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NBC Shakes Things Up on Ad Side, Puts Veteran Exec in Charge of Sales for All of NBCUniversal

Sep 20, 2012  •  Post A Comment

NBC is making a big move in the executive ranks of its advertising sales operation, giving veteran ad sales exec Linda Yaccarino oversight of all ad sales for NBCUniversal, reports our good friend Brian Steinberg in Advertising Age.

The move puts Yaccarino in charge of sales for the flagship NBC Network, less than a year after she was given responsibility for NBCU’s digital and cable sales. Prior to that, for many years Yaccarino was a key player in the ad sales operation of Turner Broadcasting.

The story adds, "Internally, senior members of NBC’s ad-sales team — including Marianne Gambelli, who has overseen ad sales at the NBC broadcast network; Ed Swindler, exec-VP and chief operating officer of NBCUniversal ad sales; and Peter Naylor, who supervises digital sales — are expected at present to stay under the new structure."

The article also note that “The hard-charging Ms. Yaccarino, known for making a range of aggressive ad plays over the years, will now report directly to Steve Burke, NBCUniversal’s CEO.”

The move creates an unusual model for the industry at this time, with responsibility for broadcast, cable and digital unified under one executive. But the story notes that the structure makes sense given the current business environment.

“Advertisers these days think less about discrete categories like ‘cable,’ ‘broadcast’ and ‘digital’ and more about aligning their brands with pieces of content that appeals to their particular customers,” the report notes. “Consumers, too, are shifting around from TV to digital to mobile as their needs dictate. Having a person at the top to who can help craft deals that move across various NBCUniversal assets — which range from movie-ticketing outlet Fandango to the USA cable network to Universal Studios — may have broader appeal for sponsors.”

The article adds, " ‘As a unified sales team, our goal is to collaboratively develop the most creative solutions to move our clients’ businesses forward,’ Ms. Yaccarino said in a statement."

Click here for more analysis of the move in the Ad Age article.

Thumbnail image for Linda-Yaccarino.jpgLinda Yaccarino

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