Sports, Media & Entertainment Executive Search.

Leadership for the attention economy.

Audiences have never had more choice, or less patience. Winning their attention, and holding it, is now the defining challenge across media, content and entertainment. We place the leaders who create, distribute and monetise content at scale, across every screen and every platform.

BROADCAST · STREAMING · CONTENT · PUBLISHING · MUSIC · LIVE · SPORTS MEDIA · GAMING
James Cape, Global Managing Partner, Media and Content, PartnerWise
James Cape.
Global Managing Partner | Media & Content
Amelia Rivas, Principal Partner, Sports, Media and Entertainment, PartnerWise
Amelia Rivas.
Principal Partner | Sports, Media & Entertainment

TRUSTED BY.

The attention economy

One connected world of attention.

Media, entertainment and sport used to be separate industries. They are converging fast. A streaming platform commissions original drama and live sport in the same quarter. A sports rights holder behaves like a media company. A games publisher builds a live-events business. A publisher becomes a video studio. The old category lines no longer describe how these businesses actually compete.

We built our practice around that convergence. Rather than treating media, content, entertainment and sport as separate silos, we work across the whole attention economy, which means we can find leaders who have solved a problem in one corner of it and bring that thinking to another. The best media leader for a sports business might come from music. The best commercial leader for a live-events business might come from streaming.

That cross-sector perspective is where the value is, and it is exactly what a single-vertical firm cannot offer.

Live, broadcast, streaming and beyond.

Where content meets audience..

Sector coverage

What we cover.

The attention economy spans several distinct businesses, each with its own commercial model and talent pool. We work across all of them.

Broadcast & Streaming.

Linear broadcasters, streaming platforms, OTT and FAST services, and the commercial, content and technology leaders who run them.

Content & Production.

Production studios, content businesses, post and facilities, and the creative and commercial leadership behind award-winning output at scale.

Publishing & Digital Media.

News, consumer and B2B publishing, digital-first media, and the leaders driving subscriptions, audience and diversified revenue.

Music & Live Entertainment.

Recorded and live music, festivals, venues, promoters, ticketing and experiences. Commercial, operational and creative leadership across the live economy.

Sports Media, Content & Rights.

The broadcasters, streamers, production, data and content businesses that power global sport. We work across the media layer of sport, not the clubs themselves.

Growth focus

Gaming & Betting.

As gaming and betting operators invest in content, media and live experiences, they need leadership that understands the attention economy. We are building our network across this space.

Director to C-suite

Leadership roles we recruit.

We operate exclusively at Director to C-suite level. Across media, content and entertainment, the roles we are most frequently retained to fill include:

CEO, Chief Content Officer, Chief Commercial Officer, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Revenue Officer, Chief Marketing Officer, Chief Product Officer, Managing Director, Non-Executive Directors.
Director of Content, Head of Programming, Commissioning Director, Creative Director, Head of Production, Editorial Director, Head of Studio.
Commercial Director, Chief Revenue Officer, Head of Partnerships, Director of Sponsorship, Head of Licensing, Head of Subscriptions, Director of Ad Sales.
Chief Product Officer, Director of Digital, Head of Streaming, Director of Audience, Head of Data & Insight, Director of Ecommerce.
CMO, Marketing Director, Head of Brand, Director of Audience Growth, Head of Social & Content.
COO, Operations Director, CTO, Head of Broadcast Technology, Director of Live Operations, Head of Ticketing.
Why PartnerWise

Our world of difference.

24/7 AI-sourcing, powered by PW Edge.

Every search is powered by PW Edge, our proprietary talent intelligence platform. Nine intelligence modules, 28+ live data sources, dual-model AI. It surfaces leaders from adjacent corners of the attention economy that traditional search misses, exactly the cross-sector talent this convergence rewards.

Explore PW Edge →

Built around convergence.

We work across the whole attention economy, not one silo. That means we can bring a streaming leader to a sports-media business, or a music-industry commercial mind to live events. Single-vertical firms cannot.

Retained. Never contingent.

Every search gets dedicated resource, a defined methodology and a named partner who owns the outcome. We do not work multi-agency contingency.

Built for precision. Guaranteed.

Brief to shortlist in 45 days, hit on 95% of mandates. Psychometric profiling via Assessio AI. Every placement guaranteed for 6 months at Director level and 12 months at VP and above. 92% of our clients return.

The catalysts

What triggers a leadership search in media & entertainment.

