9. Jeff Eisenband – Broadcaster for golf, esports and more
Farrell Sports Business Podcast
Interviews with unicorns from sports business and their unique stories, dreams, ideas, insights, innovations, flops and career paths. Get a unique perspective of the inner workings of jobs working in sports beyond just pro sports leagues. Hosted by 30-year sports business veteran Matt Farrell, President of Farrell Sports and CEO of Bat Around.
Watch it on YouTube - www.youtube.com/@farrellsportsww
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Farrell Sports Business (00:00)
On this week's Farrell Sports Business podcast, we're going to talk to an up and coming broadcaster who's really making a name for himself in the golf world and other sports. But what's unique is he got his start in the esports world. We're going to talk about the career pivots that he's made, what he's learned, and maybe what traditional sports coverage might learn from the esports world.
I'm the host, Matt Farrell, and today's guest has done broadcasting from everything from PGA tour live to NBA 2K to other sports and has his own podcast called eyes on golf, which is EIS on golf. I'm pleased to welcome Jeff Eisenband.
Farrell Sports Business (00:59)
Jeff, welcome to the podcast.
Jeff Eisenband (01:01)
I'm glad to be here. I said, you know, you see podcasts through the social sphere, through LinkedIn, wherever, and then you actually get to be a part of it. You know, it gives you some butterflies.
Farrell Sports Business (01:11)
Well, this podcast in particular should be the least of that. It's a pretty relaxed, welcoming environment, but I'm so glad you're here and it's so good to reconnect with you.
Jeff Eisenband (01:23)
Yeah, I mean, we connected years ago. So for us to be sitting here face to face talking years later, it feels definitely, it's interesting. I'm excited for it.
Farrell Sports Business (01:34)
You know, you've funny, you mentioned that at the time we first met, I was working at the golf channel, the COVID world and other things changed that over time. But there was just a real concerted effort to get alternative programming into golf, get into more youth, look at programming on Monday through Wednesday. And you were involved in a lot of those initiatives at the time.
Jeff Eisenband (01:58)
Yeah, when we connected, it must have been about five years ago, I graduated college from Northwestern in 2015. I worked for about three years for a website called thepostgame .com, which was a Yahoo sports site. And then I went freelance. And a big reason I went freelance was I had an opportunity with the NBA 2K League, which is the NBA Esports League. We're actually coming today, seven years. The league's been in existence for seven years. And they just announced today that the league will be pivoting.
its format but I got into that and I decided to go freelance and we were joking because I still remember I changed, I knew when I went freelance there were a few avenues, a few fields that I could get my foot into perhaps quicker than other places. Esports was one place, sports betting and fantasy was another and golf was something that I recognized that being young and being able to talk about golf was desirable for a lot of people hiring and so.
You know, you have to, I joke with people, it used to be dress for the job you want, now it's tweet for the job you want, or share social media content for the job you want. Then it was tweet for the job you want, and I had my profile picture was me holding gaming controllers from the NBA 2K league, and my cover photo on Twitter was me playing golf, and that caught your eye enough for potential golf esports partnerships.
Farrell Sports Business (03:20)
that's that. That's so good. It's so true. I haven't heard that description of tweet for the job you want, but it's it's so true.
Jeff Eisenband (03:26)
That was a very 2018 way of thinking. Now it's TikTok for the job you want, I think.
Farrell Sports Business (03:31)
Well, I'm with you there. I get it. But you've already touched on something that I find really fascinating and going to use this as a way to get into your career as a broadcaster. But it looked like you, it sounds like you had the vision to connect the dots on a few things of golf, sports betting, which I didn't know that part and the esports.
How did your broadcasting career start and how did you connect those dots?
Jeff Eisenband (04:06)
Yeah, I mean there's a long version of part of the story is that I in high school broadcasted every sport possible, varsity sport possible on local public access television. I anchored the school news. I knew that's what I wanted to do. I went to Northwestern. I walked in the door. I said, here's what I've done in high school. You know, I'd love to get on as soon as possible. And I called everything at Northwestern from volleyball to field hockey to.
softball to basketball and football and some of the wrestling. I might have mentioned wrestling twice. And then after college, though, I kind of pivoted once there to the digital world. I didn't want to go do local news in a small market. I didn't want to call minor league baseball in a small market. I felt like I saw the world changing a bit in terms of digital offering this new
platform. So like I said, I went to the postgame .com, which is the Yahoo sports site. And there I was able to both write and edit, but also do anything from a video, podcasting, digital perspective. You know, it was a smaller shop, sort of a more dynamic, diverse shop of we're going to cover whatever is going on in sports, lifestyle in sports. So I got into that. But when I got a taste from originally the NBA Twitch channel had me hosting content. And then
the NBA 2K league, when I got a taste of being out in front of the camera, again, telling stories, reacting to live broadcasts, it definitely reminded me that that's where I wanted to end up being. So that's why I went freelance, that's why I wanted to push in to that sort of world. And then, to your point, it was, okay, well, I always tell people, everyone wants to call the NFL on Sunday, right?
