Former TBS chief joins ski network
-- Broadcasting & Cable, 4/3/2000
Bill Burke, former president of the TBS Superstation with nearly 80 million subscribers, has signed on as president and CEO of Resort Sports Network, a television service devoted to ski resort conditions and activities, with 30 broadcast outlets and a million cable subscribers.
Burke received an undisclosed equity stake in the company, which owns several low-power stations and a group of Internet e-commerce properties related to skiing. Founded in the mid '80s by Rory Strunk, Resort Sports Net embarked on an aggressive growth strategy last year with a $5 million investment from cable pioneer Amos Hostetter. That money was used to upgrade the broadcast plants with digital hardware and acquire two more ski-related Internet companies. A second round of funding for $25 million is in the works.
Burke, who ran the Superstation for nearly five years, became head of Time Warner Digital Media last October and left the company altogether Jan. 4. Sources close to Burke say he had tired of the corporate mentality and wanted to return to an entrepreneurial company. He is also a native of Portland, Maine, where RSN is headquartered.
