Bert Salke, formerly the head of Fox 21, has been tapped as president of the newly formed Fox 21 Television Studios, which merges Fox 21 with Fox Television Studios.
Salke has led the Fox 21 unit since 2010, now moving to take over for David Madden, who left this August to become president of entertainment for Fox Broadcasting. Prior to that, Dana Walden and Gary Newman were named co-heads of the Fox Television Group, adding oversight of the Fox Broadcasting Company.
“Our task is to merge the two companies into a cohesive new entity that will maximize the best of what each individual studio offered before,” said Salke in a statement. “In the coming weeks, I look forward to getting to know my new colleagues and rolling up my sleeves, with Mark’s help, to devise the best structure and business plan — and to help make the new studio the ‘go-to’ supplier of the most undeniable programming possible.”
Since Salke has been with Fox, he’s overseen some of its most successful series, including Sons of Anarchy, which is now in its final season at FX.
The newly formed division at Fox isn’t expected to result in any job less in either department. Fox 21 TV Studios currently has some of the biggest cable shows in production, including The Americans on FX, White Collar on USA and Salem on WGN America, with big-name fare to arrive next year with Billy Crystal’s The Comedians and Denis Leary’s Sex & Drugs & Rock ‘n’ Roll, both on FX.
In a statement to Variety, Walden said: “Bert is a great executive. He is passionate about his shows and his talent and he has nurtured a fantastic team at Fox 21. We know he’s the right person to bring these companies together in a more powerful way. The opportunities out there are undeniable.”
Read more at Variety.
[Image courtesy of Variety]
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