ESPN Taps DeLuca and Gerber for VP Roles

By Anne Becker -- Broadcasting & Cable, 12/5/2005 1:22:00 PM

Soon after restructuring its senior-management team, ESPN named Len DeLuca Senior VP, programming & acquisitions, and Chuck Gerber Executive VP, collegiate sports. Both will report to ESPN Senior VP, Programming Planning and Development, John Wildhack, who reports to newly named Executive VP, Content, John Skipper.

DeLuca will head up programming and ABC Sports in addition to his current role as Senior VP, programming, at ESPN. As part of his new title, he will take on Rose Bowl programming duties when ABC Sports Senior VP, Programming, Loren Matthews retires after the upcoming Rose Bowl.

Gerber will head up ESPN and ABC Sports college sports event programming including football, basketball, the NCAA Championships, ESPN Regional Television, and ESPN’s college sports network, ESPNU. He will move to ESPN headquarters in Connecticut from Charlotte, N.C., where he was ESPN Regional Television’s executive VP and general manager.

The sports network in October named three executives to fill the role vacated by programming chief Mark Shapiro, who left in August to become CEO of private investment firm Red Zone.