Sam Stitcher is Vice President, Rights Acquisitions, Media at global sports, events and representation company, IMG. He has extensive international experience in media and sports management, and has worked with some of the world’s leading sports organisations, including FIFA, the NFL, World Rugby, UFC, Football Australia, New Zealand Rugby and Belgian Pro League.
Sam joined IMG in 2012 following a six-year professional sports career, playing rugby union for Yorkshire Carnegie, Harlequins, London Wasps and Esher. He has since held a number of leadership roles in Australia and Southeast Asia based in Sydney, Hong Kong and Singapore. Last year, Sam moved into a global role based in London, driving new business growth and rights acquisitions.
Notably, he oversaw the successful execution of World Rugby’s global media rights strategy for Rugby World Cup 2023 and 2019, and negotiated IMG’s deal to exclusively manage the NFL’s media rights in 30+ international markets across Asia and Europe from 2024. He also worked with Football Australia to develop its media rights strategy and deliver transformational results for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, resulting in a landmark deal with Paramount.
