SUNRISE, FL -FOX Sports Net Florida announced today the hiring of Ned Smith as its lead anchor for the REGIONAL SPORTS REPORT, the live local half-hour sports news show that debuts July 17th at 11:00 PM. The announcement was made by Rod Mickler, FOX Sports Net Florida’s Senior Vice President and General Manager.
Smith has spent more than 26 years covering Florida sports throughout his extensive career in television and radio broadcasting. A native of Central Florida, Smith graduated from Florida State University and began his sports career at the Florida State University Football/Basketball Network in 1979. While serving as Sports Director and Sports Anchor at WTXL (ABC) in Tallahassee from 1982-1984, he also did play-by-play for ABC Sports during the 1982 college football season. Smith then went to WPEC (CBS) in West Palm Beach for two years. After leaving WPEC, Smith stayed in South Florida for the next twelve years at Miami stations WTVJ (NBC, 1986-1995) and WFOR (CBS, 1996-1998) as Sports Anchor.
“Ned has been a part of Florida sports for nearly three decades. We are thrilled to have him as our lead anchor for the REGIONAL SPORTS REPORT. In addition to being born and raised in Florida, he has worked in three of Florida’s largest television markets and has been a strong force in some of our key programming over the past five years.” said Mickler. “He has a strong knowledge of Florida’s pro, collegiate and high school sports scene and will be a great addition to our reporting team.”
In 1994, Smith was voted the Florida Sportscaster of the Year by the National Association of Sportscasters and Sportswriters. Since 1996, Smith has been a part of FOX Sports Net’s on-air team, most recently as host of Dolphins Magazine, Sunday Morning NFL and the Toyota Bowl Week College Football Specials. He also hosted The Dan Marino Show and was the Florida Panthers pre-game host during the 1996-1997 NHL season.
“This is a tremendous opportunity for me to bring Florida sports fans, along with our team of Florida reporters, the latest local sports news and in-depth reporting of the home teams they care about and root for every night,” added Ned Smith. “FOX Sports Net has been a pioneer in the sports world and the REGIONAL SPORTS REPORT is yet another step in providing Florida sports fans the most extensive coverage of the hometown teams and how national sports news can impact the local fan. The REGIONAL SPORTS REPORT will be the highest quality nightly sports news show ever available in the state.”
All the reporting and news gathering for 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 REGIONAL SPORTS REPORT will debut in Florida on July 17th at 11:00 PM 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 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 REGIONAL SPORTS REPORT news center in Dallas, Texas, where Smith, as FOX Sports Net Florida’s anchor, will interact daily with the local sports 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 REGIONAL SPORTS REPORT initiative strengthens FOX Sports Net’s commitment to being the ultimate source for regional sports. The 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 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.
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