If you decide you're gonna be a sports broadcaster, you don't get to do that job right away. So you have to think, okay, well how do I work my way up? And for me, eSports was something that I was already into. The jobs were being handed to younger individuals. So I was around 25 at this time. Sports betting and fantasy, I got some early opportunities with MSG Networks, with DraftKings, with Golf .com actually. A lot of places, traditional.
on air talent did not feel comfortable talking fantasy and betting early on. So for young people, great opportunity to be in front of the camera. And then golf, that third area that I mentioned was just something that I realized that as a 25 year old trying to be on air to talk about basketball, very competitive environment. Trying to do it for golf, I was able to feel myself rising to the surface a little faster just because the talent level perhaps tilted a little older.
and that there were opportunities for someone to bring young people into the game that people were very interested in.
Farrell Sports Business (06:59)
it's, it's such a great perspective and background. And so maybe if you don't mind touching on what were some of the early golf esports things you did. And I want to use that as a question of how does it, how did it shape you? How did it help you of what you're doing now today with the PGA tour and other live golf events? But what was the path?
Jeff Eisenband (07:27)
Yeah, so like we're talking, there was this crossover of summer 2019. I did a DraftKings show about 10 to 12 weeks for MSG networks. That was a 15 minute segment, me and a co -host just talking about DraftKings golf betting. Or excuse me, DraftKings golf daily fantasy at the time, no betting. And I was also doing NBA 2K league esports at the time as well. So I remember in January 2020,
the then the European Tour, the DP World Tour, released the European eTour, which was a six event eSports series that was meant to be, take place on site at European Tour events on the Wednesday or the Tuesday or Wednesday of European Tour events. The best gamers in World Golf Tour, WGT, which is a game by Topgolf, would be playing live in front, actually in person, playing the video games.
at these events. And as soon as I saw that first event, which took place in Abu Dhabi, I sent my contact to top, a top golf a message and was like, how do I get involved? This is me. This is up my alley. I'm doing esports. I'm doing golf. This is an area that I feel endemic to because I play these games. And also I feel like this is just, this is what I'm inspired to do. This is what I want to do. So we started that conversation. Like you said, COVID kind of happened in March, 2020 and even earlier in Europe before that second event was able to take place.
they were still doing some content during COVID and I actually got an opportunity to host a few things for WGT. I hosted kind of my trial run was sort of a long three to four hour broadcast with NBA players. I remember Danilo Golanari was one of the players. I think Seth Curry might've been involved that they were playing and I was hosting and Terry Gannon was the other cohost who's on NBC and Golf Channel. And so I did that and I was like, okay, you know, I kept pushing.
This is, I want to be involved. I want to be involved. So eventually I got asked to broadcast an event for the DP World. At that point it was the DP World E -Tour, I think, or it might've been the European E -Tour still, out of a studio in Denmark. They had pivoted to not doing things in person in summer 2021, but that they would do things out of a studio in Copenhagen. So that was the first time I traveled internationally since COVID.
You know people have to understand this was a time that you had to test to get back on the plane So you'd hold your breath and look at the Radisson Copenhagen Airport and be like if I if I test positive That's where I'm spending the next 14 days But but I went over there and it was really an amazing experience to work with I worked with two different two different events there basically three night Three nights in Copenhagen each time two or three nights Went over to Copenhagen
Farrell Sports Business (10:04)
You
Jeff Eisenband (10:19)
worked with British talent, worked with Danish, a Danish production team, and it was just an awesome experience to, you know, do that. And then the USGA also had an esports series with WGT, so I was able to host that over the last couple years as well, which were a lot more US open virtual courses and really had that USGA theme to them.
Farrell Sports Business (10:42)
So a couple themes coming out of this conversation of one is having a youth and youthful perspective on the game of golf. And certainly some of that came from esports, but how would you describe your brand today? How do you, what's your voice in the golf world and how do you like to differentiate yourself from other commentators?
