Tennis Channel's longtime chairman and CEO, Ken Solomon, was reportedly fired by parent company Sinclair over his ties to Dr. Phil's new media company.
Sinclair, the nation's second-largest operator of television stations, challenged Solomon's role as an adviser and director at Phil McGraw's Merritt Street Media company. The Wall Street Journal reported. On the weekend.
The changes come as Sinclair prepares to disband the Tennis Channel after it wrapped up its U.S. Open coverage on Sunday. Solomon's last day with the network is Monday.
An anonymous source told the Journal that Solomon's collaboration with Dr. Phil was seen as “increasingly intrusive.”
A source close to Mr. Solomon countered that he had been with the Tennis Channel since 2005 and had held similar roles outside the company throughout that time and was not disgruntled.
He added that the CEO had received support from Sinclair over his involvement with the talk show host dating back to late last year.
Sinclair sources claim that Mr Solomon's role has become more time-consuming and hands-on as the collaboration has progressed.
Another point of tension: Mr. Sinclair wants Mr. Solomon to work out of Tennis Channel's Santa Monica, Calif., offices, but Mr. Sinclair recently bought property in Dallas. Mr. McGraw's company is based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
A person close to Mr. Solomon said the purchase was a horse ranch for his wife and that he still has a home in Los Angeles.
Baltimore-based Sinclair bought Tennis Channel in 2016 from a group of private equity funds for $350 million.
The company has hired investment bank Moelis to sell the network, which it values at $750 million in 2022, along with a number of its local TV stations.
Solomon, who stands to benefit from the sale as a shareholder, is heavily involved in the process, working with banks and meeting with potential buyers, according to The Wall Street Journal. The sale is ongoing, with a deadline for final bids expected to be set within the next few weeks, people familiar with the matter told the paper.
Insiders were shocked to hear that Solomon had left the network he helped build.
“Ken is the Tennis Channel,” said Mickey Lawler, who served as president of the Women's Tennis Association for nearly a decade. “He's always been ahead of his time. I can't imagine being without him.”
Martina Navratilova, the legendary tennis player and Tennis Channel commentator, agreed, saying, “This executive's level of passion is matched only by his business acumen and vision for the future.”
Solomon helped build the network's streaming service, Tennis Channel Plus, and ad-supported streaming platform, T2.
About 35 million U.S. households subscribe to a TV bundle that includes the Tennis Channel. When Sinclair acquired the network, it was generating earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $15 million to $20 million. This year, it expects EBITDA of $137 million on revenue of $325 million.
Still, Sinclair, like other broadcast networks, has seen its viewership plummet as cable subscribers cut their subscriptions and competition from streaming services has led the company to consider selling up to 60 of its 185 stations.
Earlier this year, Sinclair also agreed to pay $495 million to settle a legal battle with Diamond Sports.claims the media giant extracted $1.5 billion from the company before filing for bankruptcy. Sinclair denies the allegations.
