Showtime Networks Inc. Appoints
Dinkins, Jr. To Oversee Production of All Sports
Programming Telecasts
For
Immediate Release
NEW YORK (Sept. 5, 2007)
– Showtime Networks Inc. has hired long-time
sports producer David Dinkins, Jr. to oversee
production of boxing and mixed martial arts
(MMA) telecasts for the premium television network,
it was announced today by Ken Hershman, senior
vice president and general manager, Showtime
Sports & Event Programming. From 1987 to
the present, Dinkins has been the primary producer
of the Showtime Championship Boxing series.
“David is one of the
most dedicated and creative men in television,”
said Hershman, who has overseen the Sports &
Event Programming department for nearly five
years. “He has been an invaluable asset
to our boxing franchise and will now add his
creativity, insight and experience to our burgeoning
MMA programming.”
With Showtime Sports expansion
into mixed martial arts, Dinkins will be tasked
with building the new EliteXC and ShoXC programs.
While there has been explosive interest in this
combat sport, SHOWTIME is the first and only
premium television network to televise MMA.
When asked about the future
of MMA on the network, Dinkins said, “This
is a tremendous opportunity for us to put our
stamp on a new and growing sport. We plan to
be innovative while maintaining the same high
quality that viewers have come to expect from
our boxing telecasts.”
In 1981 Dinkins became a
staff producer at CBS Sports. During his six
years at the network, he covered all the major
sports leagues, NCAA events, various world championships
and the Pan Am Games. Twice he received Sports
Emmy® Awards for his production work on
NFL games.
In 1987, Dinkins left CBS
to pursue an opportunity with SHOWTIME to help
establish its new boxing franchise. Having been
one of the top boxing producers at CBS, it was
an easy transition into the rapidly growing
business of boxing on premium television.
During this time, Dinkins
continued to produce events for ESPN, ABC, CBS,
FOX, and NBC as well as a number of major sporting
events including the Olympic Games and Mike
Tyson pay-per-view programs. He consulted on
Mark Burnett’s “The Contender”
and with The Football Network.
Aside from his television
work, Dinkins is on the board of Fisher House,
a foundation that provides transportation and
housing for the families of injured military
personnel to visit their relatives while they
are hospitalized. Recently he also became a
board member of The Caring Place, a facility
created by colleague and SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP
BOXING color analyst Al Bernstein and his wife
Connie to help families touched by cancer.
The newest Showtime Networks
executive is the proud son of New York City’s
first African-American mayor, David Dinkins,
Sr.
About Showtime Networks Inc.
Showtime Networks Inc.
(SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation,
owns and operates the premium television networks
SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ and
FLIX®, as well as the multiplex channels
SHOWTIME® TOO™, SHOWTIME® SHOWCASE,
SHOWTIME EXTREME®, SHOWTIME BEYOND®,
SHOWTIME NEXT®, SHOWTIME WOMEN®, SHOWTIME
FAMILYZONE® and TMC XTRA. SNI also offers
SHOWTIME HD®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL HD™,
SHOWTIME ON DEMAND™ and THE MOVIE CHANNEL
ON DEMAND™. All SNI feeds provide enhanced
sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI is also an
owner and manager of SUNDANCE CHANNEL, a venture
of NBC Universal, Robert Redford and SNI. SNI
also manages Smithsonian Networks, a joint venture
between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution.
SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment
events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view
basis through SHOWTIME® PPV.