By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Wednesday, September 25, 2024
Picture credit score: Fred Mullane for Tennis Channel Fb
Tennis Channel has turned to a well-recognized face as its new chief.
Invoice Simon has been named TC Interim President, Tennis Channel introduced at present.
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Simon joined the community as CFO in 2005 and has served a wide range of govt Tennis Channel roles lately.
Right here is Tennis Channel’s announcement issued this afternoon:
Sinclair, Inc. has named Tennis Channel’s Invoice Simon because the community’s interim president. Simon has been in a prime management function since becoming a member of the channel as CFO in 2005, lately serving as EVP, COO and CFO. He has been instantly concerned in the important thing selections which have guided the community throughout the previous 20 years and can oversee all facets of its enterprise.
Simon takes over about three weeks after TC’s father or mother firm, Sinclair, axed long-time CEO Ken Solomon.
Sinclair ousted Solomon over his function as an advisory board member for Dr. Phil McGraw’s Benefit Avenue Media firm, in keeping with a Wall Avenue Journal report earlier this month.
The Journal reported Sinclair execs noticed Solomon’s work with Dr. Phil’s new media firm as “a rising distraction.”
In the meantime, sources near Solomon declare he served related roles as advisory board members all through his TC tenure and it was not a difficulty till Sinclair started on the lookout for a trigger to make a transfer.
Tennis Channel grew its viewers throughout Solomon’s tenure, although it has not been worthwhile since its inception underneath founder Steve Bellamy.
Studies say media big Sinclair has been making an attempt to unload Tennis Channel and ousting Solomon could effectively have been a part of its streamlining course of in preparation for a sale.
Nevertheless, in an interview with interview with SportsBusiness Journal Sinclair COO Rob Weisbord downplayed Ken Solomon’s function over the previous 18 months saying Simon and an govt staff has been operating day-to-day TC operations whereas Solomon was “the spokesperson for the community.”
Weisbord instructed SportsBusiness Journal that whereas Solomon was “the face of the community” an govt staff was really operating the community. Weisbord stated a senior administration staff of Simon, Senior Vice President of Manufacturing Bob Whyley, Senior Vice President David Edges, Senior Vice President Worldwide Programming Andy Reif, Senior Vice President Nationwide Sports activities Gross sales Irv Schulman and Vice President of Advertising Christina Tesauro has been operating the community, suggesting Solomon’s function was diminished over the previous year-and-a-half.
“When Sinclair is writing a test for an worker, we anticipate 100% of the main target to be on what we’re paying them to be and never have a number of focuses,” stated Weisbord. “We have to give attention to the property that we personal.
“Ken definitely was the face of Tennis Channel, however it takes a village to run a community.”
Sinclair COO Weisbord additionally instructed SportsBusiness Journal that the corporate has “by no means publicly acknowledged” Tennis Channel is on the market.
Regardless of that assertion, it has been reported that Sinclair is looking for to promote TC, which launched its PickleballTV final yr in an effort to capitalize on pickleball’s home progress.
“We had some inbound inquiries. If we are able to get accreted worth for any asset, we’re at all times open to have a look at it,” stated Weisbord. “Proper now, we’re targeted not a sale—if that occurs, nice—however we’re targeted that we personal this operation and that we really are bullish on the enlargement of tennis.”
Weisbord additionally factors out that Tennis Channel Worldwide is now out there in eight nations and Sinclair sees that as a supply of potential worldwide progress, although none of these eight markets are as massive as the USA.
Again in 2016 Sinclair Broadcast Group acquired Tennis Channel for $350 million.
Three months earlier than that 2016 sale, The Wall Avenue Journal reported former Tennis Channel majority house owners Apollo World Administration, Bain Capital Ventures, Battery Ventures, CCMP Capital and Columbia Capital, had been in gross sales talks with Sinclair with an asking worth “north of $500 million.”
Whereas the ultimate gross sales worth was effectively wanting that, Sinclair supplied Tennis Channel with a considerably bigger media platform.
When Sinclair purchased TC, execs envisioned the added publicity and branding alternatives throughout a number of platforms creating elevated advert income for each Tennis Channel and Tennis Channel Plus, the community’s subscription companion channel.
“In Sinclair we have now discovered the right owner-partner to speed up scaling the Tennis Channel model and our sport’s increasing fan-base to the subsequent degree,” former Tennis Channel CEO Ken Solomon stated in a 2016 assertion. “Sinclair’s distinctive dimension and place within the media ecosystem will facilitate vital distribution progress in direction of parity with our aggressive set and increase our model’s property and distinctive worth because the go-to vacation spot for all issues tennis within the U.S. and past.”
Tennis Channel has additionally loved an infusion of advertiser {dollars} from betting corporations, although some viewers have grown pissed off with TC repeatedly force-feeding odds displayed earlier than and through matches as an annoying distraction placing gamblers forward of true tennis followers.
Launched on Might 15, 2003 by founder Steve Bellamy, Tennis Channel has added well being and health, journey and popular culture programming to its tennis protection making an attempt to broaden viewership with out alienating core viewers who nonetheless come to TC to look at tennis.
