Director, Production Finance

Tennis Channel; Santa Monica (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 148,000; Full time

Job summary

Tennis Channel is seeking a hands-on Director, Production Finance to lead budgeting, forecasting, accounting, controls, and reporting across all production activities. Based in Santa Monica, CA, you will partner with Production, Programming, Rights & Acquisitions, Creative, and Operations to support decision making and drive efficiency.

The role sits in Corporate Finance & Accounting and reports to the Controller / VP Finance.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Business, or related field.
• CPA preferred.
• 8+ years of progressive experience in Production Finance, Production Accounting, Media Finance, FP&A, or related disciplines.
• Experience in live production, sports media, entertainment, streaming, digital media, or content businesses preferred.
• Strong hands-on financial modeling, budgeting, forecasting, accounting, controls, reporting, and analytical skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead strategic production finance and planning with budgets, forecasts, and long-range plans.
• Oversee production accounting, cost tracking, accruals, and close support.
• Prepare KPI dashboards, forecast packages, and executive cost reports.
• Drive continuous improvement in budgeting, forecasting, and reporting processes.
• Manage governance, vendor terms, and cross-functional financial controls.

Skills

8+ years FP&A

live production experience

financial modeling

stakeholder management

ERP/Oracle

Education

Bachelor's degree in Finance/Accounting/Business

CPA preferred

Tools

Excel

Oracle

BI reporting

Job description

Tennis Channel is seeking a hands-on Director, Production Finance to lead and manage production budgeting, forecasting, accounting, controls, reporting, and continuous improvement across Tennis Channel production activities. This role sits within Tennis Channel Corporate Finance & Accounting and reports to the Controller / VP Finance, serving primarily as the finance partner in support of the head of production & programming and the related teams across live events, studio productions, original content, digital initiatives, creative, and production operations. The head of production & programming owns the department budget, including creative budgets; the Director role supports that responsibility through production-related financial management, reporting, analysis, and decision support. The Director will work closely with Production, Programming, Rights & Acquisitions, Creative, Operations, Legal, HR and Finance & Accounting, as needed, to support the production-related financial responsibilities. This role is onsite and located in Santa Monica, CA.

Lead Strategic Production Finance & Planning

• Prepare annual production budgets, quarterly forecasts and long-range plans.
• Build financial models for productions/tournaments, seasonal coverage plans, and production cost centers to support staffing, resource allocation, and investment decisions.
• Lead PickleballTV joint venture production-related forecasting, actualization, and variance analysis in coordination with production leadership and Finance & Accounting.
• Prepare financial support for go/no-go decisions, cash flow, production economics, and financial risks.

Oversee Production Accounting & Financial Controls

• Lead production accounting, including job costing, accruals, amortization, and close support.
• Track production costs, commitments, vendor obligations, and talent costs to support accurate reporting.
• Review production payables and purchasing card activity for proper coding, approvals, and controls.
• Prepare forecast updates and cost variance explanations for FP&A, Accounting, and Production.

Drive Business Analytics & Executive Reporting

• Prepare KPI dashboards, forecast packages, cost summaries, and recurring reports for the Head of Production & Programming to support production planning, cost visibility, and decision making.
• Conduct post-event production cost reviews to explain variances, capture planning takeaways, and recommend improvements for upcoming productions.
• Summarize production financial insights for executive reporting and upcoming production planning.

Champion Continuous Improvement

• Improve budgeting, forecasting, accounting, reporting quality, forecast accuracy, and decision support.
• Develop cost benchmarks, productivity metrics, savings trackers, and performance indicators across productions, vendors, staffing, travel, and operations.
• Implement automation, AI-enabled tools, templates, and reporting improvements to increase efficiency and financial visibility.

Manage Financial Governance & Oversight

• Review production agreements, vendor arrangements, talent commitments, and related documents for financial terms, budget impact, cost tracking, and risks in support of the Head of Production & Programming.
• Coordinate with Legal, HR, Treasury, Tax, and Accounting as needed on production-related financial risks, labor costs, international requirements, cash flow, and compliance.
• Support international productions, including foreign costs, tax/VAT, payment timing, currency exposure, and compliance impacts.
• Maintain practical governance, controls, and processes that support growth, compliance, cost discipline, and operational effectiveness.
• Provide Leadership & Team Development
• Provide day-to-day leadership, coaching, and support to the Production Finance team.
• Set priorities, goals, development plans, and operating rhythms.
• Foster accountability, collaboration, financial discipline, improvement, and data-driven decision making.

Key Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Business, or related field.
• CPA preferred.
• 8+ years of progressive experience in Production Finance, Production Accounting, Media Finance, FP&A, or related disciplines.
• Experience in live production, sports media, entertainment, streaming, digital media, or content businesses preferred.
• Strong hands-on financial modeling, budgeting, forecasting, accounting, controls, reporting, and analytical skills.
• Experience with project accounting, production costing, close support, operational budgets, and cost governance.
• Ability to partner with operational leaders and translate financial data into business recommendations.
• Experience with ERP/project costing systems, production accounting tools, Excel, and BI reporting; Oracle experience preferred.
• Strong communication, leadership, judgment, business partnership, and stakeholder management skills.

Tennis Channel is proud to be equal opportunity employer and a drug free workplace. Employment practices will not be influenced or affected by virtue of an applicant's or employee's race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, military or veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.

About Tennis Channel

Tennis Channel is the only multiplatform destination dedicated solely to tennis year-round. Together, the Tennis Channel flagship network, Tennis Channel 2, and the Tennis Channel app (tennischannel.com) deliver the most accessible and concentrated single-sport coverage anywhere. As the exclusive U.S. home of the ATP Tour and WTA Tour, Tennis Channel features live coverage of every Masters 1000 tournament — including Indian Wells, the Miami Open, Madrid, Rome, Cincinnati, and more — alongside live studio programming including its premier series, TC Live. Tennis Channel 2, a free FAST channel available in over 100 million homes, brings fans matches from across the globe at every level of the game. The Tennis Channel app brings it all together in one place, delivering live and on-demand matches, original content, and a personalized multi-view experience for fans, available on mobile and connected TV devices. Owned by Sinclair, Tennis Channel is also a co-owner of PickleballTV (pickleballtv.com), a joint venture with the Professional Pickleball Association.

About Sinclair

Sinclair, Inc. (Nasdaq: SBGI) is a diversified media company and a leading provider of local news and sports. The Company owns, operates and/or provides services to 177 television stations in 79 markets affiliated with all major broadcast networks; owns Tennis Channel, the premium destination for tennis enthusiasts; and multicast networks CHARGE, Comet, ROAR and The Nest. Sinclair’s AMP Media produces a growing portfolio of digital content and original podcasts. Additional information about Sinclair can be found at www.sbgi.net.

About The Team

The life-blood of our organization is our people. We have a compelling story, a goal-oriented culture, and we take really good care of people. How good? Here is a glimpse: great benefits, open-door policy, upward mobility and a strong desire to see you succeed. Ready to be part of a winning team? Let’s talk.

The base salary compensation range for this role is $140,000 to $148,000. Final compensation for this role will be determined by various factors such as a candidates’ relevant work experience, skills, certifications, and geographic location. Full time positions are eligible for benefits that include participation in a retirement plan, life and disability insurance, health, dental and vision plans, flexible spending accounts, sick leave, vacation time, personal time, parental leave and employee stock purchase plan.

#tennis