photo by Jennifer King

by Peter Herman, graduate student

Bob Thompson '80, visited the School in November to talk with students about the world of sports media and marketing. He is currently executive vice president of FOX/Liberty Networks LLC and executive vice president and chief operating officer of FOX Sports International. He graduated from UO in telecommunications with an emphasis on broadcast management and a minor in journalism.

An 18-year veteran of the television business, Thompson began his career in 1981 as a door-to-door salesman for Storer Cable Communications in Aloha near his hometown of Portland. Today he is responsible for supervising all of FOX Sports' international activities, including channel development and management, syndication sales, acquisitions and new business development. He oversees several major services including the Spanish-language FOX Sports Americas, FOX Sports Brazil, FOX Sports Middle East and FOX Sports World, which is the domestic telecaster of major international sports. He says he "has the best job in the world" because he can go any place in the world and get tickets to sporting events.

When speaking with students about his experiences at FOX, Thompson offered one piece of advice for those interested in the field of television: Trust your instincts.

"In this business, a lot of it is gut," he said. "Not to slam research, but, by the time you've gotten their results, you might have missed your chance."

Thompson made mention of some of FOX's much-imitated innovations in sports telecasting, such as the glow-puck, the use of flashy graphics and the milking of team managers, but noted that "TV's very much a copycat business. There haven't been a lot of great new ideas in the last 15 years," he said.