Will Ullman of Netflix on the Communal Experience of Sports

It's the ultimate feeling

Will is senior manager of sports marketing at Netflix, where he leads a team that oversees documentaries and live NFL marketing. In his six-plus years at Netflix, Will has built the title brands and overseen campaigns for titles like Quarterback, Full Swing and Starting 5. He has also helped pioneer live sports efforts at the company on projects like The Netflix Cup and Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson.

Earlier in his career, Will spent over a decade at PlayStation Studios, where he built campaigns for sports franchises including MLB: The Show, Gran Turismo and NBA: The Life, in addition to titles such as The Last of Us, Uncharted and God of War. 

We spent two minutes with Will to learn more about his background, his creative inspirations and recent work he’s admired. 

Will, tell us …

Where you grew up, and where do you live now?

I grew up in southern Pennsylvania, close enough to Baltimore to fall in love with baseball at Camden Yards. I moved to San Diego in high school and now live in the Los Feliz area of L.A. 

Your earliest sports memory.

MLB All Star ’93. I remember going to the fan experience and my dad was ecstatic that we got to meet Juan Marichal. I was more excited about my stuffed Phillie Phanatic at the time. But looking back, it was pretty cool. 

Your favorite sports team(s).

Scuderia Ferrari, Los Angeles Chargers, Vegas Golden Knights. And it’s spicy but I’ll root for both the Padres and the Dodgers. 

Favorite athlete(s)?

Sebastian Vettel, Philip Rivers, Cal Ripken and everyone I’ve been lucky enough to work with across my career. 

What is your favorite sports movie and/or show?

Moneyball, Rush, Days of Thunder, Friday Night Lights (the show), Blue Chips and Draft Day.

What is your favorite sports podcast or news show?

I’m mainly a Bill Simmons guy, and I catch up with most others via clips. I miss the days where I had time to throw on Around the Horn or PTI in the afternoon.

What is a recent project you’re proud of?

I’m proud of the work our crew did for the America’s Team series. It was such a special show and we got to have a lot of fun with the creative assets thanks to a great partnership with our filmmakers and the Cowboys. 

Someone else’s work that you admired recently.

Everything John DeMarsico and the SNYtv crew is doing with the Mets broadcasts is the coolest thing I’ve seen in sports storytelling lately—and they’re doing it live! Also a big fan of the work I’ve seen out of New Balance, really unique creative. 

What sports can do that nothing else can.

Bring together the most diverse collection of folks. For me, there’s nothing like being in a city for an F1 race. All these people have come from around the world and show up with such passion and enthusiasm, and it’s such a communal experience. It’s such a high. 

What you’d be doing if you weren’t in the sports space.

Film and TV are in my blood. So, I’d be finding my way onto sets or into edit bays somewhere, trying to find like-minded people to make cool stuff with.