Warner Bros. Discovery is moving forward with a new advertising sales strategy starting Monday. Under this new structure, the company’s entire portfolio of brands — which includes lifestyle, entertainment, sports, news and streaming — will now be under a single point of client contact for advertisers.
“Over the past year, we have been listening to our clients and partners and have seen firsthand what is delivering real value for them and great performance for us. This new structure will allow us to deliver what matters most for all — creating a single and seamless interface into the full world of WBD,” Jon Steinlauf, chief U.S. advertising sales officer for Warner Bros. Discovery, said in a statement. “We are leveraging the power of our world-class content, platforms and partnerships to drive how the market works now — and for years to come.”
Marybeth Strobel and Greg Regis will lead these new agency-focused teams and are set to be responsible for sales across the company’s portfolio. As for the holding companies, Publicis, GroupM and Horizon Media accounts will go to Regis, while Omnicom, Magna and Dentsu will be led by Strobel.
This ad shift has also led to a bit of a reorganization for the company. Jon Diament and his team will be responsible for WBD’s sports portfolio, which consists of over 100 clients that are partners of the NBA, NCAA, MLB and NHL. He will also serve as the ad sales contact for internal shareholders, which include WBD sports leadership and the general manager of Bleacher Report.
Ryan Gould will lead the digital team in a newly created role that oversees Max, discovery+, WBD Stream and CNN digital. He will serve as the ad sales contact for WBD’s internal streaming and direct-to-consumer leadership stakeholders.
Sheereen Russell will be responsible for the newly developed client partnerships team, which will work closely with WBD divisions that include theatrical, distribution, gaming and licensing. She will also continue to lead the inclusive ad sales solutions team, a team that focuses supporting brands seeking diverse audiences.
As for Laura Galietta, Robert Voltaggio and Andrea Zapata, they will continue to lead their current divisions. Galietta is the head of integrated advertising sales marketing across WBD’s digital and linear platforms and specializes in offering multi-platform solutions. Voltaggio is the head of advertising sales revenue, planning and operations for all U.S. networks and digital platforms. His team also offers portfolio management, sales support and commercial operations for advertisers. Finally, Zapata will continue to lead ad sales research, measurement, data and insights and will continue to oversee marketplace intelligence, category and client insights and outcome-focused research for advertisers
This ad restructuring is the latest unifying move in the wake of WarnerMedia’s merger with Discovery Inc. Earlier this year, the streaming service formerly known as HBO Max rebranded to Max, indicating the official combining of the streamers HBO Max and discovery+.
