GAC Media, the new family friendly media company headed by former Hallmark Channel boss Bill Abbott has hired two senior ad sales executives as it gets ready to relaunch the cable channels it acquired earlier this year.
Paul Brennan, most recently senior VP of ad sales at Sony Pictures Entertainment, was named senior VP of ad sales. Earlier in his career, he was an account executive at Hallmark Channel.
Elizabeth Santos was named director of pricing and planning. She had been director of pricing and inventory for a4 Media and was with Ion Media and Univision before that.
GAC Media acquired Great American Country from Discovery and the privately owned Ride TV. On Sept. 27, the cable channels will be renamed GAC Family and GAC Living.
The channels' family friendly focus should make them popular with media buyers. Prior to running Hallmark, Abbott was head of sales for Hallmark and before that for Fox Family.
The new ad sales execs will report to Kristen Roberts, one of the senior managers who followed Abbott from Hallmark Channel parent company Crown Family Media Networks. Roberts is now chief revenue officer and executive VP of programming for GAC Media.
“Paul and Elizabeth are seasoned executives who have proven track records for adapting and driving results as the media industry continues to rapidly change,” said Roberts. “I look forward to their immediate impact on our business as they deliver innovative and impactful marketing solutions for our partners.”
