NEW YORK—With one month until the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, NBCUniversal has announced that it has officially sold out of its Olympic inventory and that it set a new Winter Games ad-sales record with more advertisers investing in the upcoming Games (Feb. 6-22) than ever before.

Milan Cortina 2026 is part of what the company is calling its "Legendary February" programming that also includes the Super Bowl (Feb. 8) and the NBA All-Star Game.(Feb. 15). The trifecta has generated extraordinary demand from advertisers leading to sell out across all three tentpole moments, the company reported.

"With the resurgence of the Olympic movement, our strongest Sports Upfront in history, the early sellout of Super Bowl LX and the remarkable return of the NBA, NBCUniversal has solidified itself as a sports powerhouse and brands have taken notice,” said Mark Marshall, chairman, Global Advertising and Partnerships, NBCUniversal. “Our partners have not only seen the power of the NBC Sports portfolio, but also the incredible results our robust sports programming delivers, which is why our company now sits in its strongest position ever for a Winter Games and is kicking off 2026 officially sold out of all our Legendary February programming."

NBCU said that following the massive success of the 2024 Paris Olympics, brands were more eager than ever to commit to the Milan Cortina Games, with more than 100 new advertisers. As a result, the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics produced the highest linear and digital revenue in Winter Games history.

Over 85% of brand partners are investing in Milan Cortina digitally and advertiser adoption of Peacock’s ad innovations has grown 31% from Paris 2024 to Milan Cortina. Additionally, nearly 60 advertisers have invested in unique marketing elements, up 174% from Beijing 2022. More than a dozen brands are investing in sponsorships to offer more live sports viewing to fans, NBCU said, up 75% from Paris 2024.

Peter Lazarus, executive vice president NBC Sports and Olympics, Advertising and Partnerships, added: “The upcoming Winter Games, surrounded by Super Bowl LX and NBA All-Star Weekend, will captivate a highly engaged and passionate audience at scale in a way that no other media company can for advertisers. For the first time in our company's history, we have seen such unprecedented demand that we are officially sold out of our inventory this far in advance of a Games. We are excited to once again deliver to fans a world-class viewing experience while providing brands with the powerful halo effect the Olympics has to offer.”

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BALTIMORE—Sinclair has named Billy Robbins vice president of station sales operations, a newly created role for the broadcast group.

Robbins will help lead the day-to-day sales efforts of AMP Sales and Marketing Solutions, the company’s ad-sales unit, across Sinclair’s broadcast stations to drive growth, improve efficiency and streamline operations. He will report to Sinclair senior vice president and chief revenue officer Ryan Moore.

“Billy is a proven leader with a deep understanding of our station operations and a clear track record of delivering results,” Moore said. “His ability to align teams, streamline processes and drive performance will be instrumental as we continue evolving AMP Sales and Marketing Solutions to meet our clients’ needs. I’m confident Billy will help take our sales operations to the next level.”

Robbins most recently served as vice president and general manager of Sinclair’s Baltimore stations, WBFF/WNUV/EBFF. He joined Sinclair in 2003 as general sales manager in Baltimore, before being elevated to station manager and then vice president and general manager in 2021.

“I’m honored to step into this new role and support the incredible work happening across our station sales teams,” Robbins said. “Having spent much of my career at Sinclair, I’m excited to help shape the next phase of growth, collaboration and innovation across our markets.”

Robbins earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing management from Baruch College in New York City.

More information is available on the broadcaster’s website.

NEW YORK—Charter’s Spectrum Reach advertising sales division has promoted Dan Callahan to senior vice president and chief revenue officer. He succeeds Jason Brown who was named executive vice president of Spectrum Reach earlier this year.

In the new role Callahan will be responsible for all revenue generation activities at Spectrum Reach. He will continue to report to Brown and is based in New York City.

Callahan joined Spectrum Reach in 2023 as group vice president of national advertising sales, overseeing traditional, streaming, addressable, programmatic, political, unreserved and client direct channels. 

"Dan's commitment to enhancing the next generation of advertising capabilities has been instrumental in driving revenue growth within the evolving landscape," said Brown. "His strong focus on collaboration and innovation will play a vital role in advancing our data-driven, highly targeted advertising strategies for clients.”

Prior to joining Spectrum Reach, Callahan spent nearly a decade at Fox Networks Group where he held multiple senior advertising sales positions. In his most recent role as senior vice president of data strategy and sales innovation, he was responsible for developing cross-screen audience-based sales strategies and go-to-market materials to enhance advertiser results. Previously he held various positions at Fox News Digital Media including director of programmatic sales. Callahan holds a bachelor’s degree from Wake Forest University.

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Despite widespread cord cutting that has driven some operators out of the video business, the country’s largest independent advertising digital and linear rep firm, Viamedia has announced that it has become the first U.S. ad sales firm to represent more than 100 video service providers.

The milestone follows a year of aggressive expansion, when the company started representing 31 new video service providers.

