Seth Winter, head of sales for NBC Sports, is stepping back into an advisory role at the network.
As executive VP, Winter managed to generate $1.23 billion in national ad sales for the Rio Olympics, up from $1 billion garnered by the London games.
He will continue as an advisor to NBC through 2018. During that period, the company will air another Super Bowl, another Olympics and broadcast the World Cup on its Telemundo Spanish language channel.
No replacement has been named as head of sports sales.
In an internal memo, Linda Yaccarino, chairman of ad sales at NBCU, said that like Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt, “Seth is going out on top after years of bringing home the gold.”
Winter has been head of sports sales for 11 years.
“Seth embodies the things we love about sports—from his competitiveness, to his drive, to his putting the team above everything else,” Yaccarino said. “Seth remains one of the toughest negotiators you’ll ever meet, and he’s never stopped looking to create opportunities for clients who wanted to be a part of the biggest moments in sports. At the same time, he’s always ready with a laugh or a quip to lighten the mood.”
Added Mark Lazarus, chairman of the NBC Sports Group: "Seth has been an invaluable part of NBC Sports. He has been a leader for how we present ourselves in the marketplace and work with our league and marketing partners. I have never worked with someone who loved his product, team, and clients more than Seth. We are all in his debt."
