Lines Quits Premier League To Join Caa Sports

22 Apr 2010 | sigadmin

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Phil Lines, the experienced director of media operations and international broadcasting at the Premier League, has left his position to join entertainment and sports agency CAA Sports.

Lines, who joins the agency with more than three decades of experience in the international sports television marketplace, will help build CAA Sports’ global media advisory practice overseas.

Based in CAA’s London office from 1st June, Lines will use his knowledge of the sports and media businesses to provide clients with targeted media rights strategies that cross all platforms, in addition to qualitative and quantitative analysis and advisory services.

In just three years since its inception, CAA Sports, a division of leading entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA), has become the United States’ foremost player representation firm, representing more than 500 of the world’s best athletes, coaches, broadcasters, and sports personalities. CAA Sports also works in the areas of corporate marketing and sports property sponsorships.

Most recently, CAA Sports announced that Peter Kenyon, former chief executive of Chelsea FC and Manchester United, had joined CAA Sports to lead its international efforts in such areas as athlete representation, endorsements, sports properties for sales and sponsorship, media rights, and corporate consulting, among others.

Lines, who joined the Premier League in 2002, built and managed the organisation’s in-house media department, which markets the League’s media rights to broadcasters and telecommunications companies in more than 200 countries worldwide.

Lines grew the Premier League’s rights values from $270m in 2002 to $2bn for the 2010-13 seasons, the latest increase up 100% from the League’s previous round of negotiations.

Prior to joining the Premier League, Lines was head of development for Granada Sport, the sports rights and production arm of the British ITV company, United News & Media. He has also held high-level positions at Reuters TV, Formula One (FOCA), Grand Slam Sports, Rebel Media, and Worldsport.com.