“It’s a remarkable achievement when you consider so many operators are dropping video,” said David Solomon, President and CEO of Viamedia. “Today, local advertising is not just a revenue stream, it is the voice of the community and provides our political infrastructure to connect with voters. This is a testament to our capabilities and the need for smarter, more efficient advertising strategies. Our innovative AdTech solutions empower providers, advertisers and communities alike.”

Viamedia reported that a key driver of its growth has been Parrot ADS, a platform that enables seamless regional ad insertions for MVPDs. Over the past year, Parrot delivered over 240 million impressions, with projections exceeding 500 million impressions for 2025. This solution allows providers to seamlessly match targeted ads across both linear TV and streaming, optimizing ad monetization at an unprecedented scale.

Viamedia also reported that it has strengthened its ad sales capabilities for digital and streaming, forging partnerships with major platforms like Willow. By integrating its advanced programmatic AdTech, Viamedia is delivering greater targeting precision, efficiency and revenue growth for streaming providers, further bridging the gap between traditional and digital advertising.

For more information, please visit https://viamediatv.com.

NEW YORK—Spectrum Reach, the advertising sales business of Charter Communications, is celebrating the fifth anniversary of its nationwide small business initiative Pay It Forward that provides small businesses with free advertising.

With this year’s program, Spectrum Reach will invest more than $3.8 million in free TV advertising for 255 eligible small businesses. The company reported that over the past five years, it has invested more than $50 million.

Small business owners interested in participating in this year’s program can apply at www.spectrumreachpayitforward.com.

“Helping small businesses connect with their customers is at the heart of what we do,” said Michael Guth, senior vice president of marketing for Spectrum Reach. “As we launch the fifth year of Pay It Forward, we are as dedicated as ever to providing even more local entrepreneurs with the resources and support they need to succeed. By investing in their growth, we are not only helping small businesses flourish but also making the communities they support stronger.”

Each local entrepreneur selected to participate in Pay It Forward will receive a free advertising campaign worth up to $15,000, including live and streaming TV, a custom-produced 30-second commercial, expert marketing consultation services and mentoring and educational resources.

Additionally, Pay It Forward participants will be invited to take advantage of Spectrum Reach-sponsored marketing events held throughout the country. These include events with local chambers of commerce, webinars and networking opportunities with other entrepreneurs and with various partners, division reported.

Since launching Pay It Forward in 2021, Spectrum Reach has invested over $50 million in advertising and resources to help more than 2,250 small businesses across 40 markets. The program has helped boost exposure and revenue for a wide variety of small businesses, from coffee shops, childcare facilities and bakeries to law firms, neighborhood pharmacies and barbecue joints. More than half of the businesses that participated in Pay It Forward as first-time TV advertisers have continued to use television advertising, based on the success of their initial free campaign, Spectrum reported.

Spectrum also provided statements from several of the program’s participants.

“Our Pay It Forward grant played a key role in helping us get more senior and disabled adults out of the house and back to living life,” said Patricia McCreary, founder and CEO of Margaret’s Place Adult Recreation and Wellness Center, an adult day care and recreation facility in Kansas City, Mo. “Not only did our free commercial help increase our revenue, but we saw a 35% increase in adult participants for our program, helping spread the word about Margaret’s Place and all the love we have to offer our community.”

Michelle Cadore, owner of DA SPOT NYC, a boutique and creative hub that provides space for designers and small businesses, said her Pay It Forward ad campaign had a tangible impact on boosting DA SPOT NYC’s brand recognition in Brooklyn, NY, where her business is located.

“Through Pay It Forward, Spectrum Reach gave us an incredible platform to expand our audience with a heavily concentrated seven-week TV advertising campaign during the holiday season – our most crucial time of year,” Cadore said. “The commercial aired across major networks, significantly increasing our visibility and credibility. As a result, we saw a 91% increase in sales from December 2023 to December 2024, making it our strongest December in five years. Customers walked in excited, saying they discovered us through the ad.”

Spectrum also highlighted some of the partners who have contributed to Pay It Forward’s success nationally.

One of them is Vera Jean Media, a social media company focused on empowering brands to amplify their digital presence with creative, strategic storytelling. Last year, Vera Jean Media helped Pay It Forward participants expand their social media presence.

“Vera Jean Media is proud to partner with Spectrum Reach’s Pay It Forward program, an initiative that has provided invaluable support to small businesses looking to scale,” said Jourdan Guyton, founder, and CEO of Vera Jean Media. “Throughout our partnership, we’ve seen firsthand how access to strategic marketing and business resources can be a game-changer for entrepreneurs. This year, we’re excited to expand our impact by helping even more businesses share their stories, reach new audiences, and increase their revenue as they take the next step in their growth journey.”

Another partner is World Wide Technology, a St. Louis-based global technology solutions provider whose ongoing sponsorship of Pay It Forward helped provide grants for up to 16 St. Louis-area small businesses to participate in the program in 2024. The company has continued its sponsorship for 2025 and will host events, training and networking opportunities for small businesses at its St. Louis campus.

