LAS VEGAS – Sphere Entertainment Co. (NYSE: SPHR) announced today that Marcus Ellington, a strategic leader with extensive experience creating innovative and impactful partnership programs for premier brands, has joined the Company as Executive Vice President, Ad Sales and Sponsorships for Sphere.
In this new role, Mr. Ellington will develop and lead a world-class ad sales and sponsorships organization focused on maximizing revenue, creating growth opportunities, and managing client relations across Sphere’s marquee assets, including the Exosphere – the venue’s fully programmable LED exterior. As the world’s largest LED screen, the Exosphere is seen not only by the millions of visitors annually to Las Vegas, but also is widely recognized globally via social media. As part of his role, Mr. Ellington will drive new brand-centric opportunities for the Exosphere, including those that extend the platform’s reach across experiential activations such as drone shows. He will also be responsible for developing broader Sphere-wide marketing partnerships. Mr. Ellington will be based in New York and report to Jennifer Koester, Sphere’s President and Chief Operating Officer.
“The Exosphere is more than a landmark on the Las Vegas skyline, it is a first-of-its-kind digital canvas for brands to story tell and connect with their audiences in new ways,” said Ms. Koester. “Marcus is an innovative leader with a proven track record of working with premier brands across a range of industries, which will be an asset as we continue evolving how brands can partner with Sphere to create impactful experiences unlike anywhere else.”
“Throughout my career I have worked with premier brands to create transformative partnerships at the intersection of technology and entertainment,” said Mr. Ellington. “Sphere is an unparalleled platform for brands, and I look forward to working with our team to fully leverage the breadth of opportunities this next-generation medium can offer.”
Mr. Ellington is a seasoned sales and business development executive who has 20 years of experience working in media and technology. He joins Sphere from Google, where he held sales and partnership roles of increasing responsibility over more than a decade with the company. In his most recent role as Director of Americas Partnerships Solutions, Mr. Ellington was responsible for strategic partnerships across Google product areas including Ads, YouTube, Cloud, and Android. His experience also includes working on Google’s Media and Entertainment Ad Sales team, where he oversaw relationships, deal negotiations, and ad revenue for the company’s largest media and entertainment partners. Prior to joining Google, Mr. Ellington worked at Interactive One where he led a business development sales team focused on helping brands reach U.S. multicultural audiences. He began his career at CBS where he developed integrated marketing solutions for brands with some of CBS’ most exclusive content such as March Madness, GRAMMYs, and the NFL.
During his career, Mr. Ellington has been recognized with various industry awards, including a Digital Diversity Network Impact Award. He has also served on several boards, including on the Investment Advisory Board of CapitalG, Alphabet's independent growth fund.
Mr. Ellington received a B.A. in Communications from Temple University and is also a graduate of Duke University’s Google Global Business Academy.
About Sphere
Sphere is a next-generation entertainment medium that is redefining the future of live entertainment. A venue where the foremost artists, creators, and technologists will create extraordinary experiences that take storytelling to a new level and transport audiences to places both real and imagined. The venue will host original Sphere Experiences from leading Hollywood directors; concerts and residencies from the world's biggest artists; and premier marquee events. The first Sphere venue opened in Las Vegas in September 2023, and is a new Las Vegas landmark, powered by cutting-edge technologies that ignite the senses and enable audiences to share experiences at a never-before-seen scale. More information is available at thesphere.com.
About Sphere Entertainment
Sphere Entertainment Co. is a premier live entertainment and media company. The Company includes Sphere, a next-generation entertainment medium powered by cutting-edge technologies to redefine the future of entertainment. The first Sphere venue opened in Las Vegas in September 2023. In addition, the Company includes MSG Networks, which operates two regional sports and entertainment networks, MSG Network and MSG Sportsnet, as well as a direct-to-consumer and authenticated streaming product, MSG+, delivering a wide range of live sports content and other programming. More information is available at sphereentertainmentco.com.