Jeff Eisenband (11:08)
Yeah, I think I'm definitely, you know, I come off perhaps younger, but I always tell people it's not like being younger talent means you're shaking up the entire sport, right? I think it's a variation of the way that golf has been broadcast and told over the last few decades. I'm probably going to be a little bit louder. I'm not going to have a whispering broadcast voice when I'm calling PGA Tour Live on ESPN+.
But I'm not going to, it's not gonna become a podcast where we're talking nonstop the whole time. Like I'm going to let the play breathe. My goal is to build the drama for you. But perhaps talk about things in a sense that is relevant to young people who play the game. You know, I'm definitely thinking about, I'm 31, I'm thinking about the 25 to 35 year old that is an avid watcher of the game, player of the game, perhaps better in daily fantasy player.
in the game and is looking at the game through a lens similar to how team sports are viewed, the NBA, the NFL, the excitement, the drama, the storylines week to week. And I think that that's just a faster pace of how I'd like to think that I'm being portrayed as a broadcaster. I'm not gonna be someone that's going to antagonize out in the Twitter sphere. I'm not gonna shake things up. I'm not gonna have crazy hot takes.
but I'm gonna try to be informative and gonna try to give the viewer, give the listener, and not necessarily that I'm not, I'm not for, not that I'm not for middle -aged viewers, but I definitely think probably similarly and move fast on social media and in the broadcast face in a similar manner to a millennial or Gen Z viewer of golf.
Farrell Sports Business (12:59)
make sense. This question is maybe a little broader than golf, but as you look at the eSports world and how I would argue that that world, whether it's sports games or non -sports games, just engages with fans as well, if not better than anybody. Whether it's NBA 2K, whether it's Madden, whether it's WGT, are there...
So what are the lessons learned from the eSports world that we should be listening to and paying attention to more in the traditional sports coverage for lack of a better term?
Jeff Eisenband (13:38)
Yeah, I mean, I think it's important to recognize and like I said, I'm 31. So I grew up in this generation that for sports games were a way that we connected a lot to teams, leagues, players. And for some of my friends that weren't necessarily even as big viewers of sports, they know players, they know who the the best starting pitcher was in the 2005 Cincinnati Reds because they played MVP baseball 2005. Shout out to Aaron Harang.
that this was the way that we digested and consumed a lot of sports. So I think that there's still even more so in the connected internet space now for kids who are playing video games, maybe more than sometimes they're watching sports as kids. It's a great way for them to connect to teams, leagues, and players. And I think that it's a complement to what's going on.
You know, if you take NBA 2K, for example, there are so many kids that are learning Jalen Brunson's dribble moves because they love to play with him as the Knicks. And that doesn't mean that they're not going to become an NBA viewer down the road, but it means why not lean into those individuals who are connecting with the game in a different variation. And I think that, you know, maybe on the flip side of that,
the way some people in the sports world or esports world looked at League of Legends and Overwatch League and Call of Duty and some of the games that were bringing in massive, massive World of Warcraft, massive, massive numbers from the esports space and expected that to happen from the sports video game world. And I think it's different because it's very hard to have any interest in sports video games without interest in the parent sport in the first place. So I think understanding that
when it comes to these video games as marketing tools, as consumer products, but also from an esports perspective, it's a great compliment and extra marketing play for a team or league.
Farrell Sports Business (15:51)
How about what you're doing these days in particular your podcast, which is called eyes on golf E I S. what type of stories do you like to tell there? And what, what, what do you like to bring out in that podcast?
Jeff Eisenband (16:09)
The best thing possible, and I've tried some things. We started in December, so it's still very new. And I'm still trying to figure out, do people care about my opinions of golf? Do they care about conversation around golf? Or do they care about evergreen interviews, which I think is my strength? Do they care about things that they could tune in for at any time? And we've had, so Justin Lauer, for example, is a player who I've had on who I think has an incredibly compelling story for
fans that may know it or fans who don't. That he's not necessarily the biggest name on the PGA Tour, but a relevant name that golf fans know and follow and see on the top of leaderboards. What was his story like with an unfortunate tragedy for him that his father and brother passed away when he was a teenager and they were on their way to pick him up from the golf course? And he spent this inspirational decade and changed
getting to the PGA Tour to finally get his shot in his 30s and he's trying to make the most of it right now. So how can we tell that story? But then also how can we tell some of the stories around the game? Hasn't been released, but I taped earlier today a podcast with Suan, who was on Top Chef this year, the Bravo TV show, and my fiance calls me in one day and she's like, you gotta see this. This guy just said he was on PGA Tour Latino America before he became a chef.
