u201cIf it was something that was unknown and seemed like something that wasn\u2019t necessarily in my comfort zone, then that\u2019s where I wanted to be. That [philosophy] guided a lot of the decisions I ended up making in my career.\u201d<\/p>\n
Following the 1994 Games, Pearl was ready for that next challenge when Turner Sports President (and childhood friend) Harvey Schiller came calling with an opportunity to revamp the Turner Sports\u2019 production operation.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew from my own background in sports that we really needed to do something different,\u201d says Schiller. \u201cAt the time, we were the single cable carrier of the NBA, and the expectation from Commissioner Stern when I got on board was, \u2018We got to do something that\u2019s different.\u2019 I knew of Mike\u2019s performance before, and it was clear that he was the guy that could hire the right people and get the job done.\u201d<\/p>\n
Introducing Charles Barkley<\/b>
\nAs SVP\/executive producer at Turner Sports, Pearl oversaw all production of NFL, Atlanta Braves baseball, NASCAR, figure skating, golf, Wimbledon, and college football, as well as Turner\u2019s cable coverage of the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics. However, his crowning achievement at the network was his revamp of\u00a0NBA on TNT<\/i>: his keen eye for talent and unique programming would result in a nine-time-Emmy-winning studio show and create one of sports television\u2019s most incendiary and popular stars:\u00a0Inside the NBA<\/i> and Charles Barkley.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I grew up in this business, there was a differentiation between a terrestrial over-the-air production and a cable production, but, thanks to Executive Producer Mike Pearl, that distinction was smashed once and for all after his job on the NBA on Turner. That\u2019s just a fact,\u201d says Stern. \u201cHe put together a spectacular production and terrific on-air talent, and he had the audacity to hire Charles Barkley, so we owe a deep debt of gratitude to Mike Pearl.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schiller adds, \u201cA lot of people in TV feel that the studio shows can waste money, but our studio show was so different because it was a gathering place and a way to capture everything that was happening in the NBA. There were times we had a higher rating on our show than we got for a game or anyone else got for a game. That\u2019s pretty dramatic and very unusual in broadcast that a studio show gets a higher rating than a game. That tells you something.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2003, just as ESPN President George Bodenheimer began overseeing Disney sibling ABC Sports, Pearl returned to the \u201cHouse that Roone Built\u201d as SVP\/executive producer. During his years at ABC, he oversaw production of\u00a0Monday Night Football<\/i> (as well as Super Bowl XL), the BCS National Championship, the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the Open Championship, the Indianapolis 500, and the World Figure Skating Championships. He also continued to work his magic behind the mic, introducing the three-man ABC Golf booth of Mike Tirico, Nick Faldo, and Paul Azinger as well as anointing Al Michaels and Doc Rivers as the network\u2019s top NBA announce team.<\/p>\n
“Mike played a significant role at ABC Sports, thanks to his vast experience, knowledge of the industry, and keen skill,\u201d say Bodenheimer. \u201cIn addition, he is a consummate team player, always putting the needs of the organization first. He was instrumental to our operation, and I highly value our time working together.”<\/p>\n
Following the merger of ESPN and ABC Sports operations in 2005, Pearl continued to oversee special projects for ESPN and Disney, including a bid for the 2014 and 2016 Olympics. Pearl may be semi-retired and operating consulting firm Michael Pearl Productions, but his legacy continues to build.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t believe that there\u2019s a single sport that we have in America or around the world that wouldn\u2019t want to take advantage of his expertise,\u201d says Schiller. \u201cHe\u2019s extremely honest. I never heard him say a bad word about someone away from the person. That\u2019s something very unusual in the broadcast business.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":762,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"tags":[29],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsbroadcastinghalloffame.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/inductees\/525"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsbroadcastinghalloffame.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/inductees"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsbroadcastinghalloffame.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/inductees"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsbroadcastinghalloffame.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/762"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsbroadcastinghalloffame.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsbroadcastinghalloffame.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}