Sharri Berg Named President of New AVOD Platform, Retains Position as COO of FOX Television Stations
NEW YORK – December 9, 2020 – FOX News Media will launch a new, advertising supported, streaming weather service entitled FOX Weather in 3Q 2021, announced Suzanne Scott, CEO of FOX News Media. Sharri Berg, currently the Chief Operating Officer of News & Operations for FOX Television Stations (FTS), will take on the additional role of President of FOX Weather, reporting to Scott, and will relinquish her role as the Executive Vice President of News Operations for FOX News Channel (FNC).
In making the announcement, Scott said, “As FOX News Media continues to deliver the best in news content, it was only natural to expand our footprint to weather with the launch of our eighth platform, FOX Weather, and there is no one better to lead this new venture than Sharri Berg. Sharri is an immensely talented executive with extraordinary leadership skills and a unique ability to collaborate and execute across multiple divisions.”
Berg added, “Weather is a vital component to news and combining our trusted reporters and expert meteorologists from FOX News and FTS nationwide, the FOX Weather products will be built to serve our audiences in a customized fashion. I’m excited to get started as we continue to innovate and build new products from the ground up.”
The platform will make its debut with the FOX Weather App in the third quarter of 2021, accompanied by an integrated website and streaming service featuring local, regional and national updates as well as live programming. The ad-supported cross-divisional initiative will build upon a collaboration of FNC and FTS’ expansive resources, leveraging a team of more than 75 meteorologists across 17 stations and FNC’s newsgathering units. Headquartered in New York City, the FOX Weather Meteorological Center will integrate the FTS radar network, cutting-edge display technology and unmatched weather and forecasting experts surrounding every major weather event, as well as precise local updates.
A founding member of the FNC launch team, Berg has held several senior management positions throughout the past 24 years of its existence, including serving in a dual role spanning FNC and FTS since 2005. In 2016, she was named Chief Operating Officer of News & Operations at FTS while maintaining her role as the Executive Vice President of News Operations at FNC.
Throughout her tenure with FOX, Berg has spearheaded multiple innovations in newsgathering, including the launch of the ground-breaking newsgathering consortium between FOX, ABC & CBS, known as Network News Service (NNS), which she will continue to oversee. She later replicated this venture on the local television level, developing the business model and launching the Local News Service (LNS), partnering with other local stations for helicopter and newsgathering in 13 major markets. She will also continue to oversee FOX’s Affiliate News Service, News Edge, which provides all news content to 180 FOX affiliates.
In 2016, Berg launched the cross-divisional initiative FOX Flight Operations, a national aerial newsgathering program featuring more than 100 pilots trained within FOX using drones in everyday news coverage. In 2019, the program was awarded the inaugural Piloting Innovation Award from Women and Drones at the National InterDrone conference, acknowledging organizations that encourage women to disrupt the drone industry.
Additionally, Berg created the FOX News Multimedia Reporter Training Program, a two-year hands-on development program for aspiring journalists which she will also continue to run as it enters its 10th year. Many of the program’s graduates are currently FNC, FOX Business, FOX News Edge and FOX O&O station correspondents across the country.
FOX News Media operates the FOX News Channel (FNC), FOX Business Network (FBN), FOX News Digital, FOX News Audio, FOX News Books and the direct-to-consumer digital streaming services FOX Nation, FOX News International, as well as the newly announced FOX Weather. Currently the number one network in all of cable, FNC has also been the most watched television news channel for more than 18 consecutive years, while FBN currently ranks among the top business channels on cable. Owned by FOX Corporation, FOX News Media reaches 200 million people each month.
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FOX News Media Press Contacts:
Caley Cronin/212-301-3972
Carly Shanahan/212-301-3851
Jessica Ketner/212-301-3976
