[ad_1]
The CW’s longtime ad sales chief Rob Tuck is exiting the company.
Tuck discussed his retirement on social media on Tuesday; however, The CW and Nexstar didn’t immediately comment on his exit.
The longtime ad sales chief has been evp of national sales at The CW since 2008. In this role, he oversaw all of The CW’s multiplatform national sales efforts for all CW program offerings, including the network’s broadcast primetime, digital and OTT. He previously served as evp of sales and planning at the network, which launched in 2006.
Tuck is the latest exec to leave the company following Nexstar closing its acquisition of the network in October, taking a 75% ownership interest in The CW.
With the news, Tuck follows in the footsteps of his former boss, Mark Pedowitz, the network’s outgoing president and CEO, who Dennis Miller previously replaced.
In addition to several departures and layoffs at the company, other high-profile exits include Rick Haskins, president of streaming and chief branding officer; finance chief Mitch Nedick and veteran comms exec Paul Hewitt.
Pedowitz’s departure came at a particularly inopportune time, as The CW was getting ready to launch the majority of its fall lineup, with most of its series, including new shows Walker Independence and The Winchesters, kicking off in October.
During The CW’s 2022 upfront week presentation, Pedowitz acknowledged the company was going through a transition period with a possible sale looming. However, Nexstar’s name wasn’t officially attached to the deal at the time.
Following the upfront presentation, Tuck spoke with Adweek about Pedowitz acknowledging the acquisition, saying it was important for his then-boss to address the “elephant in the room.”
“If we just really tried to make it like nothing was happening with us—potentially—it would have raised a lot of questions. It was important for us to get out in front of it and address it right there,” Tuck said.
The former CW ad sales chief added, “For us, the way we have been conducting business is business as usual. And we’re going to continue to do that until that changes.”
Tuck’s departure is a substantial loss for The CW. Under the ad sales chief, the network was the first major upfront week presenter to close talks in 2022, earning strong commitments and 9-11% CPM (cost per thousand viewers reached) increases.
[ad_2]
Source link
