CANTON, Ohio (AP) — Howard Katz, who has been involved in NFL media for nearly two decades and helped push the league’s popularity to new heights, decided Thursday to receive the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame awards the award for the popularity of notable and long-standing contributions to radio and television in professional football. Katz will be revered at Hall of Fame Week in August in Canton, Ohio.
“I can’t think of a more deserving receiver,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. “The NFL just wouldn’t be where we are without Howard Katz. “
Since joining the NFL in 2003, Katz has served as director of operations for NFL Films and most recently serves as senior vice president of broadcast and media operations, overseeing the formation of the league’s schedule and the variety of primetime games.
Katz said, “I had always tried to do something for everyone. I tried to look through other people’s lenses and gauge their reaction. “
Pro Football Hall of Fame President Jim Porter noted that last season, 24 of the 25 most sensible displays for the national rankings were NFL games.
“This reflects the paintings and foresight that Howard and his team have put into the overall program,” Porter said. It’s been vital for Howard.
A graduate of Colgate University, Katz broke into television in 1971 as a production assistant at ABC Sports and worked at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, “Monday Night Football” and “Wide World of Sports. “
In 1993, he was ESPN’s executive vice president of production and helped the network launch ESPN2, ESPNews, ESPN Radio, ESPN International, ESPN Classic and the ESPY Awards.
Six years later, he returned to ABC and revived the “Monday Night Football” franchise with the hiring of John Madden.
“At some point in your life, you need to paint for Howard Katz,” Madden said in a tribute video to Katz, the Livingston, New Jersey, native who was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame in 2014.
In 2003, Katz joined the NFL to lead NFL Films and also helped create the league’s flexible programming style that further increased interest in primetime games. This year, it’s helping the league develop its streaming offerings through its partnership with Amazon.
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