“Our collaboration with Spectrum Reach highlights our investments in the communities we serve and brings to life our core values,” said Javon Coleman, Diverse Services Leader at WWT. “The Pay it Forward initiative directly aligns with our organization’s commitment to supporting these communities.”

To apply for the 2025 Pay It Forward program, businesses must be legally registered to operate within a designated market area served by Spectrum Reach. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the year. More information is available at 2025 Pay It Forward.

CINCINNATI—The E.W. Scripps Company has tapped veteran sales executive Tony Lamerato to lead all revenue strategy and business development efforts across Scripps’ more than 60 local television stations as vice president of local media sales, effective Feb. 17.

Lamerato will be responsible for driving revenue-generating initiatives across Scripps’ local advertising markets—from monetizing Scripps’ sports inventory to helping its local sales teams foster business growth in their communities.

Lamerato, who joined Scripps in 2016, most recently served as vice president of sports revenue and sponsorships. In this role, he led the revenue and sponsorship strategy for Scripps Sports, helping to model and value sports rights and advertising opportunities for Scripps’ local sports partnerships, including the Big Sky Conference and the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights, Florida Panthers and Utah Hockey Club. He also worked closely with divisions across Scripps to advance the sales process.

Prior to his role with Scripps Sports, he served as senior director of revenue strategy for Scripps’ Local Media division. He was previously director of sales for WXYZ and WMYD—Scripps’ ABC and independent stations in Detroit. Before joining Scripps, Lamerato was local sales manager at Fox Sports Detroit.

“Tony is a proven sales leader who goes the extra mile to deliver the best results for both our Scripps teams and our advertisers,” said Brian Norris, Scripps chief revenue officer. “He’ll be an important part of our success as Scripps continues to create meaningful connections with consumers and advertisers on every platform.”

Lamerato is vice chairman of the board of directors for Diversified Members Credit Union and also serves on the board of directors for the Michigan Association of Broadcasters.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and sports management from Aquinas College.

STAMFORD, Conn.—Charter Communications' Spectrum has announced that veteran advertising executive David Kline, who is currently executive vice president at Charter and president of Spectrum Reach, will retire in May.

The company also announced that Kline will be succeeded in May by Jason Brown, Spectrum Reach’s current senior vice president and chief revenue officer. The two executives will work closely together over the next months to ensure a seamless transition.

Kline is a well-known industry figure who has been involved in a host of innovations in the ad and ad tech space during his long 46-year career that have helped shape the advertising landscape across traditional, digital and streaming platforms.

As an executive at Charter, Cablevision (now Altice USA), Ensequence and Visible World (now FreeWheel), he spearheaded the launches of many industry firsts, including linear household addressability, interactive TV applications at scale, and data-infused media campaigns using automation and multi-screen deterministic attribution.

Other innovations include deployment of programmatic advertising across political ads in the 2024 election cycle and the re-selling of local inventory from some of the largest streaming services inside Spectrum’s footprint. Additionally, Spectrum Reach has modernized its total ad infrastructure and platforms to transact media campaigns in impressions, as well as traditional ratings across all platforms.

Since Kline joined the Company in 2015, Spectrum Reach has dramatically grown its advertising business into a nearly $2 billion annual P&L business providing solutions for local, regional and national advertisers to deliver effective, addressable and programmatic campaigns across multiple platforms, Charter reported.

"David is an industry pioneer whose visionary leadership and relentless dedication have been instrumental in transforming Spectrum Reach into an advertising powerhouse,” said Rich DiGeronimo, Charter’s president, Product and Technology. “His contributions continue to drive our success, and his strong relationships have helped us set new standards in and for the industry. He leaves a lasting legacy, and we wish him the absolute best in his well-deserved retirement."

When Kline retires in May, Brown will be responsible for all advertising sales, marketing, product and technology operations for Spectrum Reach. The Reach organization operates in 36 states and 91 markets, with nearly 3,000 employees across the country, providing customized advertising solutions for over 23,000 local, regional and national clients.

“Jason’s deep experience, forward-looking mindset and demonstrated ability to drive revenue growth in the dynamic advertising landscape will be instrumental as Spectrum Reach continues shaping the future of advertising on streaming and linear TV,” added DiGeronimo, to whom Brown will report. “Jason will be an invaluable asset to drive Spectrum Reach to create new growth opportunities and to remain the provider of choice by delivering data-driven, highly targeted and customized advertising solutions for our clients."

Brown joined Spectrum Reach in 2023 and brings nearly three decades of experience in the advertising sales space. Most recently, he served as senior vice president, advertising sales at DirecTV Advertising, where he oversaw all revenue lines for DirecTV and DirecTV Stream products. Prior to the relaunch of DirecTV Advertising, he led sales efforts for WarnerMedia’s addressable business as senior vice president, addressable, local, and political, and was chief revenue officer for Xandr, the advertising and analytics division of AT&T.