The businesses we work with rarely come to us because everything is going smoothly. There is usually a catalyst. The five we see most frequently are:

01

Platform launches and pivots.

A new streaming service, a direct-to-consumer play or a pivot from linear to digital demands leadership that has built it before.

02

Investment and consolidation.

PE and strategic investment across media and entertainment creates urgency to build or rebuild leadership teams that deliver the thesis.

03

Content scaling.

Businesses moving from occasional output to always-on, multi-platform content need leaders who can build the engine, not just make the shows.

04

New revenue models.

Subscriptions, licensing, sponsorship, commerce and rights, diversifying revenue requires commercial leadership fluent in models that did not exist five years ago.

05

Convergence moves.

A sports business becoming a media company, a games operator building live events, a publisher becoming a studio, crossing category lines needs leaders who have lived on both sides.

Market intelligence

The media & entertainment talent landscape.

The leadership profile these businesses need is changing as fast as the industry itself.

Convergence is rewriting the org chart.

The lines between media, entertainment, sport and gaming are dissolving. The leaders in demand are those who can operate across them, who understand content, distribution and monetisation as one connected system rather than separate departments.

Streaming has reset the economics.

The shift from linear and physical to on-demand and subscription has changed what good looks like at the top. Commercial leaders now need genuine fluency in audience data, retention, pricing and product, not just traditional media sales.

Content is an always-on engine.

Audiences expect a constant flow across every platform. That demands leaders who can build and run content operations at scale, balancing creative quality with commercial discipline.

Revenue is diversifying.

Advertising alone no longer pays the bills. Subscriptions, licensing, live events, commerce, sponsorship and rights all sit in the mix, and leadership teams need the range to hold all of them.

Talent is scarce where it matters most.

The people who have genuinely built modern, multi-platform, multi-revenue businesses are few, in high demand and rarely on the market. Reaching them takes relationships and intelligence, not job ads.

We track these shifts through our client work, our network across the sector, and ongoing research through PW Edge. Every search is informed by where the industry is heading, not just where it has been.

Live, broadcast, streaming and beyond.

Where content meets audience..

Let's talk

Let's find your next leader.

The talent that wins attention is already in our network.

Whether you are scaling a content business, launching a platform, building a live-events team or moving into a new corner of the attention economy, we would welcome a conversation. No commitment, just a genuine view of your market and the leaders in it.

Get in touch
Common questions

Frequently asked questions.

We work across broadcast and streaming, content and production, publishing and digital media, music and live entertainment, the media and rights businesses that power sport, and the gaming and betting operators moving into the space. Every search is Director to C-suite and partner-led.
Yes. We place media and entertainment leadership globally, with a network that spans the UK, Europe, the US and beyond. Attention is a global business and our reach reflects that.
We work across sports media, content and rights, the broadcasters, streamers, production and data businesses that power global sport. Our focus is the media and content layer of sport rather than club, league or governing-body appointments.
Our benchmark is brief to shortlist in 45 days, which we hit on 95% of retained mandates.
PW Edge is our proprietary talent intelligence platform. It powers every search, drawing on 28+ live data sources across nine intelligence modules to identify candidates, benchmark compensation, map competitor structures and score cultural fit. A standalone client subscription is coming soon.
Three things. We work across the whole attention economy, so we bring cross-sector talent that single-vertical firms cannot. Every search is powered by PW Edge. And we guarantee every placement for 6 to 12 months. Our 92% repeat client rate reflects all three.
Client feedback

What our clients say.

I would strongly recommend James to anyone looking to fill difficult roles in the future.
Head of Recruitment · Multi-platform media business
James deeply understands our company's culture and always provides candidates that are the right fit for us, not just good on paper.
MD · Luxury & Fashion Agency
I can't recommend James's services highly enough and always look forward to working with him.
Head of Business Development · Technology start-up
Amelia is a powerhouse in the sports-tech industry, with excellent communication skills and an extensive network. The best of it all, she is such a wonderful human, the kind of person I know I'll be in contact with beyond our professional lives.
Head of Partnerships · Wellbeing, Technology & Sports
Amelia is my first point of call for hiring Product Management roles. The team is fast, responsive and sources high-calibre candidates. They listen to fully understand the brief upfront and constantly check they are providing the right fit. Highly recommended.
Visionary Product Leader
A big thank you to Amelia and the team. Their professionalism, attention to detail and willingness to go the extra yard helped me land my dream job. Amelia kept me informed every step of the way, which is the main reason I am where I am today.
Global Sports Executive
Sector intelligence

Media & entertainment news.

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