After greater than three a long time, Jon Steinlauf is exiting Warner Bros. Discovery.
Bruce Campbell, the corporate’s chief income and technique officer, made the announcement Friday in a be aware to employees, saying it was the advert gross sales chief’s alternative to depart.
“I’ve information to share that will come as a shock to a lot of you,” Campbell stated. “After over 30 years at WBD and its predecessor firms, Discovery, Scripps, and Turner, our Chief U.S. Promoting Gross sales Officer Jon Steinlauf has determined to depart Warner Bros. Discovery later this yr.”
Steinlauf will keep on within the close to time period as the corporate searches for a brand new advert gross sales chief.
Steinlauf started at Scripps Networks in 2000, and simply three years later, he was working its TV advert gross sales division. He beforehand labored in advert gross sales for TBS and TNT from 1992-2000 and at ESPN from 1985-89.
The advert trade veteran was named chief U.S. promoting gross sales officer for WBD’s mixed firm following the WarnerMedia-Discovery merger in 2022, having solely 5 weeks to arrange for the corporate’s mixed upfront week presentation on the time.
“I’ve had the privilege of representing this nice portfolio of manufacturers for the final 32 years—at Turner, Scripps, Discovery, and now at WBD,” Steinlauf stated in a press release shared by Campbell. “I’m grateful for the alternatives that David Zaslav, Bruce Campbell, and different leaders have given to me. That is the fitting time to start a brand new chapter each personally and professionally.”
Amongst his accolades, Steinlauf established the Max ad-supported gross sales enterprise final yr, main a group that’s delivering “double- and triple-digit progress on that platform,” in response to Campbell. He additionally helped combine sports activities and digital gross sales into the One WBD portfolio that’s now supplied to companies and WBD purchasers.
WBD closed its upfront in August, with CEO David Zaslav asserting robust sports activities pricing and double-digit quantity progress led by elevated demand from protection of March Insanity, Main League Baseball, NBA, the NHL, and the Stanley Cup finals. The CEO added that Max’s quantity grew by virtually 50%.
Like most firms this upfront season, WBD didn’t reveal specifics on modifications in CPMs (price per thousand viewers reached) or on whole quantity.