Mark Shapiro (media executive)

Mark Shapiro
Nationality American
Education BA
Alma mater University of Iowa
Occupation Television and media executive
Years active 1993–present
Employer WME-IMG
Known for Executive positions at ESPN and Six Flags
Title Co-President
Awards Peabody Award and Sports Emmy Award

Mark Shapiro (born circa 1970)[1] is an American television and media executive, currently serving as the co-president of WME-IMG. He served as Executive Vice President for Programming and Production at ESPN until 2005, before becoming CEO and President of Six Flags, Inc.. Shapiro has also served as CEO and Executive Producer of Dick Clark Productions.

Early life and education

Shapiro was born in Glenview, Illinois. In 1992, he graduated with a B.A. communication studies from the University of Iowa. [2][3]

Career

After college, Shapiro began working at ESPN. He was heavily involved in the production of the documentary, SportsCentury.[4][5] Between 1997 and 1999 Shapiro served as executive producer of the series, which was awarded a Peabody Award as well as an Excellence in Sports Journalism Award from the Northeastern University's Center for the Study of Sport in Society.[6][7]

Shapiro became senior vice president and general manager of programming in 2001 and then executive vice president for programming and production in 2002.[6] In 2003 Entertainment Weekly named Shapiro one of 2003's rising stars in entertainment.[8] He secured new properties for ESPN, including Wimbledon and NBA coverage.[2][9][10] Between 2002 and 2003, ratings on ESPN rose by 11%.[11]

He was the executive producer for Tilt, Dream Job, and Playmakers. Playmakers was awarded a 2003 American Film Institute award for TV Program of the Year, and the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Drama Series in 2004.

During his tenure the network was awarded a number of Emmy awards and an additional Peabody. He was also the recipient of the UJA-Federation of New York 2005 Sports for Youth Award and in 2006 he was again honored by the federation in the Broadcast Cable category.[12][13] Shapiro was named to the Sports Business Daily 40 under 40 Hall of Fame in 2005 after being named to the list in 2002, 2003, and 2004.[14][15]

Shapiro left his position of Executive Vice President, Programming and Production at ESPN in May 2005. From October to December 2005, Shapiro served as chief executive officer at Red Zone LLC, as the company pushed for control over Six Flags, Inc. Once Red Zone solidified control over the company, Shapiro became Director, President and chief executive officer of Six Flags, with a tenure lasting from August 2005 until May 2010. Six Flags tenure was marked by a decision to market the theme parks to children and families instead of just targeting teenagers and young adults the park had attracted in the past.[6]

Shapiro became chief executive officer and an Executive Producer of Dick Clark Productions (DCP) in May 2010. While there, he was involved with the expansion of the company's programming format.[16] Shapiro left the position of CEO soon after the sale of the company to Guggenheim Partners in 2012.[17]

After working as an advisor for Silver Lake Partners and William Morris Endeavor (WME) during the latter's acquisition of IMG.[18][19] Following the acquisition, Shapiro's role was made permanent, becoming Chief Content Officer.[20] He was then named co-president of WME-IMG in November 2016.[21][22]

References

  1. ↑ Friedman, Vanessa (September 9, 2015). "Fashion Week, Reinvented". The New York Times. Retrieved December 22, 2015. … Mark Shapiro, the 45-year-old kinetic chief content officer for IMG.
  2. 1 2 Teddy Greenstein (July 1, 2007). "ESPN's 'lowball' offer triggered Big Ten expansion". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 12, 2013.
  3. ↑ University of Iowa Alumni: "Mark S. Shapiro 92BA" retrieved September 5, 2017
  4. ↑ "ESPN's SportsCentury panel". Retrieved September 25, 2013.
  5. ↑ Anthony F. Smith & Keith Hollihan (2009). ESPN The Company: The Story and Lessons Behind the Most Fanatical Brand in Sports. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 150–151. Retrieved September 12, 2013.
  6. 1 2 3 Michael D. Schaffer (August 19, 2005). "Top programmer leaves ESPN Mark Shapiro's next task will be to make Six Flags more fun for families". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved September 12, 2013.
  7. ↑ Dave Nagel (January 2, 2000). "ESPN, INC.: 1999 IN REVIEW". Retrieved September 30, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Rising Stars". Entertainment Weekly. October 16, 2003. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
  9. ↑ Richard Deitsch (July 7, 2003). "Under Review: OTL's Big Switch, Courageous Coach". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
  10. ↑ Don Steinberg (September 5, 2004). "Q & A WITH ESPN'S MARK SHAPIRO Network to keep building on, breaking tradition". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved September 24, 2013.
  11. ↑ Sean Gregory (December 1, 2003). "ESPN's Hot Play Caller". Time Magazine. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
  12. ↑ "Sports for Youth". Retrieved September 16, 2013.
  13. ↑ "Broadcast Cable division". Retrieved September 16, 2013.
  14. ↑ "Forty Under 40: Hall of Fame Classes". Sports Business Daily. March 18, 2013. Retrieved September 17, 2013.
  15. ↑ "2002–04". Sports Business Daily. Retrieved September 17, 2013.
  16. ↑ Brian Stelter (December 30, 2011). "Like Clockwork, Dick Clark Is to Ring in Another Year". New York Times. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
  17. ↑ Jannarone, John (September 4, 2012). "Guggenheim, Partners Buy Dick Clark Productions". Wall Street Journal.
  18. ↑ Tripp Mickle (September 8, 2014). "Shapiro to drive IMG's content creation". Sports Business Daily. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
  19. ↑ Atkinson, Claire (2014-09-04). "Mark Shapiro joins IMG unit". New York Post. Retrieved 2017-09-12.
  20. ↑ Atkinson, Clare (September 4, 2014). "Mark Shapiro joins IMG unit". NY Post.
  21. ↑ Busch, Anita (2016-11-07). "Mark Shapiro, Ioris Francini Named Co-Presidents Of WME/IMG". Deadline. Retrieved 2017-09-12.
  22. ↑ "Meet Mark Shapiro, WME-IMG's Storyteller-In-Chief". Fast Company. 2016-11-16. Retrieved 2017-09-12.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.