Before Xandr, Mr. Brown served as senior vice president, national and local sales for DirecTV from 2012-2019. For the decade prior, he held various executive leadership roles in the media and sales industry, innovating marketplace models for networks in industries such as cinema and digital place-based media. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Skidmore College in New York.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo.—Dish Network has appointed Tom Fochetta senior vice president of Dish Media, the advertising and sales division of Dish, where he will be responsible for leading the media sales organization and strategy. 

He will also work closely with the executive team to enhance media sales innovation and efficiencies, bring new solutions to market and expand the team’s capabilities and market reach.

“We are thrilled to welcome Tom Fochetta to the Dish Media team,” said Gary Schanman, executive vice president and group president, Dish Video Services. “His extensive experience in advanced ad sales at Samsung, Amazon and Google and proven track record of success and innovation make him ideal to lead our exemplary media sales team and accelerate our company’s migration into more impression-based advertising sales. Tom is the ultimate choice to drive us into the future and help us set and execute our vision of a fully converged, omnichannel and data-driven advertising ecosystem.”

Fochetta brings over 20 years of leadership experience in the advertising and media industry. Prior to joining Dish Media, Fochetta was senior vice president of North American sales and operations for Samsung Ads, building their connected TV business from the ground up into a leading industry powerhouse. Tom was responsible for driving revenue growth, expanding commercial partnerships, and overseeing all ad sales strategy. 

“I am excited to join Dish Media and contribute to its continued success,” said Fochetta. “I look forward to working with the talented team and leveraging my experience to drive growth to the existing robust portfolio of innovative ad sales technology.”

IRVING, Texas—Nexstar Media Group has announced the appointment of Dan Lanzano as senior vice president of national advertising sales. 

In this newly created position, Lanzano will oversee national advertising sales across all of Nexstar’s national media portfolio, including The CW Network, NewsNation, Antenna TV, Rewind TV, and The Hill. He will also manage agency and client relationships for Nexstar’s sports, direct response and paid programming businesses. Based in New York City, Lanzano will report directly to Todd Braverman, Nexstar Advertising executive vice president and head of national sales.

Nexstar reported that Lanzano is a proven leader in advertising sales with a long track record of growing revenue, increasing market share, forging strategic client relationships and building new business. He most recently served as vice president of advertising sales for Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), where he was responsible for the company’s monetization efforts across its entire portfolio of media properties, including entertainment, lifestyle, sports, news, and MAX Streaming/Digital assets. 

Throughout his career, Lanzano has successfully built deep agency and client partnerships for both core advertising channels and emerging media platforms and products. Prior to his tenure at WBD, Lanzano held several advertising sales positions of increasing responsibility at Turner/Warner Media.

“I’m extremely pleased to add Dan to Nexstar’s Advertising Sales leadership team,” said  Braverman. “I’m confident that his innovative thinking and broad experience will help us drive strategic partnerships, maximize our revenue streams, and lead the growth of Nexstar’s advertising business.”

HUNT VALLEY, Md.—Sinclair has named Ryan Moore senior vice president and chief revenue officer with responsibility for oversight of sales and revenue growth strategies.

Moore will oversee sales for all of Sinclair’s television stations, networks, including Tennis Channel and Compulse, as well as its marketing technology and managed services company. Moore was previously the company’s senior vice president and chief revenue officer of Sports and Digital.

“Ryan consistently demonstrates exceptional leadership, innovative thinking and a results-oriented approach to driving business growth. As we continue to evolve our cross-platform sales organization, Ryan will play a critical role in our next stage of growth, and we are excited to expand his scope of responsibilities across the company,” said Rob Weisbord, chief operating officer and president of Local Media.

Joining Sinclair in 2013, Moore has held several executive sales leadership positions, including vice president of Digital Sales, senior director of Digital Sales and director of National Digital Sales. Prior to joining Sinclair, Moore held sales leadership roles with Fisher Communications and Belo.

“As we navigate the dynamic landscape of the media industry, I am committed to leading our incredible teams in driving transformative results, fostering strategic partnerships, and maximizing revenue streams,” said Moore. “As Sinclair continues to redefine the future of media, we will continue to deliver unparalleled value to our audience and clients alike.” 

More information is available on the company’s website.  

NEW YORK—CBS Stations has announced that five executives have been promoted to nearly created sales leadership roles. As part of the promotions, Aaron Inman and Susie Toma were named vice presidents of local sales; Tim Bennett and Morgan Spatafore were promoted to vice presidents, agency partnership and Theo Berenson was elevated to vice president, integrated marketing. 

Matt Naber and Robert Breen, who in August of this year were named co-heads of advertising sales and operations at CBS Stations, reported that the five will be part of a leadership team responsible for helping them oversee local ad revenue, sales strategies and operations across CBS’ 27 local stations, as well as Paramount’s local digital and streaming revenue.