I'm like, what? And I start doing research and realize, I mean, this guy was out there grinding on mini tours for six, seven years, and now he's this nationally acclaimed chef based in Chicago who's on TV and is building this new audience in a totally different life. Well, how can I tell that story that relates to both golf fans and I guess food reality TV show fans? So I'm trying to find a lot of, that's what I've found just to be my favorite.
thing is to tell stories that maybe people haven't uncovered yet, which is part of why I got into esports in the first place, was realizing that these were stories that I could tell about these esports athletes that no one had heard before, that were being uncovered for the first time. And I still think there are those stories in golf. I could tell the same stories over and over that fans have heard, or I can go dig and try to create these new individualized
stories that fans are hearing for the first time.
Farrell Sports Business (18:41)
It's so good. But before we started recording, we, we were just catching up and chatting about career pivots. I had to make one in my early fifties with things from the golf channel and a few others along the way. One happened to be the invention of the internet. I thought that might be a thing, you know, to we'll see, but I'm always interested in these stories of how people shape their career.
Jeff Eisenband (19:01)
We'll see.
Farrell Sports Business (19:10)
Even in your career, have you seen any of those moments where you had to make some pivots?
Jeff Eisenband (19:18)
for sure. And I said, I came into the world, I started in digital, digital sports journalism is what I would say, which meant that we would go to an event in New York, I'd bring sometimes an intern with a camera and a microphone, and we would tape an interview, we'd get so and so. Steph Curry, at the time he wasn't a,
It wasn't, he wasn't an MVP yet. He was a degree sponsored athlete, degree deodorant. You know, we'll show up with a camera. We'll show up with a microphone. We'll do a 10 to 15 minute interview with him. We'll turn it into a written piece. We'll turn it into a digital piece, video. You know, we're gonna do all these things. We're gonna hustle. So that's kind of how I started and then I pivoted to broadcast. And a lot of times I said when I was doing this, I kept myself general. I had a lot of people that came to me and said,
you should become a specialist. Just cover esports. Just cover basketball. Just cover golf. Just cover something. And I said when I was, you know, I felt like I could always gain a few thousand more followers if I went down that, you know, path that people tend to follow on Twitter, Instagram, or now TikTok. You know, they're a basketball fan. They want to just follow as many basketball people as possible. And sometimes being a generalist, which used to be a really important thing in sports journalism,
sometimes can be a deterrent from people following and keeping a close eye to you. But in my 20s, I said, I want to keep my net as open as possible. I want to be able to be on CBS, NBC, Fox, ESPN, ABC, whatever, one day, Turner Sports, and be able to cover multiple sports. So I'm going to keep casting this wide net. And so I kept doing that. And then I kept saying to myself, well, what's going to rise to the surface?
And I would say that golf, at first maybe it was esports, but golf has been something that has risen to the surface as something that I am passionate about, something that I know is gonna be a part of my life for a long time, something that I know that I have just been a nerd about my whole life when probably some other people weren't as kids, and has just become something that naturally I have seen myself get more opportunities in. So when you put all those ingredients together, I'd say I've pivoted toward definitely being
more of a golf broadcaster than anything else. Now I'm very careful to not put that in my description on LinkedIn or not necessarily label myself as that because if the Knicks come calling and they need someone to call their TV or radio for a couple games, I'm in. If someone needs me to call the NFL this fall, I'm in. Whatever it may be down the line, if the Olympics, not this Olympics, but maybe the next Olympics, they need someone to call.
you know, the luge at the next Winter Olympics, I'm in. So I try to keep, you know, I would love to keep that net cast as wide as possible, but I have pivoted, I would say, to really focusing the most on golf right now.
Farrell Sports Business (22:24)
So that, that tag of generalist, and this part of the conversation is not rehearsed. It's not scripted. I consider myself the same way in it from a business standpoint. And I I'm not sure I could pinpoint it to a specific day where you're like, I'm, I'm going to be the generalist versus the specialist in any one particular area. Cause I've worked in swimming and golf and the Olympics and, and now baseball. Was there a moment though?
Jeff Eisenband (22:28)
Mm -hmm.
Farrell Sports Business (22:54)
that that was a very conscious effort, did it just happen naturally?
