The Jamie Horowitz era at Fox Sports has begun

Jamie Horowitz is now officially in charge at Fox Sports. According to a network spokesman, Horowitz has been at his position as President of Fox Sports National Networks in Los Angeles since early August.

Horowitz was hired to oversee all programming, marketing and scheduling for FS1 and FS2. And according to his Fox bio, that includes development of original programming as well as the day-to-day operation of FS1’s studio and news programs.

His touches are beginning to be seen at Fox not just with Colin Cowherd’s hiring, but also behind-the-scenes. Two former staffers at Keith Olbermann’s ESPN2 show have been tapped for various roles at FS1. A former coordinating producer has been tapped for a similar role with Colin Cowherd’s show.

And Olbermann noted another former staffer has moved to Katie Nolan’s Garbage Time:

And congrats to another Alum, Matt @elmambablanco Collette, new producer of Garbage Time w/ @KatieNolan – "Olbermann" moles taking over 😉

— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) September 22, 2015

In addition, a former First Take alum, Rob Parker, showed up last week on Fox Sports Live. And there was a reference on Fox Sports Live from Jay Onrait to a familiar line that was part of the Horowitz era at ESPN.

https://twitter.com/FOXSportsLive/status/643998987352084481

Now that doesn’t mean that we’ll see debate on FS1, but it shows that Horowitz’s presence is being felt inside the Fox Sports headquarters.

As executives leave one job and head to another, one thing that they’ll do is bring in people with whom they worked and with whom they felt comfortable at their previous place of employment. Now this doesn’t mean an exodus of former ESPN’ers to Fox, but with some possibly looking for work, it would not be surprising to see some make the trek from Bristol, CT to Los Angeles, CA.

Horowitz’s last job at NBC News didn’t go so well, but one would think he’s learned his lesson. While there are some touches like having Rob Parker on Fox Sports Live that may make people shudder, there aren’t any red flags to make us think that FS1 will become the second coming of “Embrace Debate.” There’s no doubt that FS1’s daytime programming needs some adjusting, but it’s going to take some time for viewers to flock away from ESPN.

Horowitz hopes to find the right combination and by bringing in the people he thinks will find the right fit. It’s going to be a marathon and not a sprint for FS1 and Fox hopes that Horowitz will be the man to bring success.