“As we move forward with reimagining our sales organization to most effectively meet the evolving needs of our advertisers and the marketplace, we are pleased to have this opportunity to promote from within and elevate highly accomplished leaders from our local stations and national sales offices,” Naber said. “Robert and I are excited to have Aaron, Susie, Tim, Morgan and Theo take on larger responsibilities in service to our entire group.”

“I know firsthand how terrific Aaron, Susie, Tim, Morgan and Theo have been in their roles at stations and our national offices,” Breen added. “Matt and I look forward to having them join our leadership team – a group that represents the best of the best and is poised to inspire innovation, drive results and help us reach new heights of success in all of our markets.”

Aaron Inman and Susie Toma, currently the vice presidents of sales at CBS Colorado (KCNC-TV) and CBS Pittsburgh (KDKA-TV and WPKD-TV), respectively, have been named vice presidents of local sales at CBS Stations. In these newly created roles, Toma will collaborate with and supervise the local sales teams at the CBS-owned stations in the eastern half of the country, while Inman will have the same leadership role with stations in the western states.

Tim Bennett and Morgan Spatafore have been promoted to serve in the new roles of vice president of agency partnerships at CBS Stations. Bennett, who currently serves as vice president of the station group’s national sales office in Atlanta, and Spatafore, who is the sales manager at the group’s national sales office in New York, will spearhead CBS Stations’ interactions with key agencies and stakeholders in order to enhance and expand the relationships with these key partners.

Theo Berenson has been promoted to vice president of integrated marketing at CBS Stations. Currently the director of content development at CBS Boston (WBZ-TV and WSBK-TV), Berenson will be responsible for leading a soon-to-be-formed integrated marketing team that will provide support for all sales marketing initiatives across the CBS Stations group.

Inman, Toma, Bennett, Spatafore and Berenson are joining a CBS Stations sales leadership team that also includes Stephen Barr, senior vice president of nontraditional revenue; Patti Cohen, senior vice president of research; Brendan Murnane, senior vice president of local digital sales; Nicole Elie, vice president of political sales; Melanie Pierce, vice president of traffic operations; and Matt Morris, vice president of sales enablement and data advancement.

NEW YORK—Veteran CBS executives Matt Naber and Robert Breen have been named co-heads of advertising sales and operations at CBS Stations and will report to Wendy McMahon, president and co-head of CBS News and Stations. 

They will be responsible for leading local ad revenue, sales strategies and operations across CBS’ 27 local stations, as well as Paramount’s local digital and streaming revenue.

Naber and Breen will succeed Julio Marenghi, who has announced his plans to leave CBS as of Oct. 1. Marenghi has served as CBS Stations’ head of sales for nearly 11 of his 14 years with the Company.

“With Matt and Robert’s leadership, we are excited to accelerate the unification and evolution of our teams across the country to lead multi-platform local sales for our stations as well as the Paramount portfolio,” McMahon said, “Through these changes, we will more directly align our people, processes and resources with the evolving needs of our advertisers and the marketplace.”

Naber is an 11-year CBS veteran who most recently served as vice president and head of local digital and streaming ad sales for CBS Stations and Paramount Global. He has played a pivotal role in shaping the Company’s local digital and streaming ad sales division, accelerating revenue growth and business operations. In addition, Naber has developed and implemented innovative strategies and a client-centric approach to position CBS Stations and Paramount Global for elevated success in the dynamic local media landscape.

Prior to joining CBS, Naber worked in Chicago at Starcom Worldwide on Bank of America, Merrill Lynch and U.S. Trust. He also led production and livestreaming local sports coverage at The Big Ten Network.

Naber was born and raised in Grosse Pointe, Mich. and attended Indiana University. During his time at IU, he served an impactful internship at CBS Chicago (WBBM-TV) that instilled a deep passion for CBS and remains a driving force in his career. Outside of work, Naber can be found spending time outside with his wife and daughter or on a mountain with friends and family.

Breen assumes his new leadership role after having served as vice president and director of sales at CBS Chicago (WBBM-TV, the CBS News Chicago streaming channel and CBSChicago.com) since 2018. In this role, he has been instrumental in driving revenue growth by implementing innovative sales initiatives and data-driven strategies. Breen’s commitment to challenging the status quo has led to transformative changes both at WBBM and within CBS Stations. He has optimized operations and systems, leading to elevated station performance and overall success for the station group. He has played a leading role in the creation and implementation of future-forward processes that prioritize both clients and sellers’ needs. Through his culture-centric leadership, Breen has fostered a work environment that encourages creativity, innovation and collaboration, resulting in higher employee satisfaction and increased productivity.

Before joining CBS, Breen spent more than 12 years at WGN-TV in Chicago, including 10 years as sales manager. His background also includes sales positions at WPIX-TV in New York, Telerep, and Petry and Blair Television.

Breen is an alumnus of Iona University. He finds joy in giving back to the community by coaching youth ice hockey. He and his wife and two teenage children live in Chicago.

