Versus Takes Sports Business Show

' Take,' Featuring 'Professor' Horrow, Comes From Former Turner Exec Lazarus' New Shop

Mike Reynolds -- Multichannel News, 8/12/2009 2:21:12 PM

Versus has secured the rights to a sports business show, The $ports Take, that it will debut later this month.
Hosted by "The Sports Professor" Rick Horrow, the series will offer insights about the hottest topics in sports business and will feature high-profile guests, including league commissioners, sportscasters, politicians and celebrities giving their candid opinions and analysis.
The weekly show, scheduled for Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. (ET), beginning Aug. 25, comes from Career Sports & Entertainment, the Atlanta-based company, now home to former Turner Entertainment Group president Mark Lazarus.
Horrow has authored more than 100 deals in sports and other infrastructure projects with a total worth of more than $13 billion. He has served as visiting expert on sports law at The Harvard Law School and also provides insight as the sports business analyst for CNN, Fox Sports, BusinessWeek and the BBC.
In the debut episode, viewers will get in-depth insight from Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, as well as Bryan Trubey, key architect on the project from HKS, Inc. about the new 100,000-seat Cowboys Stadium. It will also feature a tour of the new stadium prior to the team's first pre-season home game.
Future installments will include exclusive interviews with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, NASCAR chairman and CEO Brian France, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, PGA of America CEO Joe Steranka and NBA commissioner David Stern.
"This show is an exciting new venture for us," said Lazarus, who serves as president, media and marketing, CS&E, in a statement. "CS&E has produced award-winning shows and we are confident The $ports Take will be successful as well. Rick is tremendously well-versed in the business of sports and is a household name with many key players in the sports and business industry. It seemed like a natural fit to partner Rick's talent and knowledge with a network like Versus. We're excited to bring sports junkies a new perspective on the sports they already love."
Added Versus executive vice president of programming production and business operations Mark Fein: "We look forward to showcasing Rick Horrow's expertise as he examines the sports world from a unique business perspective. With a great lineup of guests, featuring some of sport's most influential and respected leaders, this new show will give viewers an all-access pass to what happens off the field and outside of the arena to offer a 360 degree look at the industry as a whole."