(SUNRISE, FL) – Fox Sports Net Florida today announced the hiring of Sage Steele as a reporter for the 11PM REGIONAL SPORTS REPORT covering sports in the Tampa Bay and Central Florida areas. The new half-hour sports news show debuts July 17th at 11:00pm. The announcement was made by Rod Mickler, Fox Sports Net Florida’s Senior Vice President and General Manager.
Steele has been a prominent sports anchor/reporter in the Tampa Bay area over the past two years as part of the WFTS (ABC) sports team. Since joining WFTS in 1998, she has regularly covered the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Buccaneers, Lightning, Mutiny, Storm, USF and other local colleges and high school athletics. She also served as the producer and co-host of WFTS’ Sunday night sports wrap up show titled “Sports Rap.”
“We are excited to have Sage join FOX Sports Net Florida as a reporter for the REGIONAL SPORTS REPORT. She has become a well known member of the sports community in the Tampa Bay area and will continue to bring sports fans in Tampa local, regional sports stories as well as give Orlando sports fans a fresh perspective of their home teams,” noted Rod Mickler.
“I’m thrilled to be joining FOX Sports Net Florida and the REGIONAL SPORTS REPORT. This new opportunity will be the best of both worlds by allowing me to continue covering the Bucs, Devil Rays, Lightning and all the great teams fans care about in the Tampa Bay area as well as bringing viewers in Central Florida more in-depth, local coverage of the Magic, Knights and high school sports every night,” added Steele.
Steele will cover Tampa Bay and Orlando area sports for the nightly 11PM REGIONAL SPORTS REPORT. Prior to joining WFTS, Steele worked as a Sports Reporter/Anchor at WISH (CBS) in Indianapolis and WSBT (CBS) in South Bend, Indiana. She is a graduate of Indiana University with a degree in Sports Communications and Broadcasting.
Steele joins recently announced Lead Anchor Ned Smith as part of the 11PM REGIONAL SPORTS REPORT news team. Covering Tampa Bay and Orlando area sports with Steele will be videographer Brett Hyman. Hyman has worked in the Central Florida area for the past four years covering news and sports for WFTV (ABC). Prior to joining WFTV, Hyman worked in the Quad Cities market at Davenport, Iowa station KWQC (NBC) and KGAN (CBS) in Cedar Rapids.
All the reporting and news gathering for 11PM REGIONAL SPORTS REPORT will be done locally, with teams of full-time reporters, correspondents and videographers located throughout the state, dedicated 24-hours a day, 7-days a week to covering Florida sports news.
The 11PM REGIONAL SPORTS REPORT will debut in Florida on July 17th and will be the place Florida sports fans turn every night for the most comprehensive look at the world of sports from a Florida perspective. The format provides for heavy emphasis on key local stories and will also include important national sports stories that impact Florida sports fans. The 11PM REGIONAL SPORTS REPORT will follow Fox Sports Net’s 10:00 PM NATIONAL SPORTS REPORT.
The show will be telecast live from FOX Sports Net’s 11PM REGIONAL SPORTS REPORT news center in Dallas, Texas, where Smith, as Fox Sports Net Florida’s anchor, will interact daily with Steele and additional local sports news teams located throughout Florida. The vast resources within the state-of-the-art Fox Sports Net news center will allow Fox Sports Net Florida to bring Florida sports fans the most comprehensive coverage of national stories and highlights from around the country, in addition to the in-depth local coverage every night.
The new 11PM REGIONAL SPORTS REPORT initiative strengthens Fox Sports Net’s commitment to being the ultimate source for regional sports. The 11PM REGIONAL SPORTS REPORT will be immediately followed at 11:30 PM by The Last Word with Jim Rome.
More news and information regarding the July 17th launch of Fox Sports Net Florida’s 11PM REGIONAL SPORTS REPORT will be released in the coming weeks.
Fox Sports Net currently reaches over 3.8 million homes throughout Florida, including the home satellite dish market. Fox Sports Net’s programming includes Major League Baseball’s Florida Marlins and Tampa Bay Devil Rays; the National Hockey League’s Florida Panthers; the University of Miami, the University of South Florida and the University of North Florida; the National Football League’s Miami Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars; “Saturday Morning College Kickoff;” and much more.
Fox Sports Net reaches more than 70 million households nationwide. Fox Sports Net is a service of National Sports Partners, equally owned by Cablevision’s Rainbow Media Holdings, Inc., and FOX Entertainment Group.
Fox Sports Net Florida is a service of Rainbow Sports, a division of Cablevision’s Rainbow Media Holdings, Inc. Rainbow Sports has been dedicated to “Home Team” fans for nearly 20 years. Rainbow Sports incorporates all of Rainbow’s sports assets, including its 50 percent ownership of Fox Sports Net and Fox Sports National Advertising, the Madison Square Garden Properties, and the ownership and management of seven regional sports networks in six of the nation’s largest markets — Chicago, Florida, New England, New York, Ohio and San Francisco.
Contact:
Michelle Stevens
954-845-9994
mfstevens@rainbow-media.com