CINCINNATI—The E.W. Scripps Company has hired Brian Norris to serve as its new chief revenue officer. Norris will join Scripps on Aug. 28.

Norris is a seasoned media industry leader with 25 years of experience driving television revenue and developing multi-platform advertising sales strategies, Scripps said.

“Brian has a depth of experience driving revenue through linear, addressable and digital media,” said Lisa Knutson, Scripps’ chief operating officer. “His understanding of advanced advertising models and performance media, combined with his commitment to developing high-performing and diverse teams, makes him an ideal leader to advance Scripps’ revenue strategy as it continues to expand its share of advertising revenue in the local, national and CTV marketplaces.”

Norris comes to Scripps from NBCUniversal, where he served as senior vice president of its recently launched SMB growth division. In this role, he led the sales team responsible for leveraging NBCUniversal’s suite of premium content and advanced advertising capabilities to assist small and medium-sized businesses scale beyond social media. Prior to that, Norris built NBCUniversal’s first business development and sales team dedicated to the direct-to-consumer and mid-market category as senior vice president of direct-to-scale and commerce partnerships.

Before joining NBCUniversal, Norris led media sales for Dish Network and Sling TV. He joined DISH in 2008 to help launch Dish Media Sales’ flagship office in New York. Earlier in his career, he held sales roles with Viacom and Lifetime Entertainment Services.

In addition to his tenured footprint in the media industry, Norris also serves as an adjunct professor at Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business in New York and is on the Dean’s Advisory Council for The College of Fine Arts and Communication at Towson University.

“Scripps has a long history of entrepreneurship and evolving to meet the needs of media consumers,” said Norris. “I am energized to join this team and passionate about continuing to challenge the status quo across the media landscape and taking advantage of industry disruption to better serve our advertisers and the consumers they engage across Scripps’ strong portfolio of media brands and advertising platforms.”

He currently serves as vice chairman of the board of the International Radio and Television Society (IRTS) Foundation – a New York-based nonprofit dedicated to building future leaders and increasing diversity in the media industry. He was inducted into the IRTS Foundation’s Hall of Mentorship in 2022. Additionally, Norris volunteers his time as an advisory board member for the nonprofit GuiDANCE Autism.

Norris holds a bachelor’s degree in science from Towson University in Towson, Maryland, and an Executive Master of Business Administration from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, and IE Business School in Madrid, Spain. He will be based in New York.

SAN FRANCISCO—WideOrbit has announced that Toni Coonce has been appointed chief revenue officer at the company, which is a leading provider of broadcast TV and radio inventory and revenue workflow management solutions. 

In addition to serving as CRO, Toni will continue in her role as executive vice president of sales, managing all revenue and coordinating between clients and managing directors across all verticals.

Toni joined WideOrbit in 2006 as a TV account executive, rising through the ranks to become director of TV sales in 2016, vice president of TV sales in 2018, and most recently, executive vice president of sales in 2021. Prior to WideOrbit, Toni held a variety of positions with Marketron. Toni has proven herself as an exceptional sales executive, working with many of WideOrbit’s largest clients.

“Toni’s strong leadership skills, hard work and dedication make a huge, positive impact on WideOrbit," said Eric Mathewson, WideOrbit founder and CEO. “Those attributes, combined with her consistent ability to forge strong relationships with clients, make her promotion to Chief Revenue officer both well-earned and well deserved.” 

In addition to her responsibilities at WideOrbit, Toni serves on the board of the International Radio and Television Society Foundation (IRTS), which is dedicated to building future leaders and increasing diversity in the media industry. Toni also supports and participates with TVB’s NEXT Women program. Underwritten by WideOrbit, the program helps identify, prepare and advocate for women in the local broadcast television industry as they aspire to leadership roles.

“I’m excited for the opportunity to collaborate across teams and verticals within WideOrbit,” said Coonce. “My focus will remain on sales, on growing revenue, and most importantly, on nurturing the client relationships that are at the heart of everything we do.”

Marketron has added a local over-the-air television ad revenue component to its free, easy-to-use tool that previously was focused on enabling media sellers to forecast OTA radio and third-party digital revenue, the company said today.

Updates project growth rates for 2023, 2034 and 2025 and leverage sourcing data from CIA Advisory Services, the Borrell-RAB digital benchmarking report for radio, eMarketer and Pew Research. Benchmarking data was refreshed as well, Marketron said.

The Marketron ROI Calculator works for any size company. Users simply plug in their 2022 revenue numbers. Users that do not currently sell can enter a baseline number that is provided, it said. 

The calculator updates assist broadcast and media organizations forecast revenue from ad sales more accurately, it said. 

With the tool, these organizations can better understand how they stack up against similarly sized businesses regarding third-party digital sales, it said.

The Marketron ROI Calculator is available online.

IRVING, Texas—Nexstar Media Group has appointed Michael Strober to the newly created position of executive vice president and chief revenue officer where he will be responsible for leading what Nexstar is calling the reimagination and execution of a new advertising sales and go-to-market strategy.

