Fox Sports said Mark Silverman, currently president of the Big Ten Network joint venture, will become president, National Networks, adding responsibilities at the Fox broadcast network, FS1 and FS2.
The role was previously held by Jamie Horowitz, who reportedly was fired in July following allegations of sexual harassment after two years on the job.
Eric Shanks, president and executive producer, Fox Sports, said in a release that Silverman “is an excellent, creative executive who has been in the Fox Sports family for over 11 years with great success. We couldn’t be more thrilled he has chosen to take this new role on our team.”
Fox said Silverman, as of Jan. 16, will oversee all programming, production, marketing and digital for Fox, FS1 and FS2 live events and studio shows while retaining responsibilities at BTN, which is co-owned by the Big Ten Conference. He has headed BTN since the beginning, in 2007, and led it to top the 60-million subscriber mark in the U.S. and Canada.
Fox Sports indicated Silverman's new role, which includes activities at the broadcast network, is broader than Horowitz's portfolio was.
“Mark’s been a creative and trusted leader at BTN for more than a decade,” Big Ten Conference commissioner Jim Delany said in the Fox Sports statement. “I have no doubt that Fox Sports’s national networks will all benefit as a result of Mark’s special combination of executive skills. We look forward to continue to work with him in this new role.”
Silverman said: “I have greatly enjoyed leading BTN for the past 11 years. I now look forward to joining the Fox Sports leadership team and working with some of the top brands and executives in the industry.”
Silverman started out in media at The Walt Disney Co., where before joining BTN he was senior VP and general manager of the ABC Cable Networks Group. Earlier he was senior VP and general manager of ABC Family Channel.
