AMC Networks said that Scott Collins, the company’s president for advertising sales, will step down at the end of the month.
He will pursue new opportunities, AMC said.
Collins is the latest in a large number of senior ad executives leaving their post, either through retirement, consolidation or seeking opportunities in the digital world.
Related: 'Death of a Salesman' Playing Out at Networks
Last week, during AMC Networks’ second quarter earnings report, the company said that its domestic ad revenue was down 11.1% to $219 million. The company chalked up the decline to fewer episodes of its big shows The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead.
The company also announced that Collins had led the completion of its upfront sales, getting double-digit price increases for shows on AMC Network.
“Scott has played a critical role in driving ad sales over more than a decade at AMC Networks, including running our ad sales operation over the last three years,” said AMC Networks CEO Josh Sapan. “The growth of our company and ability to entertain and delight fans with original programming across five networks has been made possible in large part by our expanding relationships with leading advertisers, and Scott has been at the center of those relationships and conversations for more than a decade. We wish him all the best as he pursues his next adventure.”
Under Collins AMC also got into the data-driven audience targeting business with its proprietary technology called Aurora. The company said its advanced advertising business has tripled so far this year.
Collins joined AMC Networks in 2008 as senior VP of advertising for WE tv. He’s been president of advertising sales at the company since 2017. Earlier in his career he was with NBC Universal Cable, A+E Television Networks, Eyemark GroupW and Nielsen.
“It has been a privilege and honor to run an industry-leading ad sales organization across five vibrant and distinctive networks and brands,” said Collins. “I am proud of the accomplishments of our ad sales team and our colleagues from across the company to drive this business forward on the strength of our compelling content and the ability to use that content to deliver value for advertisers. As Don Draper said so eloquently, ‘Success comes from standing out, not fitting in.’ For more than a decade, AMC Networks has stood out in an expanding sea of original content, players and platforms, and am proud to have been a part of it.”
