Jon Heidtke

Heidtke oversees the Southwest operation that reaches over 9.6 million cable and satellite television homes in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and parts of New Mexico.

Heidtke became one of the youngest general managers in the regional sports television industry in October 1994 when as a 34-year-old he was promoted to the top post at Home Sports Entertainment, the predecessor to FSN Southwest. He was elevated to Senior Vice President/General Manager in November 1996 when FOX combined the nation’s top regional sports networks under one banner and created FSN.

He has worked diligently behind the scenes to upgrade the network’s regional focus through rights acquisitions and marketing strategies that have positioned FSN Southwest as the leader in local sports programming. Under his guidance, FSN Southwest has secured long-term programming agreements with the Texas Rangers, Houston Astros, Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks, Dallas Stars and the University Interscholastic League, the governing body overseeing Texas high school sports.

He also was instrumental in developing multi-faceted programming and marketing partnerships with the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans, and creating the University Interscholastic League Corporate Partner program for Texas high school athletics.

Heidtke is actively involved in the communities served by FSN Southwest, supporting many local civic groups. He sits on the board of directors of several leading sports organizations, including the SMU Athletic Forum, the Cotton Bowl Athletic Association, the Texas Bowl, the Texas Sports Hall of Fame and the Dallas All Sports Association. He also is a member of the Dallas-Fort Worth Regional Sports Commission and his alma mater’s Texas A&M 12th Man Foundation Advisory board. In 2002 the 12th Man Magazine named Heidtke “The Most Influential Aggie in Sports,” and in 2005 Heidtke entered the Texas A&M Former Journalism Students Association Hall of Honor.

The Texas High School Coaches Association recognized Heidtke for his passionate contributions to promoting and supporting high school athletics and the Texas coaching community by naming him the 2007 recipient of the prestigous THSCA Distinguished Service Award, the highest honor given by the association to individuals outside the coaching profession.

Heidtke joined the network in March 1989 as Home Sports Entertainment’s Director of Affiliate Sales and Marketing. He was promoted to Assistant General Manager in January 1991 after guiding HSE’s successful conversion from a subscription pay channel to a basic cable TV service. Under his leadership, the network’s viewership has grown from 1.2 million subscribers in 1989 to its current reach of over 9 million.

With more than two decades of experience in the sports television industry, Heidtke has gone from an on-air personality to a top management position. Prior to joining FSN Southwest, Heidtke successfully managed a 15-state region for ESPN as a Southeast account manager where he was responsible for securing the network’s distribution. He also spent three years as regional sales manager for Chicago-based regional sports network SportsVision.

Heidtke’s career as a sports television executive started in 1983 as an eastern region account executive for SportsTime, a regional sports network launched in St. Louis by Anheuser-Busch. He began his television career in June 1981 as a sports anchor/reporter for KBTX-TV in Bryan, Texas. In 1983 he was the radio play-by-play voice of the Texas League champion Beaumont Golden Gators minor league baseball team.

A native of Amarillo, Texas, Heidtke holds a bachelor of science degree in broadcast journalism from Texas A&M University. He resides in Coppell, Texas, with his wife, Sandy and their children, Heath and twins Hannah and Hunter.

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