Mark Silverman was named President of National Networks for Fox Sports, a position held by Jamie Horowitz for two years prior to his firing in July amid sexual harassment allegations. During the interim, Los Angeles based Fox Sports president Eric Shanks filled the position.
“Mark is an excellent, creative executive who has been in the FOX Sports family for over 11 years with great success,” said Shanks who announced the news yesterday. “We couldn’t be more thrilled he has chosen to take this new role on our team.”
Silverman joined Fox as president of the Big Ten Network during its inception in 2007, a position he still holds. With Silverman at the helm, the Big Ten Network has experienced great success, having over 60 million subscribers and an expanded digital platform thanks to BTN2Go and BTN Plus which enable streaming of live games and content.
“Mark’s been a creative and trusted leader at BTN for more than a decade,” said Jim Delany, Commissioner, Big Ten Conference. “I have no doubt that FOX Sports’ 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.”
Prior to joining the Big Ten Network, Silverman had a 13-year tenure with The Walt Disney Company filling different executive positions including Senior Vice President and General Manager of the ABC Networks Group.
Silverman will begin his new role with Fox Sports beginning January 16th, overseeing all programming, production, marketing and digital for Fox, FS1 and FS2 as well as continuing his current role has president of the Big Ten Network.
“I have greatly enjoyed leading BTN for the past 11 years,” said Silverman. “I now look forward to joining the FOX Sports leadership team and working with some of the top brands and executives in the industry.”
Brandon Contes is a freelance writer for BSM. He can be found on Twitter @BrandonContes. To reach him by email click here.
Jason Barrett is the Founder and CEO of Barrett Media. The company launched in September 2015 and has provided consulting services to America’s top audio and video brands, while simultaneously covering the media industry at BarrettMedia.com, becoming a daily destination for media professionals. Prior to Barrett Media, Jason built and programmed 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He was also the first sports programmer for SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, which later became 97.5 The Fanatic. Barrett also led 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY, and worked on-air and behind the scenes at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years at ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT producing ‘The Dan Patrick Show’ and ‘GameNight’. JB can be reached on Twitter @SportsRadioPD or by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
