David Hill to Be Honored with Life Achievement at Sports Emmy Awards

NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES (February 6, 2025) – The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) announced today that Emmy® Award-winning sports producer, David Hill, will be presented with Lifetime Achievement honors at the 46th Annual Sports Emmy® Awards ceremony, which will take place on Tuesday, May 20, 2025 in New York City.

“David’s numerous contributions to sports broadcasting have impacted the way sports have been and will be viewed around the world forever,” said Adam Sharp, President and CEO of NATAS. “His innovations, including the ‘Fox Box’ Score Bug concept, have transformed the way viewers can watch games. He essentially introduced Augmented Reality to television screens decades before that phase was even coined. As an Executive, he has broadened the horizons of sports media, opening doors to a new generation of television leaders.”

David Hill commented: “Totally blown away – even more so because it’s from my peers.”

About David Hill (full bio HERE)

David Hill has spent a lifetime in the medium as a journalist, news anchor, documentary producer/director, Emmy Award-winning sports producer and executive, network chief, and now critically acclaimed independent producer. Hill has served as executive producer on many of the world’s most prominent television programs, from the Oscars to the Super Bowl to American Idol, and holds numerous patents for production innovations.

His creations include football’s on-field first-down marker and the now ubiquitous constant score and clock graphic (commonly known as the Fox Box). In late 1993, after the FOX network gained the rights to televise the National Football League’s prestigious NFC package, Rupert Murdoch dispatched Hill to the U.S. to serve as the first President of FOX Sports. Hill launched an innovative, fully functional major U.S. television network sports division in just eight months.

Over the next 20 years, he also directly or indirectly oversaw the launch of several media outlets, including FOX Sports Net, FOXSports.com, Big Ten Network, FOX Sports 1, and others. Hill was described by Murdoch, for whom he worked for almost 30 years, as a “dynamic and imaginative leader who has changed the experience of nearly all major sports on three continents.  Whether launching Sky Sports, the FOX network, FOX Sports or our regional sports networks, we owe him an enormous debt.”

In 2017, Hill became the first executive/producer since Roone Arledge in 2001 honored with the Pete Rozelle Radio/Television Award from the Pro Football Hall of Fame and was inducted into the Sports Video Group’s Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2014. He also received Lifetime Achievement honors at the 63rd Annual Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards in 2012 and the New York Festivals Television & Film Awards in 2016.  He sat on advisory boards for the Professional Fighters League, the Association of Tennis Professionals, Southern California Public Radio, INVIVO Media Group, and Planetary Resources, a space exploration company.

About the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences

The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) is a non-profit service organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of television and the promotion of creative leadership for artistic, educational, and technical achievements within the television industry. It recognizes excellence in television with the coveted Emmy® Awards for News & Documentary, Sports, Daytime entertainment and Daytime Creative Arts programming as well as achievements in television Technology & Engineering.

NATAS membership consists of nearly 18,000 broadcast and media professionals represented in 19 regional chapters across the country. Beyond awards, NATAS has extensive educational programs including regional student television and the National Student Production Awards for outstanding journalistic work by high school students, as well as scholarships, publications, and major activities for both industry professionals and the viewing public. NATAS is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate the life experiences and diversity of our team, our members, and the vibrant community of creative professionals we serve.  For more information go to www.theemmys.tv