Jo Ann Ross, First Woman to Lead Broadcast TV Ad Sales, Plans to Exit (EXCLUSIVE)
23.04.2024 - 19:47
/ variety.com
Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Jo Ann Ross, the first woman to run a broadcast TV network’s ad-sales efforts and one of the last senior ad-sales executives in the TV industry to hold direct relationships with advertisers when primetime broadcast programs were seen as the primary venue for Madison Avenue’s dollars, is leaving the industry, stepping down from her role as chairman of Paramount Global‘s ad sales division at the end of April. Ross had already stepped back from day to day duties, ceding that role to John Halley, who was named president of ad sales for the company in 2022.
But her relationships with key sponsors were seen as valuable, as were the ties many of her senior executives had with media agencies and marketing executives. She has stayed on at Paramount in a key advisory role.
“Jo Ann has steered our advertising business from one milestone to the next. She oversaw the successful integration and evolution of our combined ad sales organization in the midst of the pandemic.
She was also instrumental in reimagining our Upfront last year, a format that others have tried to replicate,” said Bob Bakish, Paramount’s CEO, in a memo issued Tuesday. “More recently, Jo Ann was essential in our efforts to deliver a historic Super Bowl LVIII that set a record for viewership and gross ad revenue, topping off an impressive roster of storied Super Bowls since joining CBS in 1992.” Ross has been a trailblazer in the TV industry, taking over ad sales for the former CBS Corp.
after the departure of Joe Abruzzese in 2002, when he exited to join Discovery Communications. During her tenure, she formed one of the most durable ad-sales teams in TV, with executives like Chris Simon, John Bogusz, Linda Rene and Joe Mina staying
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