Former Amazon leisure chief Jeff Blackburn has been tapped as chairman and CEO of the Sinclair-owned Tennis Channel.
Throughout his greater than 20-year tenure at Amazon, Blackburn oversaw the corporate’s enlargement into streaming and sports activities, together with manufacturers Prime Video, Amazon Studios, Amazon Music, and Amazon’s promoting and market divisions. Earlier than heading into the media and leisure sector at Amazon — the place he oversaw properties together with “Thursday Evening Soccer,” “Clear,” “Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “Fleabag” and “The Boys” — Blackburn labored in operations, retail and company and enterprise growth. Prior to his exit from the ecommerce giant in 2021, Blackburn served as senior vp of world media and leisure.
“Jeff’s appointment marks a pivotal step in our technique to speed up Tennis Channel’s development and unlock long-term worth throughout Sinclair’s portfolio,” Sinclair CEO and president Chris Ripley mentioned. “With a observe report of driving innovation and scaling multibillion-dollar media companies, Jeff brings the strategic imaginative and prescient and operational experience to broaden our digital footprint, deepen viewers engagement, and capitalize on international sports activities and streaming developments. His management shall be instrumental as we proceed to develop Tennis Channel’s distribution and broaden its direct-to-consumer providing, additional establishing Tennis Channel as a worldwide, always-on vacation spot for followers throughout each display screen and platform.”
“Tennis Channel is a sports activities treasure,” Blackburn mentioned. “It’s beloved by followers of the sport, permitting for big development alternatives forward in streaming in addition to new initiatives like Pickleball. Since childhood I’ve been intensely obsessed with tennis, so I’m thrilled to tackle the position and be a part of this excellent workforce.”
