July 9, 2008

Fox Cable Boosts Hopkins

By Amy Maclean

Fox has promoted vet Mike Hopkins to president, affiliate sales & marketing, for Fox Cable Nets. Hopkins has been with Fox Cable Nets since its inception in '97 and has been responsible for the general management of affiliate sales and marketing for the nets since April of last year.

Hopkins tell us that his top priorities will be successfully retrofitting all of Fox's channels so they will be able to offer advanced services such as HD, VOD and broadband and, of course, "finalizing the last 3 or 4 Big Ten Network deals." Hopkins said the recently announced Comcast deal for the sports net "showed everyone that we're flexible," which he's hoping will translate into more carriage for the channel.

Mike Hopkins

He'll continue to report to Fox Networks Group pres/CEO Tony Vinciquerra. “Mike has done a tremendous job evaluating the rapidly evolving media landscape and how best to satisfy our top distribution partners’ emerging needs,” Vinciquerra said. “This recognition of his valuable contributions within our overall organization is well-deserved, and Mike’s experience and character will continue to serve our partners and Fox well for many years to come.”