ABC Sports plucks Pearl from Turner as executive producer

George Bodenheimer has made his first major hire since being named president of ABC Sports earlier this year by tapping Turner Sports senior vice president and executive producer Mike Pearl to serve the same role with ABC.

Pearl

Known primarily for his work with the Olympics and, later, the Goodwill Games, Pearl had a long stint with ABC from 1980 to 1988. He was then with CBS from 1988 through 1995, serving as a coordinating producer for the 1992 and 1994 Winter Olympics. He had been with Turner since 1995.

Pearl, 59, will begin his new position July 14.

He said he does not have any immediate changes planned for ABC Sports. "I'm not the type of person who jumps into something and rips everything apart," he said. "I'm the type of person who likes to absorb everything."

Pearl will relocate from Atlanta to New York, where he spent much of his career.