Ashley O’Connor is vice president of programming & acquisitions for ESPN. She is responsible for oversight of ESPN’s Major League Baseball, National Hockey League and Little League properties.

O’Connor, who has worked at ESPN for nearly two decades, was promoted to her current role in May 2024. She leads a team responsible for managing all elements of ESPN’s partnerships with MLB, NHL and Little League, including partner management, scheduling, commercial formatting and securing all of the necessary rights to drive these business properties forward.

O’Connor’s oversight includes ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball package, the Home Run Derby, MLB Wild Card Series, Stanley Cup Finals, Stanley Cup Playoffs and more high-profile live events.

Before taking on her new responsibilities with baseball and hockey, O’Connor played an instrumental role for many years in the overall programming strategy for both the NBA and WNBA on ESPN, as well as Combat Sports, including UFC and Top Rank Boxing. O’Connor oversaw programming for the NBA Finals and WNBA Finals, NBA and WNBA Playoffs, robust regular-season packages, UFC on ESPN+ pay-per-views, and more.

O’Connor previously served as a senior director (2022-24), director (2019-22) and senior manager (2014-19) on the programming & acquisitions team. She joined in 2005 as a coordinator, working her way up to leadership roles. She has also worked on college sports and motorsports during her ESPN tenure. Previously, she worked in collegiate athletics as the director of operations at the Missouri Valley Conference (2004-05) and as the director of women’s basketball for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (2001-03).

As part of O’Connor’s ESPN role, she serves on the organization’s diversity, equity and inclusion counsel, while also serving as a mentor in a Disney-wide executive mentorship program for employees. O’Connor has also played an integral role in helping to drive women’s sports to the forefront of ESPN’s programming offerings through her work with the WNBA.

Beyond her ESPN role, O’Connor has been a board member for the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Waterbury in Connecticut since August 2017.

A native of Kansas City, O’Connor graduated from Creighton University with a bachelor of arts degree in Classical and Near Eastern Studies.

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