Tennis Channel Adds Ad Sales Ace
Under Department Restructuring, Scripps Veteran Herman Heads Up Net’s New York Efforts
By Multi Channel News Staff -- Multichannel News, 10/22/2007 5:56:00 AM
Tennis Channel has added industry veteran Gary Herman to its advertising sales team.
Herman, who had been working as Scripps Networks senior vice president of advertising sales for emerging networks and syndication properties, is now senior vice president of advertising sales for Tennis, reporting to the network’s chairman and CEO Ken Solomon.
Based in New York, Herman will oversee all network ad sales operations and infrastructure in his new post, serving as chief strategist for Tennis, which through a late August launch on DirecTV has doubled its subscriber base to 20 million homes. He’s charged with driving sales and monetizing Tennis content across all platforms, including on-air, Web, video on demand, broadband and wireless applications.
Herman’s arrival will allow Doug Martz, currently senior vice president, advertising sales, to focus his efforts on the network’s major charter clients and non-traditional based sales opportunities. As senior vice president, advertising sales and alternative revenue, Martz will coordinate and execute large, integrated business development-based sponsorships nationally, including the Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas. He will continue to report to Solomon in the network’s Los Angeles offices.
“Gary’s experience in bringing fast-growing television networks from zero to profitability is second to none,” said Solomon in a statement. “His addition strengthens our ad sales efforts by streamlining everything under a traditional, New York-based focal point, while allowing us to retain an L.A. operation that can take advantage of Tennis Channel’s unique value proposition and create large, content-driven sponsorship opportunities. This is a natural result of Tennis Channel’s exponential growth this year, in terms of both subscribers, with close to 20 million homes, and world-class programming, with three of the four Grand Slams.”
