Industry Moves: ESPN’s Mark Shapiro Jumps To CEO, Red Zone LLC

Of all the possibilities open to Mark Shapiro, the programming whiz who steered ESPN into entertainment is leaving the network — not for one of the top programming/network executive posts but to run Red Zone LLC, a private equity firm funded by Redskins owner Daniel Snyder. Their first target is Six Flags but they will be looking for other entertainment properties.
It’s better for Disney than Shapiro taking a job with a rival network; the most recent rumor was NBC’s news operations. As off the wall as it may sound, I’m reminded of another Disney whiz kid who left for what seemed to be an unlikely opportunity — Steve Burke, who was headhunted away to the far less glitzy Comcast and is now COO of one of the most powerful media distribution and content companies.

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