Michael Grindon on sports rights
From Here Comes Pod With Michael Grindon and Andy Kaplan · · Danny Goldman
“Howard Stringer thought the idea was great for two reasons... he pushed for it and we got Sony to approve the $200 million acquisition price and all of a sudden we had now World Cup cricket which was huge.”
On , Michael Grindon, Former President of Sony Pictures Television at Independent, spoke about sports rights during Here Comes Pod With Michael Grindon and Andy Kaplan on Danny Goldman.
About Michael Grindon
Michael Grindon appeared on the podcast "Here Comes Pod" on March 26, 2026, alongside Andy Kaplan to discuss the early years of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Grindon and Kaplan were executives at SET India, the IPL's inaugural broadcast partner. Grindon described how Howard Stringer supported the idea of acquiring World Cup cricket rights, leading Sony to approve a $200 million acquisition price. He also stated that "the problem with sports is the leagues and the owners make the money, not the broadcasters." During the interview, Grindon recounted challenges with IPL founder Lalit Modi, who pressured the broadcasters to exercise a contract option early despite no contractual obligation to do so. Grindon noted that Modi pointed to minor contractual errors made during the rapid setup of the production, though he characterized these issues as insignificant.