Nexstar reported that this newly created position will allow the company to more effectively leverage its sales efforts across its linear, digital, mobile and streaming platforms to deliver new levels of revenue growth. 

Strober will report to Nexstar’s chairman and CEO, and begin his new duties January 2, 2023.

“With the successful acquisitions of Tribune Media, Media General, The Hill, Best Reviews, and The CW Network, and the launch of our cable news network, NewsNation, Nexstar has become an inimitable diversified media company, offering both nationwide reach and unparalleled local activation to advertisers,” said Sook.  “Reimagining our sales strategy, our team of 1,500 sales personnel, and the management of our 40,000 advertiser relationships, will better align our sales efforts with the company we are today,  delivering next-generation, data-driven advertising solutions and greater value for our clients, with best-in-class sales technology making it easier for them to do business with us across all of our platforms.  Michael has led this type of sweeping change before, consulting with media clients on a variety of reinvention projects. His unique experience as an industry practitioner, paired with his role as a strategic advisor, makes Michael the perfect choice to lead the transformation of Nexstar’s sales efforts.”

Strober has more than 25 years of experience in advertising sales, client strategy, business transformation and thought leadership and has been a force in driving advertising innovation and building next-generation portfolio capabilities throughout his career, Nexstar said. 

Since 2019, he has served as founder and president of Topwater Advisory Group, a strategic consultancy focused on digital transformation for several of the industry’s top media and advertising technology companies. Strober specializes in helping companies navigate the changing advertising marketplace through a focus on ad tech, data strategy, operational alignment, organizational design, product marketing and revenue management, Nexstar reported. 

Prior to forming Topwater, Strober was an integral member of the leadership team that reinvented Turner Broadcasting’s advertising sales division by shifting its focus to a data-driven, insight led team targeting C-suite executives and decision-makers to drive revenue.  

From 2016 to 2019, Strober served as executive vice president, client strategy & ad innovation for Turner and was co-head of Turner Ignite, the company’s portfolio solutions division. During his tenure at Turner, Strober formed Turner’s Client Council and was a co-chair of Turner AdLab, an industry-wide initiative dedicated to improving the consumer advertising experience. Strober also served as a founding Board member of OpenAP and currently serves as a director for the advanced media analytics firm, datafuelX.

HAILEY, Idaho—Marketron has added new avails and priority rate card features to the Marketron REV sales growth platform for broadcast TV and radio sales professionals. 

The new features, which are now available for all REV clients, are crucial for TV and radio broadcasters when working with agency and local direct advertisers, Marketron said. 

These advancements help organizations eliminate manual data re-entry that can lead to errors, freeing up their teams to focus on revenue-generating activities.

"Having real-time information when responding to agency avails is critical to profitability," said Renee Ingenito, vice president of enterprise sales at Marketron. "Now, because the REV avails feature integrates with traffic management, sellers get access to real-time inventory that leads to more profitable orders. Plus, we're continuing to chip away at the 'swivel chair' effect sales teams often experience when bouncing between different technology platforms to convert an avail request to an order."

"What's more, the priority rate card feature saves sales teams so much time," Ingenito continued. "Streamlining and simplifying the sales process means the sales team can get back to selling, while exception reporting ensures proposals and orders meet set guidelines or have approval to move forward if they are out of bounds."

Built primarily for sellers who work with agencies, avails functionality saves time and significantly improves efficiency by allowing sales teams to use a single platform to respond to avail requests, build proposals, submit orders, access real-time inventory data, and perform post analysis, the company said. 

The priority rate card feature allows salespeople to reference real-time rates for different inventory types while simultaneously allowing managers to bypass the cumbersome process of setting rates manually, the company explained. Instead, REV automatically creates rate cards to ensure that the rates offered to advertisers account for demand and inventory sellout. With the priority rate card feature, managers can set the selling rules, the system automates the process, sellers can get their deals done, and management can review any exceptions to the rules. Managers can set different pricing strategies based on priority level of the inventory type. 

The avails and priority rate card features lay the foundation for broadcasters that are considering offering pay for performance (P4P) to their agency clients. P4P is a buy-sell transaction workflow wherein the broadcaster determines what the ratings will be for a spot, and the agency accepts that value. Broadcasters deliver on impressions as a combination of linear and digital. It focuses on getting the advertiser in front of the audience while eliminating costly makegood situations, the company reported. 

The avails and priority rate card features are integrated into the REV platform and come at no additional charge. REV platform users must have a traffic platform to view real-time available inventory, the company said. 

More information about Marketron and the company's products is available at www.marketron.com.

BURBANK, Calif.—Disney Advertising Sales has announced that it has sold out of ad inventory for the 94th Oscars telecast. 

The Academy and Disney Advertising Sales also reported that they brought together a broad range of sponsors, representing 14 categories for the show, which will be televised live on ABC on March 27. 

