You're watching...
Tennis Channel CEO Ken Solomon on the U.S. Open and the challenges facing cable channels.
Also in this playlist...
Auto-advance: ON
Auto-advance
This transcript is automatically generated
Eight we can speak in -- client and is the premier tennis event the U -- open.
And brings it about a hundred million dollars in profit just for the -- -- of that not too bad for an economy that is hungry for jobs.
Where do you watch it felt well up at the Tennis Channel indictment -- channel CEO Ken Solomon and can I was there at the center on Monday end we're talking about.
The big boost to the economy that the US open actually provides.
You see that day in day out are there only for -- -- We do it's amazing it's the largest annually attended paid sporting event in the world I would people realize that 700 and about 750 million people go through those turnstiles.
Over the course of the two week and it's sort of like the Olympics once a year and -- -- four times a year around the world but the US is.
Considered the biggest stage it's a huge.
Profit -- obviously for new York and and it's the basis of our business.
We're gonna talk about the global tournaments because yes as this is just one of four but you also rang the opening development NASDAQ today but you did it from a the US open and you had a couple of friends.
But we did famous for.
Well we had Martina Navratilova and Tracy Austin along with bill McEntee -- is sort of our anchor our main lead that and all the grand slams and and other coverage and you know Martina has you know -- grand slams then I think you could possibly imagine.
59 major she's one Tracy obviously a champion we've got.
Glut and they're just representing -- to -- to McEnroe honor we've got Lindsay Davenport a lot of good friends and rang that bell.
Let me ask you a little bit about business so you've had belonged fight going on with Cablevision can you update us on.
Where your -- them yeah.
You know it's always a time with distributors as you probably know and you know we started a couple of years ago about seven years ago this channel and and there was in about three million homes today -- in 1555.
Right now for the slams.
-- thirty plus steady state and you know it's pretty simple the rules say that if the distributor who is a competitor in effect as well because they own networks is gonna own network -- they got to -- networks they don't on the same.
That -- hasn't happened over the last couple of decades as distributors have grown larger and vertical lines.
You know you've got distributors that control one in every four homes in this country and don't networks so you know we say a network like a Golf Channel -- -- which is.
Very comparable to us arguably we have larger rights we have all four grand slams every tough -- -- and let -- be able to be treated the same but.
In -- -- in two point seven million Comcast owns and golf channels and 23 million and we're just kind of saying put us next to you since most people think a tennis and golf kind of the same.
And will be very happy.
Is it topped with you when you got so many cable networks available now on so many ways to distribute it like you're -- with Cablevision -- -- I cable companies is it tougher to get a your face at -- against the network space out to those companies it's a great question is.
Talk sergeant in -- you know I think that.
If you -- in the general entertainment business it's very tough.
If you're in a business where it's clear what your brand is like Tennis Channel people know what they're coming for an instantaneously almost.
We've rocket it up to ten we were just finished the French Open a couple of weeks ago.
We were in the top five of all cable networks for ten of the twelve days of coverage I mean that's remarkable for a network to say if we actually hit number one for a full day so.
If you have a highly targeted -- network with something people want like tennis.
We we think we can be didn't you know it then it's easy to do if you're trying to make people laugh for private gets expensive.
-- Ken Solomon international CEO it's a certainly an interesting -- -- during the week of the US open.
And I nobody now.
