Former Fox Sports exec Jamie Horowitz, fired after claim of misconduct, lands at DAZN

Nearly two years after being forced out of Fox Sports amid an investigation into sexual harassment, former executive Jamie Horowitz has landed a new job.

Horowitz has been hired by DAZN — a digital sports platform run by former ESPN president John Skipper — to fill a newly created role of executive vice president of content, North America, according to a memo sent to employees by Skipper.

In the internal memo, Skipper informed staffers that Horowitz would oversee all North American content. That includes managing live production on shows such as ChangeUp, its MLB whip-around program hosted by former ESPN Baseball Tonight anchor Adnan Virk, who was fired earlier this year for allegedly leaking confidential company information.

DAZN (which is pronounced “Da Zone") is also reportedly among the parties talking to the NFL about the NFL Sunday Ticket, which the NFL can pull from DirecTV following the 2019 season.

“In his new role, Jamie will oversee all content for the North American business, including live production, original programming, social content, editorial, and scheduling,” Skipper wrote to employees. “The focus will be using content to acquire and retain subscribers.”

A DAZN spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment, and Horowitz could not be reached.

Horowitz has been consulting with DAZN since last November, and reportedly played a role in securing several deals, including a partnership with LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s Uninterrupted sports network to launch a new boxing documentary series called 40 Days.

Horowitz was fired by Fox Sports in July 2017 after 21st Century Fox opened an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment. A women who worked in production at Fox Sports told Sports Illustrated Horowitz tried to kiss her at an offsite location in 2016.

“Everyone at FOX Sports, no matter what role we play, or what business, function or show we contribute to, should act with respect and adhere to professional conduct at all times,” Fox Sports president Eric Shanks said in a letter to employees at the time.

The findings of 21st Century Fox’s investigation remain unknown. A Fox spokesperson said the company could not comment on the matter.

Horowitz has not spoken publicly about the allegations, but his lawyer, Patty Glaser, said in a July 2017 statement that the way Fox Sports treated Horowitz was “appalling.”

"At no point in his tenure was there any mention by his superiors or human resources of any misconduct or an inability to adhere to professional conduct,” Glaser said. “Any slanderous accusations to the contrary will be vigorously defended.”

Skipper, the former president of ESPN, resigned abruptly from the network in December 2017, later revealing he was caught up in an extortion plot by cocaine dealers.

“They threatened me, and I understood immediately that threat put me and my family at risk, and this exposure would put my professional life at risk as well,” Skipper told James Andrew Miller in a March 2018 interview for The Hollywood Reporter.