Showtime Sports Boss Hershman Steps Down

Sherdog.com confirmed the news with a Showtime representative on Thursday following an initial report from Broadcasting and Cable. According to that report, Hershman is expected to replace Ross Greenburg as president of HBO Sports. Greenburg left HBO in July after 33 years with the network.

Showtime released the following statement to Sherdog.com when contacted to confirm Hershman's resignation.

“Sports has been an important part of our content lineup at Showtime for many years. We have a great team and great programming in place and our commitment to sports remains strong. We have no announcement about a successor at this time, when we do we will let everyone know.”

Showtime's future in the MMA business is currently uncertain. The premium station’s contract with Strikeforce reportedly expires in February 2012, and it is unknown if Showtime will opt to extend the deal with the Zuffa-owned promotion.

Hershman joined Showtime in 1992 and assumed his positions as executive vice president and general manager of sports and event programming in 2000.