Management Team
WILLIAM (Bill) SHEPHERD – CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Bill is a seasoned television/new media/telecom industry veteran with senior management experience with a focus on business-to-business relationships, channel sales and distribution, content acquisition, content management, ROI strategies, and strategic planning. He is the founder of 4 companies and has served in senior roles such as CEO, President & EVP including BOD experience.
MARK ENGLANDER - FOUNDER/CFO/COO
Mark is the CFO and Founder of The Basketball Channel and has over 30 years of experience in the industry. He has used his extensive entrepreneurial background to help grow and develop multiple start-ups through business model development, asset management, and financial planning. Mark has been able to utilize his network of business and sport professionals to help manage and lead The Basketball Channel towards success. Mark is a Certified Public Accountant with his own firm and has served as the accountant for the Southern California Chapter of the NBA Retired Players Association.
FRED SMITH -FOUNDER/CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER
Frederick Smith, Jr is Founder, President and Executive Producer of The Basketball Channel. Fred brings 36 years of major sports network television production experience to the company and has demonstrated experience in areas of studio and field production, technical operations, crewing, budgeting, field operations, programming, live streaming and team building. A 3-time Sports Emmy Award winner, Fred founded The Video Scouting Service in 1990. It became the first nationally recognized video scouting, recruiting and evaluation service used by high school, college and pro teams worldwide. All 30 NBA teams used and relied on their professional services. He also served as the video coordinator for the Los Angeles Summer Pro League and helped launch the Las Vegas Summer League. He worked with CBS Sports for over 25 years and was been behind many of its most iconic and lasting images. He also worked as the Los Angeles producer for NBAE from 1990-1997. In 2001 he founded HoopTV.net and in June 2011 founded and launched The Basketball Channel
TONY ALLEVATO – VP OF PRODUCTION SERVICES
Tony Allevato was the first production hire for the start up Television Games Network and served as Executive Producer, responsible for creating the network’s format and look from scratch. During his 14-year tenure, he helped TVG grow from a fledgling network that was available in just 1 million homes to its current distribution of 36 million. Tony was instrumental in creating a unique business model that used the TV network to drive viewers to TVG’s website and mobile platforms. This accounted for over a half billion dollars of business annually. On the international front; Tony was responsible for a distribution deal with Dubai Sports Channel that can be seen throughout the Persian Gulf. He has produced shows in 9 different countries and was responsible for over 70,000 hours of live sports programming. Prior to his tenure at TVG Tony worked for ABC Sports on the program Wide World of Sports, Monday Night Football and College Football.
VAN COLEMAN - VP OF CONTENT MANAGEMENT
Van has over thirty-three years of experience in sports management. He has been the founding force behind a number of multi-media platform start-ups including FutureStars Magazine, Hoopmasters.com and Hot100Hoops.com. He was the founder and President of FutureStars Basketball, an event driven business, for over eighteen years. He syndicated "Off the Glass" radio program to fifty-plus markets nationally. He served as a National Basketball Analyst for CSTV and CBS College Sports television networks. Van was the Prep Editor for "Basketball Times" magazine for twelve years. Van serves on the McDonald's All-American, Naismith Basketball Awards, and Hall of Fame "Morgan Wooten Lifetime Achievement" award selection committees. Van is one of the most respected talent scouts in basketball, and has had over 250 College and Pro teams that have subscribed to his scouting service and web publications, helping to form the foundation of an unparalleled network of coach and player contacts that he brings to "The Basketball Channel".