Background and context
Overtime has emerged as a prominent media and sports brand focused on younger audiences, particularly in basketball and other fast-growing sports verticals. As the company expands from digital content into in-person experiences, live events have become a core part of its strategy.
At the center of this push is Anna Karefa-Johnson, who serves as vice president of experiential strategy and live events at Overtime. Her role reflects a broader shift in sports and entertainment, where media companies increasingly use physical events to build community, deepen engagement, and drive new revenue streams.
Key announcement
Karefa-Johnson has been spotlighted as a notable figure in the events space for her work shaping Overtime’s experiential programs. In her position, she oversees the planning and execution of live events and fan-facing experiences that support the company’s sports properties and content ecosystem.
This includes strategic oversight of how in-person events connect with Overtime’s digital audience, the development of formats that resonate with younger fans, and the integration of sponsors and partners into live experiences. While specific campaigns are not detailed, her recognition underscores the growing importance of experiential leadership roles within sports media organizations.
More information about Overtime’s work and properties is available via the company’s official website.
Industry impact
Karefa-Johnson’s role illustrates a trend in which experiential and live events teams are moving closer to the core of brand strategy, particularly in sports and youth-focused media. For event technology providers, this shift reinforces several market directions:
- Higher demand for integrated digital and physical experiences, where live events are designed to be shared, streamed, or extended online.
- Increased focus on fan engagement tools—such as interactive displays, real-time content capture, and social media-ready formats.
- Closer collaboration between event producers, content teams, and commercial partners to build scalable, repeatable event concepts.
As brands like Overtime invest in recurring live properties, technology vendors serving staging, audio, video, networking, and data capture can expect more opportunities tied to sports-adjacent and youth-oriented events.
Why this matters
For the broader event technology and production community, Karefa-Johnson’s position at Overtime highlights how experiential leadership is evolving. Rather than treating events as one-off activations, companies are building long-term event portfolios that complement content channels and sponsorship models.
This development places new expectations on event tech partners. Solutions must support:
- Consistent production quality across multiple venues and formats.
- Data-informed decision-making about audience behavior, attendance, and engagement.
- Flexible infrastructure that can scale from intimate fan experiences to large-format live events.
As more media and sports brands follow similar paths, the influence of roles like vice president of experiential strategy and live events is likely to grow. For vendors and agencies in the event technology ecosystem, understanding the priorities of these decision-makers will be key to aligning services, tools, and partnerships with the next generation of sports and entertainment experiences.