Warner Bros. Discovery said it is restructuring its advertising sales organization to better connect with the biggest media buying agencies.
Agency-focused teams will be headed by executive VPs Marybeth Strobel and Greg Regis. Strobel will work with Omnicom, Magna and Dentsu, while Regis is responsible for Publicis, GroupM and Horizon.
The groups headed by Strobel and Regis will give the agencies direct access to WBD’s entire portfolio of lifestyle, entertainment, sports, news and streaming properties, as well as the company’s suit of advanced advertising capabilities, the company said.
Executive VP Jon Diament will lead a dedicated WBD Sports sales team, managing the company’s relationship with more than 100 clients who are official partners of the NBA, NCAA, MLB, and NHL.
Longtime senior executives Jim Keller, John Dailey and Scott Kohn have left the company. The reorganization will also result in a headcount reduction of about 20 to 30 positions as it is implemented between now and Labor Day.
“Over the past year, we have been listening to our clients and partners and have seen firsthand what is delivering real value for them and great performance for us. This new structure will allow us to deliver what matters most for all – creating a single and seamless interface into the full world of WBD,” said Jon Steinlauf, Chief U.S. Advertising Sales Officer at Warner Bros. Discovery. “We are leveraging the power of our world-class content, platforms and partnerships to drive how the market works now — and for years to come.”
The company also said that Ryan Gould will lead a new digital team that will set the strategic direction for assets including Max, discovery plus, WBD streaming and CNN digital. The group will also oversee advanced advertising, programmatic sales and data strategy.
Laura Galietta will continue to lead Integrated Advertising Sales Marketing across all WBD digital and linear platforms and genres; Robert Voltaggio will continue to lead Advertising Sales Revenue, Planning & Operations, for all U.S. Networks and digital platforms, portfolio management, sales support, commercial operations, and direct response; and Andrea Zapata will continue to lead Ad Sales Research, Measurement, Data, and Insights for the company’s portfolio of linear and digital brands.
Zapata will also oversee marketplace intelligence, category and client insights, as well as outcome-focused research for advertisers. In addition, she will be responsible for WBD Ad Sales data strategy for the company’s data-driven linear, addressable and convergence solutions.
