A Boston University graduate, Mr. Drake joined NBC-affiliate WPTZ-TV in Plattsburgh, New York, in 1978. He gained early experience as Production Assistant with the high profile NBC Baseball Game of the Week and was on hand to assist with 1980 Winter Olympic Games coverage in Lake Placid. Recruited to the upstart sports broadcaster ESPN in 1980 shortly after its launch, Jed Drake played a pivotal role in expanding the network’s coverage beyond niche athletics and towards mainstream sporting events. He notably led the remote production team that brought viewers unprecedented access to the 1987 America’s Cup in Freemantle, Australia, in which skipper Dennis Connor famously regained sailing’s premier trophy for the United States.
Today, Jed Drake manages the production of more than 6,000 hours of sporting coverage annually, spanning professional sports such as baseball, football, basketball, golf, tennis, and ice hockey. In order to enhance the viewer experience and leverage new technologies, Mr. Drake notably spearheaded the introduction of a dedicated high-definition ESPN channel in 2003.