Activision Blizzard Names Major League Baseball Executive Tony Petitti as President of Sports & Entertainment

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) today announced the appointment of Major League Baseball’s Tony Petitti as President of Sports and Entertainment effective August 17, 2020. In his new role, reporting to Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, Petitti will oversee esports, consumer products, and film and television.

“Tony is one of the most highly regarded executives in sports and entertainment,” said Bobby Kotick, Chief Executive Officer of Activision Blizzard. “His success in media and as Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer of Major League Baseball is the perfect blend of skills to help us realize our aspirations for esports and our related businesses. He is admired by owners, media executives, players and fans.”

“Bobby Kotick has been translating his vision into opportunity at Activision Blizzard for 30 years. I couldn’t be more excited to use my own 30 years of sports and entertainment experience to help Activision Blizzard realize its ambitions,” said Petitti. “It’s clear to me the company has an incredible opportunity to connect players and fans in new and innovative ways, and I’m excited to be joining the company at such an important moment in its history. The last 12 years in baseball have been extraordinary for me and I am especially grateful for the leadership and mentorship that Commissioner Manfred provided to me and the League.”

Petitti most recently served as Deputy Commissioner, Business and Media of Major League Baseball and Chief Operating Officer, where he led marketing, broadcasting and media rights sales, the MLB Network, digital content, youth programming and special events. Prior to that, Petitti was President of the MLB Network, which he helped launch from its inception in 2008.

Before joining MLB, Petitti, a 13-time Emmy-award winner, was executive vice-president and executive producer at CBS Sports where he was responsible for the network’s sports programming and production. He graduated from Haverford College before attending Harvard Law School.

About Activision Blizzard

Activision Blizzard, Inc. connects and engages the world through epic entertainment. A member of the Fortune 500 and S&P 500, Activision Blizzard is a leading interactive entertainment company. We delight hundreds of millions of monthly active users around the world through franchises including Activision’s Call of Duty® and Crash Bandicoot™, Blizzard Entertainment's World of Warcraft®, Overwatch®, Hearthstone®, Diablo®, and StarCraft®, and King's Candy Crush™, Bubble Witch™, and Farm Heroes™. Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Blizzard has operations throughout the world. More information about Activision Blizzard and its products can be found on the company's website, www.activisionblizzard.com.