SUNRISE, FL and BETHPAGE, NY – February 24, 2000 Rainbow Sports, a division of Cablevision’s Rainbow Media Holdings, Inc., today announced the promotion of Rod Mickler to the position of Senior Vice President and General Manager, FOX Sports Net Florida. The announcement was made by Andrea Greenberg, Executive Vice President, Rainbow Sports.
Mickler, who has more than 20 years of experience in the cable television industry, previously served as Vice President and General Manager of SportsChannel Florida. SportsChannel Florida officially becomes FOX Sports Net on March 1.
“Rod’s leadership has been instrumental in the growth of SportsChannel Florida into a premier regional sports network,” said Greenberg. “As we re-launch as FOX Sports Net on March 1, Rod’s experience and in-depth knowledge of the market will ensure that we continue to build upon Rainbow’s tradition of providing hometown fans with the highest quality and most exciting sports programming in their region.”
Mickler was named General Manager of SportsChannel Florida in 1997, and later added the title of Vice President, after serving as Vice President of Affiliate Sales in 1996. From 1987-1993, Mickler served as Director of Marketing and Affiliate Sales for SportsChannel Florida. In 1993, Mickler left SportsChannel Florida to become Director of Marketing for Prime SportsChannel Networks, a service of Rainbow Media Holdings, Inc., and was promoted to Vice President of Marketing, Affiliate Sales and Public Relations in 1994. At Prime SportsChannel Networks, Rod directed the launch of NewSport, a 24-hour sports news and information network.
During Mickler’s tenure as Vice President and General Manager, SportsChannel Florida’s distribution has grown to more than 3.8 million subscribers and the network is now available in nearly every part of the state. Under his direction, SportsChannel Florida has entered into long-term programming rights agreements with Major League Baseball’s Florida Marlins and Tampa Bay Devil Rays, the National Hockey League’s Florida Panthers, and the National Football League’s Miami Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars. The Marlins, Devil Rays and Panthers rights agreements extend past the year 2010.
SportsChannel Florida also provides extensive coverage of local high school sports through its agreement with the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) and hometown collegiate sports action through agreements with the University of Miami, University of South Florida and the University of North Florida.
Previously, Mickler spent seven years with Time Warner, formerly ATC, preceded by a one-year stint with Rifkin and Associates, directing various aspects of cable television affiliate sales and marketing operations for both operations.
He is married and resides in Boca Raton with his wife Gail and two sons, Jeff, 18 and Kurt, 14.
Rainbow Sports, a division of Cablevision’s Rainbow Media Holdings, Inc., is dedicated to “Home Team” fans. Rainbow Sports incorporates all of Rainbow’s sports assets, including the Madison Square Garden Properties, its 50 percent ownership of FOX Sports Net and FOX Sports National Advertising, 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 Freeman Stevens
SportsChannel Florida
954-845-9994
mfstevens@rainbow-media.com