Latest news with #Aronowitz
Business Wire
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Wire
Daniel Aronowitz: I Will End the War on ESOPs
WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--During his confirmation hearing today, Daniel Aronowitz, President Trump's nominee to lead the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) as Assistant Secretary of Labor, signaled a sea change in how the Department of Labor (DOL) views ESOPs under this Administration. EBSA is the chief regulator of ESOPs at the DOL under the Employment Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). "I will end the war on ESOPs. I think it's the best way for employees to get an additional benefit and ownership in an American company." Daniel Aronowitz During the hearing at the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee, Aronowitz had the following exchange with Senator Lisa Murkowski (AK): SENATOR MURKOWSKI: 'You're probably very familiar with the angst expressed by some about the need for a single clear regulatory definition of good faith effort for valuing ESOP stock. The concern is that, instead of having a clear definition that is spelled out in regulation, ESOPs have been operating under a patchwork of litigation and investigation. There is also some concern that the department has taken excessive enforcement actions against ESOPs. Can you speak briefly to your views on these?" DANIEL ARONOWITZ:"I believe that Congress wants ESOPs and everybody is for ESOPs except for the DOL for the last 20 years. I will end the war on ESOPs. I think it's the best way for employees to get an additional benefit and ownership in an American company. The valuation companies have all been sued by the can't be right that every single one of them is doing it wrong. What the Department is doing is nitpicking the professional judgment of the valuation professionals. I'm going to put an end to that. Because I think unless there is a clear conflict of interest, then the valuation is appropriate when done by an independent valuation firm." In addition, Senator John Husted (OH) added his support for ESOPs during the hearing, saying 'Mr. mentioned something in your testimony about ESOPs, that's a great way to help businesses involve their employees and keep the legacy of those businesses in those communities. So I encourage you to do everything you can to support ESOPs in your role." The ESOP Association, the leading organization representing businesses with an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) and the 14 million Americans with an interest in an ESOP, strongly supports the confirmation of Daniel Aronowitz. 'Daniel Aronowitz is uniquely qualified to address the challenges faced by ESOPs, workers, and potential ESOP founders under the current regulatory structure,' said James Bonham, President and CEO of The ESOP Association. 'Today's hearing was the clearest sign yet that the Trump Administration is serious about ending the decades of mistreatment of ESOPs and pursuing a regulatory agenda that will allow ESOPs to flourish. Mr. Aronowitz has overwhelming support among The ESOP Association's members, and should be quickly confirmed.' Before answering questions, in his opening statement submitted to the Committee Aronowitz was clear about his intent toward ESOPs: 'First, I will improve EBSA's enforcement of fiduciary law. We will end the practice of open-ended investigations that go on for years. We will end the bias against ESOPs and other legitimate ways to expand retirement benefits and ownership to America's workers. And we will end the regulatory abuse of common-interest agreements with plaintiff lawyers. EBSA's enforcement will be fair, even-handed, and efficient.' Aronowitz said his experience 'has given me unique insights into how to better protect and expand the retirement and health security of American workers,' and if confirmed he will 'work hard every day to unleash and unlock the creativity and full potential of America's employee benefit system.' 'Daniel Aronowitz should be quickly confirmed so he and Secretary Chavez DeRemer can begin the process of driving the necessary changes at EBSA and fulfill the true promise of ESOPs for American workers and our economy,' Bonham added. 'We thank Chairman Cassidy for his leadership in this process, and hope for a speedy vote in Committee so the full Senate can proceed to Mr. Aronowitz's confirmation.' About The ESOP Association The ESOP Association is the largest organization in the world supporting employee-owned companies, the more than 10 million U.S. employees who participate in an ESOP, and the professionals who provide services to them. Headquartered at the International Employee Ownership Center in Washington, DC and operating as a 501(c)6 organization with the affiliated Employee Ownership Foundation, The ESOP Association conducts and funds academic research, provides more than 160 annual conferences and events attended by nearly 15,000 individuals, and advocates on behalf of employee owners and their businesses to federal and state lawmakers.
New York Times
18-03-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Women's basketball is hot as ever but will March Madness still soar without Caitlin Clark?
