Overview

Gender

male

ony Petitti was appointed Chief Operating Officer of Major League Baseball by Commissioner Robert D. Manfred, Jr. on December 4, 2014. Petitti oversees such areas as broadcasting, marketing, youth programs, scheduling, special events, international and other strategic endeavors aimed at growing the game.

Petitti served as President & Chief Executive Officer of MLB Network (MLBN), where he oversaw all day-to-day operations, until formally joining the Office of the Commissioner in 2014. The record-setting launch of MLBN, which debuted on January 1, 2009 in 50 million cable and satellite homes, marked the largest in cable television history. Today, MLB Network is widely distributed in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.

Since its launch, MLB Network has received accolades for its coverage of the biggest events and headlines in baseball, including Spring Training, the trade deadline, the All-Star Game, the Postseason and the World Series.

In that time, MLB Network has been honored with a total of 12 Sports Emmy Awards and 37 nominations by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, including consecutive Outstanding Daily Studio Show honors in 2010, 2011 and 2012 for MLB Network's signature program, MLB Tonight.

Petitti joined MLB Network after serving as the Executive Vice President and Executive Producer for CBS Sports, where he oversaw all daily operations, including production, personnel and editorial content.

Petitti originally joined CBS Sports in February 1997 as Senior Vice President, Business Affairs and Programming, in which he played a key role in negotiating contracts for continued coverage of the PGA Tour and the network's return to the NFL.

In August 1999, Petitti became the Vice President and General Manager of WCBS-TV in New York before rejoining CBS Sports in 2002. Petitti was named Executive Producer in July 2002 and later appointed Executive Vice President in December 2005.

Prior to joining CBS Sports, Petitti served as Senior Vice President, Negotiations for NBC Sports and as Vice President, Programming for ABC Sports. With ABC, Petitti was responsible for the acquisition of college football regular season and bowl games, college basketball, the Little League World Series and NASCAR events. In addition, he is credited for creating the Bowl Championship Series to determine college football's national champion.

Petitti, who began his professional career in the field of law before joining ABC Sports in 1988, graduated from Haverford College in 1983 with a degree in economics and from Harvard Law School in 1986.

In May 2006, Haverford selected Petitti as the recipient of the prestigious Lawrence Forman Award, presented to a superior Haverford athlete who has devoted a significant portion of their energy to the betterment of society throughout his or her career.

In 2013, Petitti was named to CableFAX Magazine's Top 100, a list of the most influential leaders in the cable industry. Petitti received the March of Dimes Corporate Leadership Award in 2012, and in 2000, SportsBusiness Journal honored Petitti as part of its "Forty Under 40" profile of the top executives in the industry.

Petitti currently resides with his family in Irvington, New York.