Fox Names McGillicuddy President of Big Ten Net

Francois McGillicuddy has been named president of the Big Ten Network, a joint venture of Fox Sports and the Big Ten Conference.

McGillicuddy is currently senior VP and general manager of Fox Sports Ohio and SportsTime Ohio. He will take his new job early next year and succeed Mark Silverman, who started the Big Ten Network and was promoted to president of national networks, Fox Sports, in January.

“Francois has been a key contributor and valued colleague at Fox Sports since 2006, so it is with great pleasure to now welcome him to the BTN family,” said Eric Shanks, CEO of executive producer, Fox Sports. “We have a terrific team in place at the network and I am confident that Francois will be an outstanding addition given his strong leadership skills, wealth of experience in our industry and proven ability to work with Fox Sports’ partners.”

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“On behalf of the Big Ten Conference, I would like to personally welcome Francois McGillicuddy to the Big Ten Network,” said Jim Delany, commissioner of the Big Ten Conference. “He is a dynamic and collaborative leader with an extraordinarily diverse background uniquely suited for his new role as president of the Big Ten Network. We look forward to having him on board.”

McGillicuddy joined Fox Sports Ohio in 2013, he was with Fox’s Speed Network. Before Fox he was with Cablevision Systems as VP of finance for Rainbow Sports Networks.

"I am excited to have the opportunity to lead the Big Ten Network, and to remain within the Fox family,” said McGillicuddy. “BTN established itself as one of the strongest networks in all of sports. I look forward to building upon that in the years ahead.”

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.