Mark Sharman
Encyclopedia
Mark Brian Sharman is a British
broadcasting
administrator.
with the Derby Evening Telegraph
and Birmingham Evening Mail before entering television journalism with ITV in 1976, where he edited coverage of Football World Cups
and the Olympic Games
. He later worked for BSkyB as deputy managing director of Sky Sports
, helping to expand from one channel to four and creating Sky Sports News
, before joining Channel 4
as controller of sport in 1998, where he wrested broadcasting rights for test cricket
from the BBC
. A year later he returned to BSkyB and became director of broadcasting, with responsibility for Sky One
, Sky News
and Sky Movies
channels.
After a fourteen month sabbatical, he re-joined ITV as controller of sport in early 2005. Two years later Sharman was appointed as director of ITV's network and regional news, replacing the retiring Clive Jones, retaining his controller of sport role. He secured a notable coup in March 2007, when ITV, in a joint bid with Setanta Sports
, successfully gained broadcasting rights for FA Cup
matches and England national football team
home games starting from August 2008. The BBC and Sky had previously held the rights since 2001. He stepped down from his position at the end of 2008.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
broadcasting
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
administrator.
Career
Sharman first worked as a journalistJournalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
with the Derby Evening Telegraph
Derby Evening Telegraph
The Derby Telegraph, formerly the Derby Evening Telegraph, is a daily tabloid newspaper printed and distributed in Derby, England.-History:In 1857, Richard Keene was publishing the Derby Telegraph every Saturday. His business was in Irongate...
and Birmingham Evening Mail before entering television journalism with ITV in 1976, where he edited coverage of Football World Cups
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
and the Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
. He later worked for BSkyB as deputy managing director of Sky Sports
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
, helping to expand from one channel to four and creating Sky Sports News
Sky Sports News
Sky Sports News is a 24-hour sports news channel in the United Kingdom. It is run by BSkyB whose sports channels include Sky Sports 1, 2, 3 and 4, as well as Sky Sports HD1, HD2, HD3 and HD4....
, before joining Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
as controller of sport in 1998, where he wrested broadcasting rights for test cricket
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
from the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
. A year later he returned to BSkyB and became director of broadcasting, with responsibility for Sky One
Sky One
Sky1 is the flagship BSkyB entertainment channel available in the United Kingdom and Ireland.The channel first launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, and is the fourth-oldest TV channel in the United Kingdom, behind BBC One , ITV and BBC Two...
, Sky News
Sky News
Sky News is a 24-hour British and international satellite television news broadcaster with an emphasis on UK and international news stories.The service places emphasis on rolling news, including the latest breaking news. Sky News also hosts localised versions of the channel in Australia and in New...
and Sky Movies
Sky Movies
Sky Movies is the collective name for the premium subscription television movie channels operated by Sky Television, and later British Sky Broadcasting. It has around 5 million subscribers, via satellite, cable and IPTV in the UK and Ireland...
channels.
After a fourteen month sabbatical, he re-joined ITV as controller of sport in early 2005. Two years later Sharman was appointed as director of ITV's network and regional news, replacing the retiring Clive Jones, retaining his controller of sport role. He secured a notable coup in March 2007, when ITV, in a joint bid with Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports is an international sports broadcaster based in Dublin, Ireland. Setanta Sports was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events...
, successfully gained broadcasting rights for FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
matches and England national football team
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
home games starting from August 2008. The BBC and Sky had previously held the rights since 2001. He stepped down from his position at the end of 2008.