You don't have to inform ESPN senior vice president of production Meg Aronowitz about the challenge of producing the NCAA women's basketball tournament without Caitlin Clark the year after she had galvanized the property to NFL viewership heights. 'You never want to be the guy that follows Nick Saban, right?' Aronowitz said, laughing. Advertisement There is an interesting duality with the women's tournament this year. The sport is as hot as ever and includes stars in every corner of America from USC's JuJu Watkins to UConn's Paige Bueckers to Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo to Texas' Madison Booker. Regular season games were up three percent year-over-year across all of ESPN properties — and up an eye-popping 41 percent over 2023. But it will be nearly impossible for ESPN to match last year's title game viewership between South Carolina and Iowa, a game that averaged an astonishing 18.9 million viewers and peaked at 24.1 million viewers. That was a 90 percent increase from the 2023 title game and a 289 percent increase from 2022 — a unicorn among unicorn ratings. 'It is extremely healthy where women's college basketball is, but it would take a miracle for the women's title game to get 19 million viewers again,' said Aronowitz, the point person for ESPN's women's basketball coverage. 'It's not beyond reason for it to get 12 (million) if we get the right teams, the right momentum and the right storylines. What we are going to do is make sure that as the audience grows with us from the Selection Show through Tampa, we keep the audience engaged as long as we possibly can. 'But we also have to manage expectations,' she continued. 'There is no Caitlin Clark, but there are a lot of incredible student-athletes that we're going to showcase throughout this tournament, and maybe one of them sets fire and becomes a national sensation. That would be great. We're going to tell the best stories we can, we're going to document the games, and we're going to put the best basketball coverage that we can possibly do on television.' I've written plenty of media-centric women's basketball pieces over the years and was fortunate to cover women's college basketball for Sports Illustrated for many years. What's been particularly evident over the past five years are the resources added by ESPN — a sign that the tournament is a money-maker. AdAge reported the tournament's total ad sales are up 200 percent from last year alone, and a 30-second ad unit for the championship game is going for around $1 million. Advertisement Below is a look at ESPN's coverage over the next three weeks: ESPN platforms will air all 67 games covered, beginning Wednesday with the First Four. Games will air across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPNEWS. There will be select matchups throughout the tournament on ESPN+ and Disney+. The tournament will feature more games on ABC and ESPN than ever before. The final from Tampa will air on ABC sometime shortly after 3 p.m. (ET) on April 6. A one-hour pregame show will take place on ABC beginning at 2 p.m. There is one very significant move. The main studio group for ESPN and ABC coverage will be Elle Duncan, Andraya Carter and Chiney Ogwumike, with the possibility of some high-profile coaches popping on later in the tournament. Carolyn Peck will switch to a full-time game analyst role through the regional final. 'They've obviously galvanized as a group and we've done the season of Women's Game Day with them,' Aronowitz said. 'You're going to see them featured and focused on the studio side and we've given the studio team more resources.' Kelsey Riggs Cuff will host a second studio team for the early rounds alongside analysts Muffet McGraw and Megan McKeown. Lisa Mattingly and Violet Palmer will join the studio teams as rules analyst from the Sweet 16 through the final game. For the open Final Four practice day on Saturday, the studio group will be Kelsey Riggs, Peck and Fever coach/ESPN broadcaster Stephanie White. First, all broadcasters will be on site for the 16 opening round sites. That's excellent news. This link will give you where each game will air across the ESPN networks. Below are the teams that will call the event. First and second round commentator teams • Dave O'Brien, Christy Winters-Scott and Holly Rowe (Los Angeles – UCLA) Advertisement • Courtney Lyle and Carolyn Peck (Columbia, S.C.) • Tiffany Greene and Steffi Sorensen (Austin, Texas) • Eric Frede, Christy Thomaskutty and Holly Rowe (Los Angeles – USC) • Beth Mowins and Rebecca Lobo (Storrs, Conn.) • Brenda VanLengen and Andrea Lloyd (Fort Worth, Texas) • Jenn Hildreth and Kelly Gramlich (Durham, N.C.) • Wes Durham and Angela Taylor (Raleigh, N.C.) • Pam Ward and Stephanie White (South Bend, Ind.) • Roy Philpott and Jimmy Dykes (Baton Rouge, La.) • Kevin Fitzgerald and Kim Adams (Norman, Okla.) • Angel Gray