Diplo, Alex Morgan and Mina Kimes Talk Women’s Sports, Post-Run DJ Concerts and More at Variety’s Sports & Entertainment Breakfast

The morning after the 2025 ESPY Awards, Variety hosted a robust lineup of sports and media leaders at the 1 Hotel West Hollywood for its Sports & Entertainment Breakfast, presented by City National Bank.

The breakfast kicked off with opening remarks from Variety co-editor-in-chief Cynthia Littleton and City National Bank’s Jahan Wang before welcoming the first panel: “Women In Sports In The Zeitgeist,” moderated by Variety’s Jazz Tangcay. The panel included USC Athletic Director Jennifer Cohen, Women’s Elite Rugby President Jessica Hammond-Graf, Co-Head of CAA Brand Consulting Liz Gray, ESPNW Head and VP of Women’s Programming Susie Piotrkowski and championship race car driver and team owner Samantha Tan. These athletes and executives reflected on women’s sports’ rise in popularity over the past year, stressing how business leaders are finally recognizing its value and wanting to capitalize. Gray summed it up well, explaining that “we are truly at a moment where the business side [of sports] are finally catching up with a cultural conversation that started a while ago. I don’t think there is a brand that we’re currently working with where a women’s sports strategy isn’t part of what we’re focused on.”

The first panel also talked about the expanding audiences of women’s sports, which segued into the subsequent panel, “Championing The Sporting-Verse: Reaching Fans Across Platforms,” moderated by City Bank’s Randie Brooks. Here, ESPN marketing exec Tina Thornton and NFL Analyst and podcast host Mina Kimes answered questions about what audiences want out of sports media, and how ESPN aims to deliver for them. Both agreed that sports fans want increased personalization, access, and community. “People want to be together,” said Thornton, “Sports brings people together.” They talked about how the upcoming “enhanced” version of the ESPN app will offer more individualized and communal ways for fans to enjoy sports, including fantasy opportunities, commerce, sports betting, multi-view, and more.

Next, Littleton returned to the stage for a fireside chat with two-time World Cup Winner and Olympic gold medalist Alex Morgan and her manager, Dan Levy of Wasserman. Morgan just received the Icon Award at the previous night’s ESPYs, and she focused her talk on her sports media and commerce venture, TOGETHXR. The brand that created the “Everyone Watches Women’s Sports” apparel, TOGETHXR offers multi-media storytelling and brand partnerships that champion women in sports. “When we started the company, women’s sports got 4% of total attention in the sports landscape and we wanted to push that number,” said Morgan, “It’s now 16%. Next year it might be 20%. We need to get it way higher than that, but TOGETHXR is taking accountability to make sure it continues to grow.”

The panel also reflected on Morgan’s long battle for equity in women’s sports, recounting how she and her teammates filed a lawsuit against U.S. Soccer for better pay ahead of the 2019 World Cup. The lawsuit settled in 2022, but Morgan contends that salaries still “have to go up or players are going to find elsewhere to play. They’ll go to Europe or wherever to find the best compensation and the best value.” Alex continues to fight for these causes as a part-owner of the San Diego Wave and leader of the Alex Morgan Foundation, which focuses on sports equity, creating opportunity, and supporting mothers.

The next panel was “Sports Programming Visionaries.” Moderated by Tangcay, the panel included Omaha Productions Development Head Colin Campbell, NASCAR Content SVP John Dahl, Religion of Sports co-founder Gotham Chopra, NFL VP of Content Planning & Programming Meredith Battin, Fox NFL Sunday Director Stephanie Medina and NBC Sports Development & Partnerships President Jon Miller.

Each member of the robust panel shared their executive insights on the current state and future of sports media. They discussed how viewership has changed with technology, but storytelling has remained imperative throughout. Medina called sports “the best storytelling, because you can’t predict what’s going to happen,” adding, “you get to go along on these journeys and you get to see people have their dreams come true. There’s nothing better.”

Miller talked about NBC’s acquisition of the Premiere League soccer as a way to expand the audience and fandom alike; Campbell and Medina discussed bringing on celebrities and experimenting with different kinds of segments in their programming; Battin talked about the NFL’s launch of flag football leagues to get young audiences engaged with the sport; and Dahl mentioned how scripted projects like “F1,” “Days of Thunder,” “Cars” and “Talladega Nights” can boost interest and viewership in live sports.

Lastly, recording artist, producer, DJ and entrepreneur Diplo took the stage, accompanied by his management team of Sam Hunt and Todd Palmerton of Wasserman and Renee Brodeur of TMWRK. Variety’s Angelique Jackson moderated the panel, discussing Diplo’s latest venture: the Diplo Run Club. Inspired by Diplo’s own experience of running a half-marathon in Miami and then immediately going to a club, the Diplo Run Club hosts 5Ks in cities across the country that are followed by daytime Diplo concerts.

The venture combines Diplo’s musical prowess with his longtime passion for health and wellness. Runs have taken place in eight cities and draw competitive runners, easygoing joggers, and music fans alike. Diplo calls it “a catalyst for more people to run and more people to enjoy a healthy way to have a party.” The team looks forward to expanding the idea to additional cities with other DJs who are interested in the intersections of exercise, music, and partygoing.