DirecTV will combine its existing ad-sales team with account representatives from former ad-sales vendor Twentieth Television, bringing the entire operation in-house.
The newly combined team will operate out of the direct-broadcast satellite provider’s offices in Los Angeles, New York and Chicago, responsible for attracting new national advertisers and working with internal departments to create new partnerships and revenue sources.
Senior vice president of advertising sales Bob Riordan will lead the group, based out of New York and reporting to DirecTV Entertainment executive VP Eric Shanks.
Riordan will oversee all aspects of ad sales including traditional media sales, advanced services applications, sports (such as the DBS provider’s NFL Sunday Ticket out-of-market National Football League package), pricing, planning and research (including the company’s relationship with Nielsen Media Research).
VP of ad sales Alison Pascola will report to Riordan and focus on ad-sales marketing and research. She and her team will also develop and present promotional opportunities directly to clients and their advertising agencies.
And the following executives will join DirecTV from Twentieth Television and report to Riordan: Rich Forester, VP, new-business development, based in New York; Jamie Calandruccio, VP, planning and operations, based in New York; Steve Fish, VP, Midwest region, based in Chicago; and J.C. Kawalec, VP, Western region, based in Los Angeles.
“Fully in-sourcing our ad-sales team enables DirecTV to implement an aggressive new advertising-sales strategy with more control and better efficiency," Shanks said in a prepared statement.
"Twentieth Television, combined with our existing internal ad-sales team, executed extraordinary year-over-year revenue growth through traditional media and DirecTV's advanced interactive-services platform,” he added. “We are confident that our newly combined team will not only keep this momentum going but create even more unique opportunities for the DirecTV ad-sales division.”
