LAS VEGAS (December 17, 2024) – Sphere Entertainment Co. (NYSE: SPHR)
announced today that Marcus Ellington, a strategic leader with extensive
experience creating innovative and impactful partnership programs for
Premier Brands has joined the Company as Executive Vice President, Ad
Sales and Sponsorships for Sphere.
In this new role, Mr. Ellington will develop and lead a world-class ad
sales and sponsorships organization focused on maximizing revenue,
creating growth opportunities, and managing client relations across
Sphere’s marquee assets, including the Exosphere – the venue’s
fully programmable LED exterior. As the world’s largest LED screen,
the Exosphere is seen not only by the millions of visitors annually to
Las Vegas is also widely recognized globally via social media. As
part of his role, Mr. Ellington will drive new brand-centric
opportunities for the Exosphere, including those that extend the
platform’s reach across experiential activations such as drone shows.
He will also be responsible for developing broader Sphere-wide marketing
partnerships. Mr. Ellington will be based in New York and report to
Jennifer Koester, Sphere’s President and Chief Operating Officer.
“The Exosphere is more than a landmark on the Las Vegas skyline. It is
a first-of-its-kind digital canvas for brands to tell and connect
with their audiences in new ways,” said Ms. Koester. “Marcus is an
innovative leader with a proven track record of working with premier
brands across a range of industries, which will be an asset as we
continue evolving how brands can partner with Sphere to create impactful
experiences unlike anywhere else.”
“Throughout my career, I have worked with premier brands to create
transformative partnerships at the intersection of technology and
entertainment,” said Mr. Ellington. “Sphere is an unparalleled
platform for brands, and I look forward to working with our team to
fully leverage the breadth of opportunities in this next-generation medium
can offer.”
Mr. Ellington is a seasoned sales and business development executive
with 20 years of experience in media and technology. He joins
Sphere from Google, where he held sales and partnership roles of
increasing responsibility over a decade with the company. In
his most recent role as Director of Americas Partnerships Solutions, Mr.
Ellington was responsible for strategic partnerships across Google
product areas including Ads, YouTube, Cloud, and Android. His experience
also includes working on Google’s Media and Entertainment Ad Sales
team, overseeing relationships, deal negotiations, and ad revenue
for the company’s largest media and entertainment partners. Before
joining Google, Mr. Ellington worked at Interactive One, leading a
business development sales team focused on helping brands reach the U.S.
Multicultural audiences. He began his career at CBS, developing
integrated marketing solutions for brands with some of CBS’ most
exclusive content, such as March Madness, GRAMMYs, and the NFL.
During his career, Mr. Ellington has been recognized with various
industry awards, including a Digital Diversity Network Impact Award. He
has also served on several boards, including on the Investment Advisory
Board of CapitalG, Alphabet’s independent growth fund.
Mr. Ellington received a B.A. in Communications from Temple University
and is also a graduate of Duke University’s Google Global Business
Academy.
About Sphere
Sphere is a next-generation entertainment medium redefining live
entertainment’s future. It is a venue where the foremost artists,
creators, and technologists will create extraordinary experiences that
take storytelling to a new level and transport audiences to real and
imagined places. The venue will host original Sphere Experiences from
leading Hollywood directors, concerts and residencies from the world’s
biggest artists, and premier marquee events. The first Sphere venue
opened in Las Vegas in September 2023 and is a new Las Vegas landmark
powered by cutting-edge technologies that ignite the senses and enable
audiences to share experiences at a never-before-seen scale. More
information is available at thesphere.com [1].
About Sphere Entertainment
Sphere Entertainment Co. is a premier live entertainment and media
company. The Company includes Sphere, a next-generation entertainment
medium powered by cutting-edge technologies to redefine the future of
entertainment. The first Sphere venue opened in Las Vegas in September
2023. In addition, the Company includes MSG Networks, which operates two
regional sports and entertainment networks, MSG Network and MSG
Sportsnet, as well as a direct-to-consumer and authenticated streaming
product, MSG+, delivers a wide range of live sports content and other
programming. More information is available at sphereentertainmentco.com
[2].
