Randy Freer

Title: Co-President/COO, Fox Sports Media Group

Years in Cable: 14

Education: BA, business and history, St. Joseph’s College

Eric Shanks

Title: Co-President/COO, Fox Sports Media Group

Years in Cable: 17

Why Them? Freer and Shanks oversee Fox Sports, Fox’s 19 regional sports networks—which collectively televise more than half of all MLB, NBA and NHL teams—and all digital ventures. Which means they sit atop the largest cog in one of the industry’s most coveted—and contentious—empires. We’re guessing News Corp’s recent stalemate with DirecTV must have struck a particular chord with Shanks, who previously served as EVP of DirecTV Entertainment. Both execs not only demonstrate a strong negotiating arm, but their programming talents have elevated the look, sound and editorial content of all Fox Sports’ studio and game broadcasts, an important marker as streaming of games becomes more prevalent. Additionally, Speed, Fox Soccer, Fuel TV also come under Freer and Shanks’ purview.

All Aglow: When Shanks initially joined Fox Sports in 1994, he helped develop the FOXTrax “glowing puck” for NHL coverage and the yellow first down line that’s a staple of today’s televised football.

Year Ahead: Fox this year began wading into the next frontier for local sports—high school games. How much deeper will it go? ?

The Daily

Subscribe
Friday–May 9

Sling Loses More Subs Than DISH in 1Q25

Anyone hoping Echostar’s 1Q25 earnings call would shed some light on its video leadership were out of luck. Once again, wireless and spectrum dominated talk during the financial call. And there was no

Read the Full Issue
The Skinny is delivered on Tuesday and focuses on the cable profession. You'll stay in the know on the headlines, topics and special issues you value most. Sign Up

Calendar

Sep 11
2025 Faxies Awards Faxies Nominations Open! Final deadline: 4/4/25
Full Calendar

Jobs

Seeking an INDUSTRY JOB or hiring for one?
VIEW JOBS

In conjunction with our sister brand, Cynopsis, we are offering hiring managers a deep pool of media-savvy, skilled candidates at a range of experience levels and sectors. The result will be an even more robust industry job board, to help both employers and job seekers.

Contact Carley Ashley, [email protected], for more information about posting a job on the website and our Jobs newsletter, sent twice weekly to 85,000 media professionals.