The man who brought the constant score and time graphic to sports telecasts and innovations like hockey’s glow puck and football’s yellow first-down line, is leaving his longtime home at 21st Century Fox. David Hill, who has been with News Corp. since 1988, will leave the company just as the next generation of Murdochs takes over. (Adweek)
Hill will launch a TV production banner. Fox will back Hill’s company, dubbed Hilly, which will focus on live production, creating reality TV shows, providing production expertise and investing in digital media. “The future of the broadcast networks lies in big, spectacular live events,” Hill said. “As I’ve spent most of my life producing those, I think I can give some added value. In a funny way, this is like finishing my apprenticeship.” (THR)
Hill has been a force at Fox since late 1993, when Rupert Murdoch brought him over from Britain to the U.S. to build the Fox Sports broadcast operation from scratch. And he had to do it inside of eight months, after Murdoch stunned the biz by snatching an NFL rights package away from CBS starting with the 1994 season. (Variety)