Burke Magnus Promoted to ESPN Senior Vice President

Executive To Oversee College Sports Programming; Gerber Retiring From ESPN

March 25, 2008 -- Burke Magnus has been promoted to ESPN senior vice president, college sports programming, it was announced today by John Wildhack, ESPN executive vice president, programming acquisitions and strategy, and David Berson, ESPN executive vice president, program planning and strategy. It was also announced that Chuck Gerber, who has served numerous capacities with ESPN since 1993 -- most recently executive vice president, college sports programming -- will retire from the company effective April 11. Magnus, who previously served as vice president and general manager, ESPNU, will report to Wildhack and take on many of Gerber’s responsibilities.

In recent years as head of ESPN’s college sports programming, Gerber has been instrumental in securing long-term agreements with several conferences including the Big Ten, Big 12 and Big East. He has been a key driver in the continued success of ESPNU and ESPN Regional Television and has fostered strong relationships with many other college sports leaders such as NCAA and conference executives.

In his new role, Magnus will be responsible for the strategic direction of college football, college basketball and NCAA Championships on the various ESPN platforms. That includes the acquiring and scheduling of programming across ESPN on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN360.com, ESPN Classic and more. He will also manage the company’s relationships with college rightsholders, such as the NCAA and conferences.

Wildhack said, “Chuck Gerber is a trusted leader and dedicated friend. His ideas, strategic thinking and interpersonal skills have helped shape this industry. We’ve all learned from him and we all wish him the best in his next chapter of life.

“Burke is a proven executive who is highly respected in the college sports community. He understands the industry’s many complexities and the importance of working collaboratively with internal and external colleagues. His past success managing college basketball and ESPNU will serve him well in this critical new role.”

MAGNUS BIO INFORMATION

In 2004, Magnus was named vice president and general manager of ESPNU, the 24-hour college sports network which launched in March 2005. Under Magnus’ guidance, ESPNU has grown to over 20 million subscribers through its satellite and cable affiliation agreements. He joined ESPN in 1995 as a program associate and was promoted on multiple occasions, eventually becoming director of brand management in 2000 (later changed to director, programming and acquisitions). In that role, he was primarily responsible for ESPN’s men’s college basketball programming and scheduling and also worked on ESPN Original Entertainment (EOE) projects.

In 2006, Magnus was named to the distinguished Sports Business Journal Forty Under 40, honoring the most promising young executives in sports business under the age of 40. For his efforts, in 2005, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch named Magnus the “fourth most powerful person in college basketball.”

Prior to joining ESPN, Magnus was an administration assistant for Soros Fund Management. He graduated from Holy Cross in 1988 with a Bachelor’s Degree in History and then received his Master’s Degree in Sport Management from the University of Massachusetts in 1994.

GERBER BIO INFORMATION

Chuck Gerber was named executive vice president, collegiate sports programming for all ESPN networks in November 2005. Prior to this, Gerber was executive vice president of ESPN Regional Television (ERT) overseeing the marketing, syndication and production efforts of ERT, including its extensive college sports programming lineup. He originally came to ESPN when the company acquired OCC in March of 1993; Gerber was a senior executive of OCC.

In 1997, OCC and Creative Sports were combined to form ESPN Regional Television, with Gerber overseeing the new ESPN subsidiary. Gerber joined OCC in January 1991 as vice president of special projects. His responsibilities included overseeing The Skins Game, The Senior Skins Game and the LPGA Skins. He also created The College Football Awards Show.

From 1987 to 1991, Gerber acquired, developed and produced programming for syndicated and pay television as a partner of Casablanca IV and G2 Entertainment production companies. He worked at MCA-TV Enterprises (1980-87), where he served as senior vice president, responsible for development, production and acquisition of all first-run programming.

From 1968-80, Gerber worked at NBC, where he spent the last two years as vice president, program development for NBC's owned stations. He also served as station manager of KNBC, Los Angeles and WKYC-TV, Cleveland. He began his career in 1966 as a media research analyst at WABC-TV in New York.

Gerber earned a Bachelor’s Degree in History from Adelphi University in 1965.

Source: ESPN

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