A top Warner Bros. Discovery ad sales exec has exited, and insiders say rumors are flying of layoffs
- One of Warner Bros. Discovery's senior ad salespeople, EVP Jim Keller, has left the company.
- Insiders are speculating more layoffs and organizational changes are on the way.
- The media giant is wrapping its ad sales upfront period, where sales have been soft across the industry.
Warner Bros. Discovery has parted ways with another top ad sales exec, and insiders are speculating that more layoffs and changes are on the way.
The latest to leave is Jim Keller, who as digital advertising EVP was one of the senior people tapped to lead WBD's new ad sales team — under chief US advertising sales officer Jon Steinlauf — that emerged from Discovery's 2022 acquisition of Warner Bros.
Keller, who oversaw sales for HBO Max, Discovery+, and other streaming and digital platforms, had joined Discovery in 2020 from Hulu, where he helped build its advertising business under Peter Naylor (who's now at Netflix). At WBD, Keller was tasked with bringing a digital and data-driven mindset to what had been a linear TV-driven company, as well as selling advertisers on its big new streaming bet, Max. He's active in the digital advertising world, serving on the boards of advanced TV advertising company OpenAP and trade group the Interactive Advertising Bureau.
Rumors also are flying among WBD insiders that more layoffs are coming as early as next week and that the company will undo its approach of selling networks and platforms in bundles, including a so-called "male bundle." The approach was designed to target audiences by grouping similar content together, but it felt antiquated to some insiders and advertisers, who had to talk to multiple salespeople in order to buy across WBD's portfolio. Some insiders expect WBD will shift to an approach where salespeople can sell across the portfolio, as other big media companies do.
WBD declined to comment.
WBD and its media conglomerate peers are having a challenging year as advertisers pull back spending and ratings for linear TV continue to decline. Among WBD properties, CNN has seen declines in ad revenue and advertiser clients, according to MediaRadar data. The cable network had a rocky time under former CEO Chris Licht, and news is a hard sell for advertisers generally.
It marks a second tough year for WBD — the company was formed when Discovery acquired WarnerMedia from AT&T in a deal that closed just ahead of the 2022 upfronts. Steinlauf in May told Insider that the fledgling company was ill-prepared in 2022 for the biggest sales period of the year and left money on the table. Advertisers also criticized WBD last year as too aggressive in seeking rate increases.
For this year's upfronts, Steinlauf's message was all about giving advertisers flexibility in how they buy TV ads.
WBD already reduced its ad sales staff by hundreds following the 2022 merger as CEO David Zaslav sought to slash costs to justify the union, and execs have called this a rebuilding year. Still, layoffs have continued to trickle out in 2023, including a round at the sports division.
Keller's exit is the latest of a few big WBD ad sales departures this year after Scott Kohn, EVP of national ad sales, and John Dailey, SVP of ad sales. The company is set to report quarterly earnings August 3.
This article was originally published on July 26 and has been updated.
Do you have a tip or information to share about WBD? Contact Lucia Moses at lmoses@businessinsider.com or at (917) 209-8549 (voice/text/Signal).
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