Fox Cable Networks last week put David Sternberg in charge of its fast-growing portfolio of international sports networks.

Sternberg, who had been VP and general manager of Fox Sports International, becomes SVP of network operations and business development and general manager for Fox Sports World and Fox Sports World Español.

Sternberg also takes day-to-day management responsibility for Fox Sports International's interest in the joint venture with Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst and Liberty Media. The venture gives Fox Sports World and Fox Sports World Español access to rights to additional Latin and South American sports programming, including the Copa Libertadores soccer tournament and Mexican baseball.

He will also assist in managing the Fox Sports Latin America network, which reaches 11.6 million subscribers in 18 countries.

Sternberg says Fox's plan is to find sports that may not appeal to a mass market but have a small but rabid following. ?What we're doing in the case of each of these nets is targeting a fairly well defined set of viewers. No other sports channel that airs as much soccer or rugby or Latin American baseball as we do,? he says.

At the same time, he notes that the Hispanic television market is exploding. Specialized sports channels will help move Hispanic viewers, who until now have been mostly served by the Univision and Telemundo broadcast markets, onto cable and satellite.

?The more we can do in building out the attractiveness of network programming, the more that's going to translate into pay-TV growth,? Sternberg says.

The expansion of digital cable will increase the number of opportunities for specialized sports networks.

?In the sports category, there are a lot of subcategories that are very compelling,? he says, ticking off extreme sports, women's sports and classic sports. ?I don't think that any of those genres are closed off,? he says, adding, ?Fox Cable is very involved in exploring those opportunities.?

As part of a huge company involved in both international programming and regional programming in the U.S., there is a great deal of material available to be repurposed for viewers with special interests, he says.

?There is a lot of inventory in terms of programming rights and production from Fox Sports in the U.S. and also from News Corp. affiliates around the world,? he says. ?That's a global advantage.?

Before jointing Fox Sports International as director of business development in 1998, Sternberg, 33, served as a management consultant in Price Waterhouse Coopers' entertainment, media and communications strategy Group in Los Angeles. Previously, he held sports management positions with World Cup USA 1994 and the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.

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