“With Hollywood’s most iconic night just around the corner, we’re honored to support the best and brightest in film in collaboration with our unrivaled roster of brand partners,” said Rita Ferro, president, Disney Advertising. “The Oscars pushes the boundaries of creativity and storytelling, and advertisers that tap into that cultural zeitgeist on the right screen at the right time are able to create the most impact across all categories and audiences.”

The sponsors for this year's show include companies in such categories as apparel, auto, beverage, consumer packaged goods, entertainment, financial services, healthcare, insurance, luxury spirits, media & entertainment, pharmaceutical, retail, streaming, technology and telecom.

The top tier of advertisers, which they call "proud sponsors" include: Crypto.com; Pfizer; Rolex and Verizon. 

Participating sponsors are: Amazon XCM; Anheuser-Busch (Michelob); Bacardi (Bombay Sapphire); Bank of America; Best Buy; Capital One; CBS Interactive (Paramount +); CNN+; Corona; Discovery+; Disney+; Eli Lilly; Geico; Google; Incyte; Kellogg; Kraft; Lionsgate; Lucid Motors; Macys; Mastercard; Meta; Peacock; Reckitt (Mucinex); Snapchat; State Farm; Stellantis; Subway and Walt Disney Studios, among others.

The company also announced that Disney Advertising’s Local offering, including Hulu, locked in a broad range of sponsors and categories by providing advertisers opportunities to reach audiences at the local and regional level. Many advertisers returned to leverage these local opportunities, including Mercedes Benz, Spectrum, Henkel, BMW and Lexus, to name a few, Disney reported. 

NEW YORK—In a notable example of how local TV stations are changing the way they sell local ads, the ABC Owned TV Stations have announced that they will use impressions-based selling and buying for local TV.

The shift to using impressions, which has long been the currency for digital sales, is an important shift away from using ratings as the basis for TV ad sales. 

The move means that digital and TV can be sold on the same footing, making it easier to craft cross-platform buys. 

In a statement on the adoption of impression-based selling and buying for local TV stations, Debra OConnell, president of networks at Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution at The Walt Disney Company noted: “Today, the ABC Owned Television Stations provide best in class content that serves our communities on a variety of video platforms, including linear, digital and OTT. Marketers with local strategies want to build multiplatform campaigns and need a common currency to do so effectively. Using an impressions-based currency to evaluate, sell and buy local broadcast video enables us to offer our advertisers full visibility into local audiences and extends the overall reach of their messaging across platforms. The ABC Owned Television Stations fully support the adoption of impressions as the currency for local broadcast TV.”

NEW YORK—Fox Corporation and Operative Media have come to terms on a partnership that will have Operative’s AOS cloud-native sales technology integrate with Fox’s portfolio of entertainment, sports and news. According to the announcement, this will make Fox the first multi-media organization to move linear ad sales to a single cloud system.

The AOS platform is a cloud-based sales management system. It will enable Fox to oversee client inventory across its portfolio and manage the entire advertising sales lifecycle across linear, digital and advanced audiences, Operatives says. 

The platform is also expected to boost Fox’s next-gen advertising capabilities like near-real-time ad creative substitution, automation of rate cards and ratings, optimization capabilities and enabling convergence of assets across all content verticals and platforms.

Operative and Fox partnered on the development of the AOS product suite, which supports new currencies, deeper targeting and flexibility.

“The new capabilities provided by Operative provide us with a modern platform that will underpin commercial offerings for clients across our linear and digital services,” said Paul Cheesbrough, chief technology officer and president of Digital at Fox. “The partnership with Operative, and the adaptability of their cloud-based platform, will help our sales teams lean into the future with new ways of working and brand-new advertising products for our valued client base.”

IRVING, Texas—The cost for advertising during popular TV shows on Nexstar stations will no longer be based on traditional TV ratings, but rather will be determined on a cost-per-impression model, Nexstar Media Group announced.

Having developed a new method with Comscore that provides audience measurement metrics across Nexstar’s broadcast, digital, mobile and streaming video platforms, advertisers will be able to use these impressions to garner more qualitative data about the audience, more accurately reflect the total number of people watching and are more comparable to metrics used by non-broadcast platforms.

Among the viewer details that this new system is able to reveal, per Nexstar, are household incomes, shopping preferences and brand loyalties. Advertisers can utilize this data to target their spending for maximum impact, including reaching customers as they prepare to make a purchase, Nexstar says.

“This transition is an important step in modernizing the way buyers and sellers conduct business to better reflect the trends in video-consumption and to ensure that all viewing audiences are being accurately counted,” said Steve Walsh, executive vice president of local services at Comscore.

“Our sales force will be able to talk to all advertisers—big or small, national or local—in an informed, fact-based manner about maximizing the reach and effectiveness of their spending across every available media channel and every viewer will be counted, no matter where or when they watch,” said Tim Busch, president of Nexstar Broadcasting. “In addition, advertisers will be able to universally target their customers regardless of the distribution platform and monitor the results through unduplicated audience measurement.”