Verizon Communications vice president, content strategy and acquisition Terry Denson has left the telco, the company confirmed Thursday. No replacement has been named.

Verizon confirmed that Denson left the company about a month ago. His team is currently taking over his responsibilities and no replacement has been named yet. Because it involves an individual employee matter, Verizon declined further comment.

Denson joined Verizon in 2004 as VP of video programming and content marketing and was tasked with filling its start-up Fios TV service with content. He was promoted to his latest position in 2008.   The former Insight Communications executive – he had been VP of programming there for several years – hasn’t been afraid to rattle some cages. In 2013, Denson was one of the first content acquisition execs to say that carriage deals should be tied to ratings.

During Denson’s watch, Verizon was a leader in offering innovative sports packages and was one of the first distributors to implement a regional sports network surcharge in 2013 ($2.42 per month); now practically every distributor has one.

Most recently, Verizon launched its controversial skinny bundle – Custom TV – in 2015 on Denson’s watch. The controversial package raised the ire of some programmers – ESPN sued over it shortly after it was announced. The two companies reached a settlement in May.

Denson has a long history in the TV business. A Harvard grad with a J.D. from Georgetown University, he served stints at MTV Networks and ABC before joining Insight. His wife, Denise Denson, is EVP, content distribution and marketing at Viacom.

Mediaset Italia, the 24-hour Italian-language news, sports and entertainment channel, has launched to Verizon Communications FiOS TV customers in 12 states and the District of Columbia.

Mediaset offers a variety of Italian-language programming from some of Italy’s top networks like Canale 5, Italia 1 and Retequatro, including news, dramas, comedies and thriller series as well as variety and games shows, entertainment events, seasonal sports coverage and Italian films to appeal to the more than 16 million Italians living in the United States. 

"We could not be more excited to partner with Verizon to offer our channel to millions of new households" said Mediaset head of international sales Giorgio Giovetti in a statement. "Italian Americans from Long Island to Los Angeles are cheering."

Customers can subscribe to Mediaset Italia (available on channel 1791) for $16.99 per month for a two channel Italian package including Rai Italia, available on Channel 1790.  For customer convenience, both Italian channels are next to each other in the new channel line-up, with Rai Italia now available on Channel 1790.

For a limited time, FiOS is offering a free preview of the channel to all customers with a digital set-top box from Oct. 20-27.

"Mediaset Italia is the perfect addition to our international content offerings on FiOS," said Verizon vice president for content acquisition Terry Denson in a statement.  "Number one meets number one.  Italian Americans in our markets can now have the best of both TV worlds."