Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution has promoted David Decker to executive vice president of cable and SVOD sales, succeeding veteran Tom Cerio, who is retiring at the end of March.
Decker will report to Ken Werner, president of Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution, with Cerio serving in a sales consultant position.
Last year, Decker, who has been with Warner Bros. for a decade, was promoted to the newly created position of executive vice president of business and legal affairs, Warner Bros. Worldwide Television Distribution. Prior to that, he had been EVP of business and legal affairs for WBDTD and Telepictures Productions since 2009
“David is the perfect person to take the reins from Tommy and lead our cable and SVOD sales domestically,” said Jeffrey Schlesinger, president of Warner Bros. Worldwide Television Distribution. “Having worked on numerous innovative, complex and unusual licensing agreements on a global basis, David has a wide-ranging understanding of the distribution marketplace, its challenges and its opportunities.”
Before joining Warner Bros., Decker spent six years at Stone Stanley Entertainment. Prior to that, he served as a production attorney in the business affairs department at Buena Vista Television and as a contract attorney in the legal department of Paramount Pictures Network Television.
For his part, Cerio has helmed Warner Bros. cable domestic distribution since 2009.
“Tommy is one of the most talented, innovative and dare I say, well-liked, executives in the television industry,” said Schlesinger. “He has always been passionate about his deals as well as his relationships across the industry with clients, colleagues and competitors alike. He is an innovative deal-maker, a savvy strategist and above all an ethical and respected executive. While we will miss not having him run our cable and SVOD business on a daily basis, we are fortunate that he has agreed to let us to continue to tap into his expertise as a consultant.”
