Michael Bair

President, MSG Media

Mike Bair is president of MSG Media where he oversees the strategic direction and operations for Madison Square Garden's television networks MSG and MSG Plus; its Radio Networks; MSG Interactive, which includes the Internet, broadband and wireless presence for all Madison Square Garden properties; and the Sponsorship and Ad Sales division. Madison Square Garden's properties include the New York Knicks, Rangers, Liberty, Radio City Music Hall, Beacon Theatre, WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden and the Chicago Theatre.

During his time at MSG Media Mike has overseen repositioning, expansion and unprecedented financial performance among all areas of the business. He led the expansion of MSG network beyond sports and into entertainment, oversaw the rebranding of FSN New York to MSG Plus, launched a new MSG network in upstate New York with the Buffalo Sabres, and negotiated long-term extensions with all major cable and satellite affiliation agreements. In 2007 Mike built the new MSG Interactive division which launched the companies' 12 websites, and has successfully expanded the MSG and MSG Plus content onto multiple platforms. During his tenure Mike also reorganized and substantially grew the sponsorship and advertising sales business, including managing the naming rights deal for the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden.

Mike began his career at Cablevision in 1990, launching SportsChannel Bay Area a regional sports network in San Francisco, featuring the San Francisco Giants, Golden State Warriors, Oakland A's, and San Jose Sharks. He was later promoted to executive vice president of sports for Cablevision's Rainbow Media, where he oversaw Rainbow's national sports networks, as well as SportsChannel's eight regional sports networks, which produced over 1200 live sporting events a year featuring over 20 MLB, NHL, and NBA teams. Mike helped negotiate Cablevision's partnership with FOX and was responsible for the transition of the SportsChannel networks to FOX Sports Net. During his tenure at Rainbow, the sports networks received an unprecedented 100 Emmy nominations, won the prestigious Beacon Award for community service and experienced the greatest distribution and cash flow gains in their history. Mike was also involved in major rights negotiations with the NHL, NBA, MLB and the NCAA.

After his time with Rainbow Media, Mike served as president, product management & marketing for Cablevision's cable division. In this role he was responsible for product strategy, programming, marketing and advertising, as well as brand management for the company's video, voice and on-line services. He lead the company's consolidation of its 18 cable systems and launched the company's telephone and on-line services.

Before joining Cablevision, Mike held executive positions at HBO, Showtime Networks, and Ogilvy and Mather Advertising, and served as the CEO for several start-up Internet companies.

Mike grew up in Rowayton, CT and graduated from Brien McMahon High School and Pennsylvania State University. He was a multiple sport athlete and continues to enjoy skiing and playing tennis.

Mike's wife Britt, is a local artist and is involved in many community organizations. Their daughter Alex is a sophomore at Darien High School, captain of the ski team, is a member of the state championship Field Hockey Team and plays lacrosse. Jack is an 8th grader at Middlesex and is a member of the Piranha Swim Club, the Mt. Snow Ski Team, and plays Babe Ruth baseball.