Full Name
Tara August
Job Title
SVP, Talent Services & Special Projects
Company
Turner Sports
Speaker Bio
Tara August is Senior Vice President of Talent Services and Special Projects where she oversees the Turner Sports’ and Bleacher Report marquee roster of on-air talent across both digital and linear platforms. In this role, she oversees a talent roster of over 30 high-profile broadcasters and Hall of Fame caliber professional athletes and is consistently mining ways to continue to capture fan engagement by incorporating new faces into Turner Sports and Bleacher Report’s sports programming across the company’s diverse range of content delivery platforms. She also serves as the primary liaison to all sport teams, leagues, agents and celebrities to facilitate contract negotiations and special guest bookings. August also manages the production development of features and specials projects for TNT, TBS and NBA TV networks for Turner Sports’ linear properties, which include ELEAGUE, NBA, NCAA and MLB and digital platforms including NBA.com, NCAA.com and BleacherReport.com. For special projects, August oversees the development and execution of unique events, programming and promotional activities including the NBA Awards Show, The Arena and others. She reports directly to Lenny Daniels, Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, Turner Sports.
August has been widely recognized for her leadership role in the sports industry and was recently named as one of CableFAX’s 2020 Most Powerful Women and to Atlanta’s 500 list which recognizes the city’s most powerful leaders. Additionally, she was recognized as 2019 Cynopsis Top Women in Sports, 2015, 2016 recipient of CableFAX Minorities in Cable award, and a 2015 recipient of Broadcasting & Cable’s Women in the Game and Sports Business Journal’s Game Changer award.
During her distinguished tenure at Turner Sports, August has served in a capacity of roles from vice-president of talent services, senior director of Turner Sports production services and senior manager of production services for Turner Sports, where she worked on production, sales, marketing and promotional needs and served as a liaison between teams, leagues and Turner sports talent.
August joined Turner Sports as a public relations manager where she held the position for four years. She aided in managing the strategic development and implementation of comprehensive visibility plans for the programming line-up for each of the four Turner Sports linear properties and four digital properties. In addition, she also managed ongoing publicity efforts for the company’s executives and marquee roster of on-air announcers.
Prior to joining Turner Sports, August was an account director for Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide where she managed extensive sports marketing partnerships designed to promote social marketing causes via sports personalities and organizations. For more than six years she successfully worked across a multitude of sports leagues to develop award-winning public service announcements, special events and programs for the agency’s public and private clientele.
Outside of her duties at Turner Sports, August serves in multiple leadership capacities within the community including The Boys and Girls Club Southeast Region Trustee Board, Shaquille O’Neal Foundation Board and the National Association of Black Journalists Sports Task Force Board.
She earned her Master of Arts degree in sport management from the University of San Francisco and her bachelor of arts degree in comparative literature, with a minor in communications, from San Diego State University.
August has been widely recognized for her leadership role in the sports industry and was recently named as one of CableFAX’s 2020 Most Powerful Women and to Atlanta’s 500 list which recognizes the city’s most powerful leaders. Additionally, she was recognized as 2019 Cynopsis Top Women in Sports, 2015, 2016 recipient of CableFAX Minorities in Cable award, and a 2015 recipient of Broadcasting & Cable’s Women in the Game and Sports Business Journal’s Game Changer award.
During her distinguished tenure at Turner Sports, August has served in a capacity of roles from vice-president of talent services, senior director of Turner Sports production services and senior manager of production services for Turner Sports, where she worked on production, sales, marketing and promotional needs and served as a liaison between teams, leagues and Turner sports talent.
August joined Turner Sports as a public relations manager where she held the position for four years. She aided in managing the strategic development and implementation of comprehensive visibility plans for the programming line-up for each of the four Turner Sports linear properties and four digital properties. In addition, she also managed ongoing publicity efforts for the company’s executives and marquee roster of on-air announcers.
Prior to joining Turner Sports, August was an account director for Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide where she managed extensive sports marketing partnerships designed to promote social marketing causes via sports personalities and organizations. For more than six years she successfully worked across a multitude of sports leagues to develop award-winning public service announcements, special events and programs for the agency’s public and private clientele.
Outside of her duties at Turner Sports, August serves in multiple leadership capacities within the community including The Boys and Girls Club Southeast Region Trustee Board, Shaquille O’Neal Foundation Board and the National Association of Black Journalists Sports Task Force Board.
She earned her Master of Arts degree in sport management from the University of San Francisco and her bachelor of arts degree in comparative literature, with a minor in communications, from San Diego State University.
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