Sean McManus, chairman of CBS Sports to get New York Festivals Lifetime Achievement Award

The New York Festivals Lifetime Achievement Award recognises prominent industry leaders, innovators, and driving forces in the broadcast industry whose accomplishments have advanced their field and made a lasting impression on the industry.

“I am honoured and humbled to receive the New York Festivals Lifetime Achievement Award, which is a tribute to the outstanding women and men with whom I’ve worked alongside my entire career,” said McManus.

“I have been fortunate to have some of the greatest mentors in sports television history and I owe a huge debt of gratitude to them all. It all goes back to the enormous influence my father had on my personal and professional life. Without the guidance from him and my mom and finally the constant support and love from my wife Tracy and my children, Maggie and Jackson, I would never have been in a position to receive this incredible honour.”

Sean McManus is in the midst of an extraordinary four-decade career as a television sports executive. Under McManus’ leadership heading up CBS Sports for the past 25 years as chairman and president, CBS Sports has become the year-round leader in network sports television.

McManus, who was named chairman of CBS Sports in February 2011, oversees all sports properties across CBS Sports operations and also serves as executive producer of The NFL on CBS. Serving concurrently as president, CBS News and Sports for more than five years prior to being named chairman, McManus was named president, CBS Sports, in November 1996 and President, CBS News, in October 2005 and is only the second person at any network to hold both division titles simultaneously. (Roone Arledge held both at ABC from 1977-86.)

As president of CBS News, McManus restructured and re-tooled the division – both in front of and behind the camera – and aggressively worked to build a strong corps of reporters as well as develop the next generation of CBS News correspondents.

McManus also serves as executive producer for the acclaimed show Inside the NFL, which moved to Paramount+ this year after 13 years on Showtime.

McManus is an 18-time Emmy Award winner. In 2016, he was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame. In 2015, he was named to The Hollywood Reporter’s list of The 35 Most Powerful People in Media and also was honoured with the Legacy Award at the Cynopsis Sports Media Awards. He annually appears on the Sports Business Journal’s most influential in Sports list. And in 2010, McManus was inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame.