FSSW general manager Heidtke honored

Jon Heidtke was honored by Women in Media, in part, for his hiring and promoting of women and his community contributions

By Barry Horn
Staff Writer

Jon Heidtke, the main man at Fox Sports Southwest, picked up the Alliance for Women in Media’s Silver Award of Excellence on Thursday night.

Heidtke, the general manager who calls all the shots at FSSW, is the 30th winner of the award handed out by the national organization’s Dallas-Fort Worth chapter.

Heidtke has been with FSSW since 1989 when it was still known as Home Sports Entertainment.

 
Criteria for winning the award include: hiring and promoting women; impact on the media business and contributions to the community.

A graduate of Texas A&M, Heidtke has been named “The Most Influential Aggie in Sports” by the 12th Man Magazine. His name was bandied about when the Aggies were searching for an athletic director last year.

Emily Jones, Dana Larson and Nancy Lieberman are three of Heidtke’s high-profile female hires at FSSW. Others include Mary Hyink (director of marketing), Kristin Mueller (local sales manager), Amanda Bowditch (producer) and Patti Smith (director of FSSW’s Houston operation).

 “We’ve made great strides in hiring women at a sports network,” Heidtke said. “But like with any award that is for career achievement, this one makes you feel old.”

FOX Sports Southwest Scores TD with Texas High School Football Championships

Living up to the old adage that “everything’s bigger in Texas,” FOX Sports Southwest pulled out all the stops to make its recent coverage of the Texas High School football state championships from Cowboys Stadium in Arlington an overwhelming success.

For the second consecutive year, all University Interscholastic League (UIL) title games were played in the state’s biggest venue, allowing FOX Sports Southwest to once again provide wall-to-wall live television coverage of the football festival celebrating Texas High School football.

Surprise On-Court Marriage Proposal Becomes Most-Viewed Video Ever for FOX Sports Local

• FOXSportsSoutwest.com recorded surprise marriage proposal of Texas State women's basketball player and video was elevated to MSN.com.

• Clip attracted 1.6 million views - most ever for a FOX Sports local website.

• The video kicked off “March Madness” on FOX Sports Southwest, which featured 48 high school and college basketball tournament webcasts and live television coverage of Texas and Oklahoma high school boy’s and girl’s state championship games.    

FS Southwest, FS Houston score touchdown with Texas High School football state championships

* Nine Title games televised live
* Social Media used to 'own the conversation'
* Bizzare ending attracts over 1.5 million views on YouTube

For the first-time ever all UIL Texas High School football state championship games were played at the same site. FOX Sports Southwest and FOX Sports Houston celebrated the three-day extravaganza played on one of the world's biggest stages with unprecedented coverage from Cowboys Stadium in Arlington. The event attracted record crowds, featured 34 hours of live television coverage, and ended with a bizarre incident that garnered national attention on YouTube. 

FOX Sports Southwest Raises $156,000 for Shannon Stone Memorial Fund

In-game auction exceeds expectations, raising more than $156,000

FSSW works with team partners & sponsors to donate auction items

Fans bid on one-of-a-kind sports & entertainment packages

Texas Rangers baseball fans stepped up to the plate when FOX Sports Southwest hosted a special benefit during a recent Rangers telecast to raise funds for the Shannon Stone Memorial Fund established by the Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation in honor of a local Texas firefighter who passed away from injuries suffered in a tragic accident this summer at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. The on-line auction was a resounding success and exceeded the network’s expectations by raising $156,375.

Friday Night Lights: FOX Sports Southwest Style

* FOX Sports Southwest Expands High School Football Coverage with 6-Hour Friday Night Programming Block

* "HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL FRIDAY" to Feature Red Zone-Style Scoring Highlights from Around the State


* FOX Sports Houston to Live Stream 12 Games Starting Tonight



This Friday night, FOX Sports Southwest will launch one of the most comprehensive blocks of high school football programming ever developed. FOX Sports Southwest and Dave Campbell’s Texas Football magazine, two of the most recognized brands for Texas high school football coverage, are joining forces to own high school football coverage with six consecutive hours of live programming each Friday night.

FSN Descends on College Football Media Days

* FOX Sports South, FOX Sports Southwest, and FOX Sports West create an abundance of multi-media content for SEC, ACC, Big 12, C-USA, and Pac-12 media days


* RSN websites offer dedicated conference web pages to house video content, photo galleries, and more (FS South SEC, FS South ACC, FS SW Big 12, FS SW C-USA, FS West Pac-12)
SEC

Big 12

Pac-12

FOX Sports Southwest Fan Express Connects with Outer Market Viewers

* VIP Luxury Bus Transports Fans to Rangers Games

* Promotion offered to Radio Stations in Texas Rangers Radio Network

When the Texas Rangers were looking for ways to take advantage of last season's first-ever trip to the World Series to grow their fan base, they turned to long-time television partner FOX Sports Southwest for assistance.

FS Southwest Sr. VP/GM Jon Heidtke and Marketing Director Mary Hyink put their creative minds to work during the offseason and developed a successful promotion that is attracting fans from the team's outer markets. The FOX Sports Southwest Fan Express, a 56-passenger VIP luxury coach wrapped in full-scale Rangers player images, is transporting fans from across the Southwest to and from Arlington during the 2011 season.

FOX Sports Southwest celebrates Independence Day with weekend tribute on Rangers telecasts

* Wounded soldiers ride to Rangers game on FOX Sports Southwest Fan Express

*  In-game features honor United States military, firefighters & police officers

*Pregame Air Force induction ceremony carried on Fourth of July telecast


'A Salute to our Heroes' was the theme for Fox Sports Southwest Texas Rangers telecasts over the Fourth of July weekend.

FOX Sports Southwest follows Mavericks to NBA title with local perspective

FOX Sports Southwest pulled out all the stops during the NBA playoffs to give Dallas Mavericks fans a local perspective on the team’s journey to its first NBA title in franchise history. While national networks focused on the LeBron James-Dwyane Wade-Chris Bosh Miami Heat partnership, FOX Sports Southwest offered Mavs fans a local alternative they couldn't get anywhere else: 

* Mavs Live NBA Finals postgame shows after every game

* Daily Mavericks stories posted on foxsportssouthwest.com

* Live webcasts of Mavs "Technical Foul" internet exclusive shows

* Live coverage of the team's NBA championship parade

 

Web Traffic Soars for FOX Sports Southwest and FOX Sports Florida with NBA Finals Coverage

FOXSports Southwest.com Shatters Monthly Traffic Record in One Day Following Game 6 Clincher

FOXSportsFlorida.com Scores its Best Month Ever 

with NBA Playoff Coverage

The NBA Playoffs were very good to FOXSportsSouthwest.com and FOX SportsFlorida.com, as both sites set several traffic records with their remarkable coverage over the past six weeks.

FSN Local Web Sites Set New Traffic High in Feb

* Total unique users up 51% from prior month

* FOXSportsSouthwest.com accounted for 33% of all Feb page views

* FOXSportsFlorida.com set new all-time high with coverage of NBA All-Star Weekend. 

* FOXSportsSouth.com saw its highest spike in uniques and page views

Dallas-Fort Worth’s first-ever Super Bowl, a creative solution to address a team owner’s program concerns, and a blockbuster NBA trade led to the best-month ever for FoxSportsSouthwest.com.

FS Southwest Ends Black History Month by Honoring SMU Legend Jerry LeVias

VIDEO: Jerry LeVias from SMUDailyMustang.com on Vimeo.

* Distinguished Panel Commemorates Integration of College Football in Southwest

* Event Webcast Live on FoxSportsSouthwest.com

* "Under the Lights" Television Special to Premier in March

Fox Sports Southwest closed out Black History Month on Monday with a live webcast of a compelling Town Hall Forum at Southern Methodist University to honor the legacy of SMU star wide receiver Jerry LeVias, the first black scholarship athlete in the Southwest Conference.

Media coverage included the Dallas Morning News, SMU Daily Campus, and others.