Don Sperling: Executive Producer
“Don’t ever miss an opportunity to make an impression. You never know who’s watching.” ~ DS
Prophetic words of wisdom spoken by Mr. Don Sperling. Keep reading and you’ll surely absorb the deeper meaning beyond the letters penned above. Letters turned into words, words become sentences and sentences become paragraphs, chapters and the ongoing story of an outstanding, career.
Don Sperling is the Vice President and Executive Producer of Entertainment for the New York Football Giants. Prior to accepting this VP and EP position, Mr. Sperling’s ambition and talent has propelled him through the ranks of the most notable “Three Letter” iconic companies, such as CBS, NBC, CNN, and NBA Entertainment.
Ferro Productions recently had the privilege to sit down for an interview with Don, who is now approaching his seventh season with the Giants! We discuss his very impressive career path…put your seat belts on and ENJOY the ride!
Born and raised in Yonkers, NY, Don Sperling attended The State University of New York at Albany. He shares, “I didn’t have too many options. My Father told me I could apply to all of the schools I wanted, but it didn’t matter because I was going to end up at a state school anyway. It was all we could afford at the time.” UAlbany did not have television program at the time, which, by default, lead Don to a History & Political Science Major. However, he was writing for the school newspaper and doing some work for the school radio. In addition, every summer Don traveled to Miami to visit his aunt; an assistant news manager for WTVJ Miami, a local TV station. He had the honor of hanging out with the news crews, going out on shoots to Dolphins games, and watching how the whole production process took place. “It was really exciting. I was just a college kid and I got to watch these professionals work their craft. Being exposed to that behind the scenes atmosphere ultimately lead me to my first gig with CBS” Don explains.
Upon graduation, the twenty-one year-old Sperling got a gig with CBS news, working as a production assistant in the film library. He was pulling footage for the nightly news, for 60 Minutes, and more. While working at CBS News during the week, Don was also freelancing at NBC Sports working as a tape logger and highlights coordinator. These entry-level positions proved to a solid foundation for Mr. Sperling’s career. “I did well at CBS and NBC, but there was only so much room for furthering my career. I looked around at the crew one day and I realized it was going to take me a very long time to work my way up this ladder here. That’s when I reached out to CNN.” CNN? Hmmmm…. ATLANTA?
Don explained that making the move from New York to Atlanta was one of the most difficult of his young life but he realized that there was a great opportunity ahead of him with this NEW 24-hour network, called CNN. Mr. Sperling was working with a group of people from all over the
country who gave up their secured jobs back home to be a part of CNN. “It was the best thing that ever happened to me, going to Atlanta. I quickly made my way to segment Producer, which is something I would have never accomplished at CBS.” He was thrown right into the fire and he did not burn. As previously mentioned, he earned the role of segment Producer and then ultimately made the switch to Sports Producer. For two-and-a-half years Don helped mold what is now considered to be the most highly recognized news network in the nation, all the while gaining invaluable knowledge, experience, and lifelong friends.
Don Sperling alongside NBA legend, Earl “The Pearl” Monroe.
Why did Don only stay at CNN for 2-and-a-half years? Well, the NBA was starting up their own Entertainment department, housed in New York City and shortly following an interview with commissioner David Stern, Mr. Sperling found himself in-charge of NBA Entertainment. Don was the Producer, writer, and editor and he was putting his heart and soul into the new company. They started out by building an infrastructure and foundation; keeping an archived library on EVERYTHING NBA, producing Features for the USA Network and
CBS, producing fifty-five halftime Features, and also getting involved in community relations and home video. With the birth of NBA Entertainment brought the birth of an all out NBA frenzy. The 84’ Finals pitting Larry Bird against Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan getting drafted (GIANTS of the game – no pun intended), jersey and ticket sales now through the roof… everything was blowing up.
With all of the media spotlight, the small crew of six guys that was NBA Entertainment, quickly evolved into a crew of two hundred. “We created NBA Inside Stuff which was on the Saturday morning lineup on the NBC network. We created the “I Love This Game” campaign. We did it all. We were even the first in the industry to make the switch from analog to digital. We digitized our whole library. We made the NBA relevant again. We made it hip. Everything we did was innovative, and I’m proud to have been a part of it. ”
Mr. Sperling joined by NYG Radio Announcers Carl Banks and Bob Papa.
After fifteen years, Don left his roll as Senior Vice President at NBA Entertainment, started his own company for production and consulting, and eventually landed a job as the Vice President and Executive Producer of Entertainment for the New York Football Giants. It is his job to construct a story each week, starting on Monday and culminating on game day on Sunday, building an emotional relationship between the fans and the organization using all the tools at his disposal aka “Giants Entertainment”. Giants Entertainment includes TV, Radio, Web, Social Media, and Game Day presentation.
Decades of passion and perseverance have brought Don Sperling to the pinnacle of the Television community. The man with such an outstanding career shares with us that his current role with the Giants is nothing short of a “dream job” and all of us here at Ferro Productions are sure that you will also agree, a very well earned and deserved “dream job” that through Don’s talent, timing, travel, tenacity, trials and tribulations, turned into reality. REMEMBER THIS… “Don’t ever miss an opportunity to make an impression. You never know who’s watching.” ~ DS
