The Women’s Sports Network has named 30-year sports programming veteran Carol Stiff as its president.
The network, launched in 2022 by FAST Studios, is a free, ad-supported streaming service that aims to promote diversity in the sports and entertainment industries with content that features female athletes.
It broadcasts content from sports leagues including the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA), the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), Athletes Unlimited, U.S. Ski and Snowboard, and the World Surf League.
Stiff was previously vice president of women’s sports programming and acquisitions at ESPN, where she was responsible for sports including NCAA women’s basketball, NCAA Men’s and Women’s championships, WNBA and professional softball.
She serves on the Women’s Sports Foundation board of trustees, as president of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame board of trustees, and on the Collegiate Women’s Sports Awards board of directors and the Pat Summitt Alzheimer’s advisory board.
In 2021, Stiff was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and received the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame John R. Bunn award as well as the Naismith Lifetime Achievement Award and an Edward R. Murrow award.
At WSN, she will oversee the direction and continued expansion of the network as well as content development and will manage key league and athlete relationships.
The network also named Raquel Braun, who held former executive roles at EA Sports and FOX Sports, as its chief business officer.
As a senior business development executive at EA Sports prior to joining WSN, Braun led business development efforts including global media partnerships, content development and production, talent engagement, and esports initiatives across EA Sports’ portfolio of brands.
In her prior role as vice president of business and legal affairs at FOX Sports, she worked on the acquisition of major sports rights for FOX’s national and international sports networks, managed talent negotiations, and advised on production operations and strategy.
An alumna of Georgetown Law, Braun also serves as an adjunct professor at the Law Center and as the chair of the University of Florida’s sports management industry advisory board.
WSN has a studio in El Segundo, California. Its daily show, “Game On,” offers an in-depth look inside daily top sports headlines and interviews with athletes, coaches, and influential leaders in women’s sports.