and Aja Ellison (Chapel Hill, N.C.) • Sam Gore and Tamika Catchings (Lexington, Ky.) • Kirsta Blunk and Mary Murphy (Waco, Texas) • Matt Schumacker and Brooke Weisbrod (Columbus, Ohio) • Jay Alter and Helen Williams (College Park, Md.) Sweet 16 and Elite 8 commentator teams • Ryan Ruocco, Rebecca Lobo and Holly Rowe (Spokane, Wash.) • Pam Ward, Stephanie White and Holly Rowe (Spokane, Wash.) • Courtney Lyle, Carolyn Peck and Kris Budden (Birmingham, Ala.) • Beth Mowins, Debbie Antonelli and Angel Gray (Birmingham, Ala. Final Four and national championship commentator teams • Ruocco, Lobo and Rowe Games will start Wednesday and run through Thursday. Los Angeles (UCLA), Austin (Texas), Chapel Hill (North Carolina) and South Bend (Notre Dame) will serve as the First Four host sites. Here's the TV schedule: Wednesday No. 11 Princeton vs. No. 11 Iowa State, 7 p.m. (ET), ESPNU No. 16 Southern vs. No. 16 UC San Diego, 9 p.m., ESPNU Thursday No. 11 Washington vs. No. 11 Columbia, 7 p.m., ESPN2 No. 16 William & Mary vs. No. 16 High Point, ESPN2 It does. 'The Bird & Taurasi Show' returns for its fourth year featuring Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi. The show will be available on ESPN2 and ESPN+ for the semifinal games, then will air on ESPN and ESPN+ for the championship. As in years past, you can expect well-known people from sports and pop culture to appear. Advertisement Plenty. But if they both advance in their opening games, No. 6 Michigan vs. No. 3 Notre Dame on Sunday in South Bend would be a fascinating matchup between a program with great freshmen (Michigan) and a title contender (Notre Dame) that has struggled lately. ESPN's two lead college basketball directors, Jimmy Platt and Mike Roig, will direct all of the regional games. Platt is the current director for the women's Final Four while Roig is ESPN's top men's basketball director. The production has added High Frame Rate (HFR) technology, which provides super slow-motion sequences of key moments in a game or even for viewers. There are also additional shallow–depth–of–field cameras at both locations and those cameras make sports look much like cinema or a video game. (This is what the NFL does with its broadcasters.) Aronowitz said ESPN as a company has bought into the women's tournament significantly when it comes to discussing the tournament away from tournament-specific programming. That was something that was not clearly the case years ago. 'My boss, (executive vice president of sports production) Mike McQuade, is a huge proponent for cross-platform promotion for all of our properties, and he firmly believes that the women's tournament is the most important thing that we're going to do in March at the company,' Aronowitz said. 'You see it with his support, combined with (executive vice president of sports news and entertainment) Dave Roberts, who is a huge women's basketball fan, and then their direct lieutenants. If anything, what the most challenging thing at this point is trying to feed all of the requests that are coming in for people that want our talent on their shows as we start to build towards Tampa. I've been doing this a long time, and it's normally having to fight to get the attention to get some exposure for this sport, and that's not the case anymore with women's basketball.' We have you covered. Bookmark this page for the tournament. 'No Offseason: The Athletic Women's Basketball Show' podcast will have multiple episodes each week during the tournament. Said Aronowitz: 'Look, there is always a fear of fatigue in terms of do we talk about them too much. But our audience research tells us that's what our fans care about and our research also tells us that we're still getting new viewers only starting to come to women's college basketball right now. So we need to be able to tell the stories of the stars because those stars in theory people will follow all the way to Tampa. We try to be as balanced as we can. I always remind our team that the journey for most of these teams was to just get to the women's tournament, and we have to tell those stories too.' South Carolina. It has been phenomenal since the UConn blowout loss — especially the win over Texas in the SEC title game — and I always like when a power team has a loss in February because I think it makes a team sharper. I can't see anyone in the Birmingham 2 Region giving the Gamecocks any issues. Then comes the Final Four: UCLA has been great this year, but South Carolina has already played the Bruins (a 15-point UCLA win in December in L.A.), so it'll be ready for Round 2. I think a South Carolina-UConn final would be a massive viewership game for the sport so that's something to root for if you are a neutral party who wants to see the sport continue to pop in interest. (Photo of Ryan Ruocco, left, Rebecca Lobo: Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
