Jim Burns - Executive Producer

As an independent producer and television executive, Jim Burns has defined networks with the iconic specials and series he created or developed. Burns, who now runs the production company Top Dog Incorporated, co-created the series MTV Unplugged” More recently, as a network executive at Spike TV, he developed and launched The Ultimate Fighter. Unplugged is MTV’s most heralded program ever, and has earned two Cable Ace Awards and the prestigious Peabody Award. And ultimate fighting (mixed martial arts) has become so popular and culturally significant that The Wall Street Journal declared it “the sport that killed boxing.” The premiere was Spike’s highest-rated ever, and became the basis for a franchise of series and specials Burns spearheaded. Burns brought that series to Spike as the network’s Senior Vice President of Sports and Specials, the position he held prior to starting Top Dog. The Spike job, which he took in the fall of 2001, came after heading programming and creative for Nick at Nite. Currently, in his Top Dog role, Burns is developing and supervising original production for FEARNet, a revolutionary horror video-on-demand and internet programming venture between Sony, Lionsgate and the media company Comcast. It is the latest step in a career that adds up to more that 20 years of experience in entertainment.