Mark Silverman steps down as Fox Sports president/COO. Brad Zager to succeed him, AP source says

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Mark Silverman announced Tuesday he will be stepping down as Fox Sports' president and chief operating officer and will move into a consulting role.

Silverman oversaw live event and studio programming, production, marketing and digital for Fox, FS1 and FS2. He joined Fox Sports in 2018 as president of national networks before being promoted to his current role in 2022.

Brad Zager, Fox Sports' president of production & operations/executive producer, is expected to succeed Silverman, a person familiar with the moves told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the promotion has not been announced. Zager started at Fox Sports in 1996 as an intern at Fox Sports West, when the company was running regional sports networks.

“I am immensely proud of all that we have been able to accomplish at Fox Sports and the 11 prior years at (Big Ten Network),” Silverman said in a statement. “It has been an incredibly rewarding experience working with all the talented people at Fox and creating memories that will last a lifetime. While bittersweet, I look forward to embarking on my next chapter.”

Silverman's biggest contribution has been revamping Fox Sports' college football coverage, including the rollout of “Big Noon Kickoff” and “Big Noon Saturday” in 2018. Silverman was president of Big Ten Network from its formation in 2007 until he joined Fox Sports 11 years later.

“Mark has been an amazing partner through this incredible period of growth at Fox Sports," Eric Shanks, CEO and executive producer of Fox Sports, said in a statement. "His contributions go way beyond the bottom line. Mark’s contributions to the culture here and the relationship with our partners is something we can all be proud of. Always a fun and inspirational friend, I’ll miss him around the office every day, but we will continue to press forward and work on projects that keep Fox Sports on top.”

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AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports