The Pac-12 Conference has named sports media veteran Mark Shuken president of Pac-12 Networks. Shuken, who has run sports networks for major media companies like Time Warner Cable, DirecTV, Fox Sports and Liberty Media, joins the college sports network officially on Sept. 6.
Shuken takes the spot vacated by former president Lydia Murphy-Stephans, who stepped down in June.
“Mark Shuken has consistently delivered growth across all areas of the sports media business and his track record of success and effective leadership makes him the right choice to take our Pac-12 Networks to the next level,” Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott said in a statement. “In a rapidly changing media landscape, Pac-12 Networks is well positioned to take advantage of new technologies, platforms and consumer habits, and Mark’s creative leadership skills and expertise will enable us to continue to best serve our fans and University members.”
Shuken has a long history of running sports networks. He led the formation and branding of three regional sports networks for Time Warner Cable for the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Dodgers and LA Galaxy; served as president and CEO of DirecTV Sports Networks and as president and CEO of Liberty Sports Group, where he created and led the stand-alone division of regional sports networks and doubled revenue. Prior to that at Fox Sports Net Northwest, he was responsible for a significant increase in distribution, ratings and brand presence, including through innovative programming strategies and partnership agreements with both professional and collegiate teams. Previously, Shuken also served as president of Rivals Networks, a digital network of over 600 sports websites.
“I am thrilled to join the Pac-12 Networks, which I believe have a great opportunity to reach new audiences and deliver even more value for our universities and student-athletes,” said Shuken. “The athletic departments in the Pac-12 and student-athletes deliver incredible sporting moments and championships year in and year out. I’m really excited to work with them to further the Pac-12 Networks’ best-in-class media platforms for our fans. The Pac-12 Networks wholly-owned model gives us a unique ability to innovate across digital and linear content, production, programming and distribution, and I’m looking forward to working closely with our Networks management team to explore new ways to do so.”
The Pac-12 Networks, launched in 2012, serves as a showcase for Pac-12 universities: The University of Arizona, Arizona State University, the University of California-Berkeley, the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), the University of Colorado, the University of Oregon, Oregon State University, Stanford University, the University of Southern California, the University of Utah, the University of Washington and Washington State University.
