As expected, former Sunshine Network vice president and general manager Jim Liberatore has been named President of Speedvision Networks.
Liberatore, who takes over Fox Cable Networks latest venture, will be responsible for the re-launch and further expansion of Speedvision. Roger Werner, the founder and CEO of both Speedvision and Outdoor Life Network, will assist in the ownership transition of the two cable services in which he recently sold his interests.
Last May, Fox swapped its interest in Outdoor Life and The Golf Channel with Comcast for 100% ownership of Speedvision. News Corp. executives weren't commenting Tuesday, but sources say Speedvision's Stamford, Conn. headquarters are expected to be moved to Charlotte, N.C. and the network's will likely be changed as well.
NASCAR, now in the first of an 8-year, $1.6 billion deal with Fox, is expected to play a big part in Speedvision's programming lineup.
As for Liberatore, he's been VP and GM at Sunshine Network (in which Fox has a stake) since 1995 and prior to that worked in ad sales at Madison Square Garden.
- Joe Schlosser