Jeff Eisenband (22:59)
I mean, I always joke with people that my parents had me play almost every sport as a kid, so I was really good at a lot of sports, but not great at anything. But it also allowed me to have that experience in everything, and I was a fan of so many different sports, so it's natural to me to have those generalist tendencies. It is hard to, you know, I've gotten advice from both sides of the aisle. I've gotten advice from people who say,
focus on one thing and just go after that and be great at that. And I've had people that say, make sure that when you're able to pitch yourself, you're able to say that you're able to do multiple sports, that you're able to write, edit, broadcast, do a bunch of different things. So it's hard to pinpoint what the right answer is. But like I said, I have just always felt like, OK, that's one of my strengths. And one day, if a network wants to hire me,
or if there are abilities in multiple sports, I want to be able to pivot season to season, do multiple things. I think my ideal career would be broadcasting golf, which the main part of the PGHO season is January to August, doing the NFL or college football or whatever it may be in the fall, and filling whatever holes in as well. I would love to do the Olympics one day. I'd love to do...
You know, you you about baseball. I would love to do baseball if that opportunity presents itself. I did an e esports for the MLB All -Star game two years ago in LA, in LA Live at a public, you know, sort of a public forum where we were doing an influencer event, and Robert Flores was my co -host with it. I mean, that's, you know, I had to lock in and just carry my own there. So, you know, there's so many opportunities that I leave the door open for.
I do admit though, there's probably, you know, I probably in my mind could get to the next rung in my career faster if I became a specialist, but would be limiting my ceiling if I stopped my mentality as a generalist.
Farrell Sports Business (25:08)
I get it and for whatever it's worth, Jeff, I've treated my career the same way. So you go, your life will be just fine. So, all right.
Jeff Eisenband (25:18)
I hope so, but I admit that there are people in the world now that I think that used to be this badge of honor that when everything was done based on a network, when you got hired based on a network, whether it be an RSN or whether it be a national network, there was so much more value to being able to do multiple events, multiple seasons. And I do think there's definitely a gravitation toward a lot of hiring specialists that can really kind of just be a master of that one.
domain and I think there are pros and cons to that strategy.
Farrell Sports Business (25:53)
Yeah, I agree. There's one context that you can't be too niche. but I think really being depth and breadth is, is clearly working for you. So last question for you, Jeff, anything I call it the shameless plug, anything that you're working on that's coming up that, you want to talk about.
Jeff Eisenband (26:15)
Yeah, I mean, you mentioned Eyes on Golf, my podcast, E -I -S -O -N -G -O -L -F. I think it's just been an avenue that I really wanted to, as I grew in golf, have this avenue to tell stories of people that might not be, might not have their stories told and also connect with a lot of new people in the industry and get their perspective and understand where they come from and kind of what you're saying.
we tell in my story, you know, get to know beyond. We see so many people just whether they're a player, we just see them between the ropes. Whether it's a broadcaster, we just see the personality on air. So we see it very different. I think that I also need to really, it's kind of something you just have to, it is a thing, do more TikTok and Instagram content and YouTube content perhaps. I think for my own, you know, maybe this is some job advice for my own sake.
I need to put myself out there more and be creating my own content because that is how you make yourself an attractive candidate for a lot of what you do. And I think that, you know, Matt, I'm an old 31 at this point. These 23, 24 year old kids sometimes I look at them and I go, let's be honest, they're 10 times better than me at editing TikTok videos, Instagram reels, YouTube content, because it's just.
so much more in their mentality than it was when I was their age. You know, as much as that makes me feel old to say it's being honest. So, you know, you kind of have to adjust to what's going on. And my hope in my whole life is to continue to adjust as long as I keep going in this business, however old I get, that you don't have to be how you doing fellow kids that young. You don't have to know every TikTok trend.
But you do have to kind of adapt to the mediums and to the places that content is being produced.
Farrell Sports Business (28:15)
It, it, it's another, it's another great point. And you're not going to get me off on the tangent of talking about tick -tock, which I love. but I took it up in my early fifties and thought I was going to get laughed out of the room of, you know, get off this platform, old man talking about career advice and working in sports. And it, it was the absolute opposite. And there's a, there's a voice for everybody. There's maybe that's the.
new 15 minute informational interview networking technique, but, find value in a lot. And Jeff been cheering on your career ever since we met. And I just can't thank you enough for joining the podcast.
Jeff Eisenband (29:01)
No, thank you so much. You know, good luck with everything that you're doing. I've been following along and I got to get out to Colorado. Got to see everything in person.
Farrell Sports Business (29:10)
Some Colorado golf is in order
Jeff Eisenband (29:12)
Mm, BMW Championships coming to Colorado this year.
Farrell Sports Business (29:16)
Okay. open invitation, play with us in our, our group and, fast greens, just, Jeff, great. Great to see you again. Thanks again for joining.
Jeff Eisenband (29:24)
Understood.
Thanks so much.
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