The CEO of Clear Channel Entertainment held a conference call last week with top executives of SFX Sports to discuss life after Arn Tellem, even as the company was firing 21 employees as part of a cost-cutting effort.
Clear Channel Communications officials say they remain committed to the sports business, even with Tellem stepping down as CEO of SFX Sports and buying back his sports agency, which represents more than 100 NBA and MLB players (see related story).
The 21 employees fired Sept. 27, the same day Tellem announced his departure from the company, lost their jobs as part of a restructuring that included the elimination of the company’s media, hospitality and public relations group, a Clear Channel spokeswoman said.
“There were some ancillary business units that were underperforming,” she said. “The company now has a streamlined, focused business built around market leadership in each of its sports sectors.”
Clear Channel Communications is planning to spin off its sports and live entertainment assets into a separate, publicly traded company, Clear Channel Entertainment, later this year.
Last week, some of the top SFX Sports executives and agents were heartened by a conference call with Clear Channel Entertainment CEO Michael Rapino, who told them that not only was the company not planning to sell its sports assets, but also that it might even expand them. The layoffs will make the sports unit more profitable, he said.
Clear Channel said in a press release that SFX Sports, which will represent about 500 athletes worldwide, will be run by five division heads: Pat Rooney (baseball), Jim Steiner (football), John Mascatello (golf), Ken Meyerson (tennis) and Nina Mitchell (financial services). It would not answer questions about who would run the basketball practice or whether the five division heads would essentially be running five different businesses.
