Tennis Channel Shuffles Exec Seedings

The Tennis Channel announced a strategic restructuring of its senior management team.

The network said the moves coincide with the departure of executive vice president of programming and marketing Bruce Rider, who left Tennis to pursue other interests.

Departmental VPs now reporting directly to chairman and CEO Ken Solomon are:

• Larry Meyers, VP of production, who oversees all tournament and original-series production;

• Jene Elzie, VP of programming, who will continue to handle all program acquisitions, tournament rights and scheduling;

• Faye Walker, VP of marketing, who heads brand, consumer and ad-sales marketing, as well as creative services;

• Lynn Forbes, VP of Web and new media, handling Web, broadband and wireless; and

• Keith Manasco, VP of operations, who maintains all network functions and will now work closely with Solomon and report to chief financial officer Bill Simon.

The network’s other department heads include:

• Bill Simon, senior VP and CFO, who is responsible for all corporate financial, business, human relations, information technology and administrative operations;

• Randy Brown, senior VP of distribution, who is responsible for all affiliate sales and marketing;

• Doug Martz, senior VP of sponsorship and ad sales, who heads sponsorship and revenue-generation operations; and

• Adam Weene, VP of strategic planning and business development, who spearheads international efforts and new-media and business development, as well as all Tennis Channel Open operations.

“This is a significant moment in the history of our company because it formalizes an organizational structure that distributes responsibility for each network operating area directly to the executives who run them every day and best positions The Tennis Channel to capitalize on the enormous growth opportunities in front of us,” Solomon said in a prepared statement.