Since 2005, Tennis Channel President Ken Solomon has applied decades of media and entertainment experience to turning the network into one of the most successful media brands in sport, and the television, digital, print and social media hub of tennis around the world. Solomon joined the nascent independent network when it reached less than 4 million households nationwide. He immediately took an unorthodox approach toward expanding Tennis Channel, gaining coverage rights to major events like Wimbledon and Roland Garros at a time when other single-sport networks did not offer playoff-level coverage. He also assembled a Hall of Fame on-air talent roster second to none on television, with Martina Navratilova, Jim Courier, Tracy Austin, Lindsay Davenport and fan-favorite announcers like Ted Robinson and Bill Macatee.
Within a few years Solomon built Tennis Channel’s week-after-week lineup to include almost all of the top 100 events in tennis, including its four majors, Davis Cup and Fed Cup, and the men’s and women’s year-end championships. Today it remains the most comprehensive single-sport network in television and has a subscriber count of close to 50 million, on par with other channels dedicated to professional basketball, baseball, football and hockey.
During this time Solomon’s production team pioneered new approaches to covering major events on television and digital platforms, and became the first television channel to put TV Everywhere functionality and a subscription streaming service on the same network app. Tennis Channel launched an unparalleled line of documentary films highlighting the rich history of tennis, including the Emmy Award-nominated Strokes of Genius, a partnership with the All England Lawn Tennis Club that provided an original look at the rivalry between legends Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal through the prism of their 2008 Wimbledon championship match.
In recent years Solomon has solidified Tennis Channel’s role as the sport’s worldwide media home with the acquisition of Tennis Magazine and website Tennis.com. This unification of the tennis’ largest print, digital and television platforms into a single Tennis Channel media hub is unprecedented in all of sport.
While developing the network’s advertiser and sponsor base, Solomon has put community service and philanthropic engagement side by side with Tennis Channel’s mission to provide more tennis than ever in U.S. media history. Among these endeavors, he has worked with public and private organizations to create a series of youth-oriented cultural exchanges here and abroad. Partnering with many, including the U.S. embassies in the United Kingdom and France, local and international businesses, neighborhood tennis centers and the sport’s governing bodies, Tennis Channel has connected underprivileged students in London, Paris, New York and Havana with coaches, tennis legends and sustainable after-school programs, and has led major court refurbishment initiatives.
For this and other contributions to the sport, Solomon and Tennis Channel have been honored by the International Tennis Hall of Fame, the Washington Tennis & Education Foundation and New York Junior Tennis & Learning. Solomon has been noted as one of the most influential people in tennis by both TennisMagazine and Tennis Week.
A board member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame with a seat on the USTA Foundation, Solomon actually grew up surrounded by the sport. His parents are longtime leaders in the Southern California tennis community, with active roles in the foundation of what would become today’s Masters event in Indian Wells, Calif. As a child, Solomon served as ball boy for numerous events in the area, including U.S. Davis Cup competition.
Prior to Tennis Channel, Solomon held top posts at Universal Studios Television, DreamWorks, Disney and News Corp./FOX, and founded Fine Living TV Network for Scripps Networks. He is also chairman of art-and-culture television network Ovation.
Solomon holds various leadership roles within social and philanthropic activities. He has been named “Humanitarian of the Year” by H.E.L.P. Group, one of the largest and most influential children’s charities in the United States. In 2016 he was the annual honoree at the Anti-Defamation League’s Entertainment Industry Dinner, lauded for his consistent efforts to speak out against prejudice and intolerance. He is on the advisory board of the L.A. Sports & Entertainment Commission and the executive board of Americans for the Arts’ Business Committee. Solomon was a member of President Obama’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities.
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David Nevins is president & CEO of Nevins & Associates, a highly regarded strategic communications company and proactive public relations partner. The firm’s regional and national client base is a unique mix of organizations across a variety of industries including: healthcare, professional service firms, finance, not-for-profits, distributors, state agencies, national media companies, technology, political and grassroots campaigns, real estate development, sporting events, and more.
With more than 30 years of experience in marketing, public relations, and community and government relations, David is a talented and seasoned executive. Prior to founding Nevins & Associates in 1983, David served as the Director of Marketing for both Towson University and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. In 2001, he was tapped by the CEO of Comcast to employ his marketing expertise as President of the company’s regional sports network, Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic. David is a Past President of the Board of Governors for the Center Club and is a former Chairman of the Board of Regents for the University System of Maryland, a position to which he was appointed by the Governor of Maryland. David has chaired the Maryland Public Broadcasting Commission and the Maryland Higher Education Loan Corporation, served as President of both the Jewish National Fund and the Towson Business Association and was a member of the PNC Bank board.
David is highly involved in the business, civic, and political communities, and his many years of active leadership in numerous organizations have built a network of contacts that he regularly puts to use for the firm’s clients. For more information, visit www.nevinspr.com.
