Todd Merkow departs Los Angeles Avengers
Published on June 15, 2004 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Los Angeles Avengers News Release
LOS ANGELES -- Todd Merkow, who had been the president and chief operating officer of the Los Angeles Avengers for the past three years, will no longer pilot the team effective July 1.
Merkow, who joined the Avengers on May 2, 2001, three games into the 2001 Arena Football League season, will pursue other business opportunities in the Phoenix area, where he has a strong history and family ties.
Avenger owner and chief executive officer Casey Wasserman has identified a replacement and looks forward to making an announcement in the near future.
"I enjoyed my years with the Avengers," said Merkow, who was voted the AFL's "Executive of the Year" following the 2002 season. "It was a tremendous challenge and change of pace, working with a team after so many years in sports television. In the past few seasons, we built a solid foundation that will serve the Avenger franchise well in the years to come. Now, my family and I intend to move back to Arizona and reconnect with some of the roots we established a few years ago. I'm excited about the opportunities that lie ahead, but will miss the entire Avenger family."
The Avengers went 9-7 this past season and qualified for the ArenaBowl Playoffs for a third consecutive year. In eight home games at STAPLES Center, the team's average attendance was 12,590.
Before overseeing all the business operations of the Avengers and a pair of arenafootball2 franchises that were for a time under the Wasserman Media Group umbrella, Merkow was the vice president and general manager for Fox Sports Net West and Fox Sports Net West 2.
At Fox Sports Net West, Merkow oversaw the day-to-day operations for Southern California's two premier sports cable channels which carry the Anaheim Angels, Los Angeles Avengers, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Kings, Los Angeles Lakers, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and UCLA and USC basketball and football telecasts. His responsibilities included programming, production, advertising, affiliate sales, marketing, media relations and administration.
Merkow had been with Fox Sports Net/Liberty Sports for 10 years prior to joining the Avengers. He launched Fox Sports Net Arizona, an owned-and-operated affiliate of Fox Sports Net, as general manager on Sept. 7, 1996. While at Fox Sports Net Arizona, he was instrumental in securing cable television rights to the Phoenix Coyotes, Arizona Diamondbacks, Arizona State University and University of Arizona. Merkow also spearheaded the network's advertising sales and marketing efforts.
He also served as the director of affiliate sales and programming for Fox Sports Direct in Dallas for more than six years. He was responsible for creating sales and marketing plans for Fox Sports Direct in the satellite television markets of North America. Merkow's contributions include launching Fox Sports Net's regional sports networks on DIRECTV, PRIMESTAR and DISH Network.
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