James Brown to Assume New SVP Role at ESPN with focus on high schools, colleges

James Brown, a senior vice president and 12-year veteran of ESPN’s affiliate sales and marketing department, will assume a new role in the programming department as senior vice president, new program development. In this new position, Brown will be fully involved in supporting the growth and development of ESPN’s college programming and distribution efforts and will oversee cross-platform high school
initiatives. Brown will report to Chuck Gerber, executive vice president, collegiate sports.

“ESPN will seek to expand our content of high school sports, an area of strong passion and growing popularity, and will seek to maximize properties across our portfolio of multi-media outlets,” said John Skipper, executive vice president, content. “James’ business acumen and strong relationships with affiliates at the local level nationwide will help us to continue to create content that serves our fans and business partners.”

Brown, senior vice president, field sales, Disney and ESPN Networks affiliate sales and marketing, oversees growing and maintaining local and regional business relationships to drive distribution, placement and promotion of all Disney and ABC Cable Networks and ESPN products and services in the United States and the Caribbean. He manages offices in Denver, Burbank, Bristol and New York where he is based. He was elevated to this post in October 2004 upon the consolidation of the
Disney, ABC and ESPN Affiliate Sales and Marketing departments.

Brown joined ESPN in 1995 as director, affiliate sales and marketing, for the Central Region, based in Chicago. In 1997, he was promoted to director, affiliate sales and marketing, for the Western Region in Los Angeles, and later that year to vice president affiliate sales and marketing, Eastern Division. He was promoted to senior vice president, field sales and marketing, in 2002.

Before ESPN, Brown spent 13 years at Bell Atlantic. Starting in 1982, he filled a variety of roles as a part of a selected group earmarked for succession planning, working in leadership roles throughout the company, including developing the sales strategy for Bell Atlantic’s entry into cable. He is a 1982 graduate of the University of Maryland with a bachelor of science degree in management science.