New Tennis Channel CEO hopes to bring his experience working on many Amazon ventures.
By Erik Gudris | @atntennis | Wednesday, April 30, 2025
Photo credit: Tennis Channel
Jeff Blackburn, an experienced tech executive with a passion for tennis, is set to lead Tennis Channel.
Blackburn, a former top Amazon executive, was announced as the new Chairman & CEO of the sports channel. He will take over from long-running CEO Ken Solomon, who was reportedly let go last year because TC ownership felt he was spending too much time on a new media company started by TV personality Dr. Phil McGraw.
NEWS: Tennis Channel hires a big time exec as new CEO & Chairmanhttps://t.co/jqij3vJ6be
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) April 30, 2025
“From my point of view, this is the job I wanted,” Blackburn recently told The Athletic in an interview. “I didn’t want other roles. This is exactly the role that I want. Something in sports with a fantastic organization already in place that built a great business over the last 22 years.
Blackburn worked side by side with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos on several ventures, including the launch of Prime Video, Amazon Studios, and Amazon Music.
“Jeff’s appointment marks a pivotal step in our strategy to accelerate Tennis Channel’s growth and unlock long-term value across Sinclair’s portfolio,” said Chris Ripley, President and CEO of Sinclair Inc. in a statement. “With a track record of driving innovation and scaling multibillion-dollar media businesses, Jeff brings the strategic vision and operational expertise to expand our digital footprint, deepen audience engagement, and capitalize on global sports and streaming trends.
“His leadership will be instrumental as we continue to grow Tennis Channel’s distribution and expand its direct-to-consumer offering, further establishing Tennis Channel as a global, always-on destination for fans across every screen and platform.”
In the interview, Blackburn revealed that Amazon considered purchasing Tennis Channel outright before Sinclair bought the channel rights for $350 million in 2014.
“We took a hard look at Tennis Channel,” Blackburn said. “We didn’t buy it. Sinclair did. I have had regrets about that for the last nine years. I always wondered if there might be another opportunity with Tennis Channel, and this came around.”
Blackburn, a long-time tennis fan, hopes to bring the lessons he learned at Amazon to his new venture at Tennis Channel.
“I got the opportunity to build a streaming business from the ground up and started Prime Video and built Amazon Studios from nothing, and then got to enter sports six or seven years ago. I think of all those experiences and how we built it, and I can apply it to the Tennis Channel.”
Tennis Channel was launched in 2003.
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