Name: Oliver White

Internship Company: NBCUniversal - NBC Sports Group

Title: Programming & Scheduling Intern

What did you do before Stern?
Before Stern I was a professional soccer player from 2016-2020, and then I was a media consultant at Nielsen from 2020-2022.

What was your role?

At Nielsen I had a roster of clients in 12 DMA's (designated market areas) in the North East where I was their initial point of contact for all things Nielsen related (ratings, marketing, reach etc)

What were your responsibilities?

I was responsible for being available to answer any proprietary question, frequently hosting client presentations to discuss new measurement and new television services (vMVPD's etc) in the media ecosystem, and regularly do ratings evaluations for the TV Stations viewership performance.

How did you spend your time preparing for recruiting and interviews?

The first thing I did was envision a very clear idea as to why I wanted the internship, from there I was able to develop as large a cachet as possible to speak to the role I would be interviewing for. Whether it was learning about all the sports properties that NBC licenses or keeping track of the activations they had done in the past, I wanted to be as knowledgeable as someone already in the company. After that, I effectively did quasi-casing preparation, by researching the amount of revenue the total company earns, the revenue by sport and combined this with information I had from my Nielsen days about how many people the station wants to reach, or what specific sports properties would be best received if they went to Peacock based on their fandom. Certain intersectional points were key for my research because I believe it gave me an edge over people who just "love sports" i was able to present myself as someone who not only loves sports but also understands the intersection of sports and the revenue that media companies make when they broadcast sports.

What experiences (if any) helped prepare you for this internship?

My time at Nielsen was for sure the most helpful, but more than just the job I did, I greatly appreciated the small talk I shared with people that worked at my client stations. By learning more about their job & responsibilities I knew somewhat what it would be like to work at a television station. The second experience, that I committed to mainly between March & May, was to consume a large amount of sports network broadcasts (from a range of channels) to understand what each station did and what their idiosyncrasies were.

What was the best advice you received during the recruiting process?

"People want to know that you care, before they care what you know."

Movie/TV recommendations:

NBCUniversal properties of course: Oppenheimer, Jurassic Park, Suits, The Office