Fox Corp. Ad Sales Reorg Sees Handful Of Senior Exec Hires As Well As Layoffs Affecting A Handful Of Staffers

Fox Corp. has reorganized its ad sales, marketing and brand partnerships group, announcing several senior exec hires but also cuts of about 3% of the workforce in the unit.

In announcing what he called a “strategic realignment,” Jeff Collins, President of Advertising Sales, Marketing and Brand Partnerships Jeff Collins said it will help Fox better serve advertisers in a changing marketplace.

Along with select new additions to the team (alums of Warner Bros. Discovery, DirecTV and Motionworks), a handful of employees are departing the company, a person familiar with the realignment told Deadline.

“The new structure reimagines a modern-day sales organization,” Collins said. “It’s designed to strengthen our team’s ability to deliver next-level results for our advertisers by deepening their connection to our loyal audiences and the ‘can’t miss’ moments across Fox’s sports, news and entertainment properties.”

Collins, after presiding over sales efforts at Fox News, was promoted last January to the top overall sales role at Fox Corp.

The reshuffling bears some resemblance to a revamp put in place earlier this month by NBCUniversal, which also resulted in a handful of staff departures but includes staffing up in emerging business areas. Traditional media companies navigating the transition from linear to streaming have all contended with the challenge of how best to configure their staffs to meet the evolving moment.

Fox’s new structure, according to the official announcement, maintains team of sales execs dedicated to sports, news, entertainment and streaming flagship Tubi. At the same time, the company is moving to a cross-portfolio oriented model in areas focused on operations, technology and strategy. A more unified approach across those functions, the thinking goes, allows for more scalable ad products as well as advanced data and measurement capabilities. The result, Fox expects, will be “a simpler, more impactful experience for advertisers.”

Along with the reshuffling, multiple execs are joining in newly created positions and some current staffers are having their roles expanded roles.

The new additions include Ebony Moore, SVP, Client Services; Brian Schepis, SVP, Yield Management; Matthew Jamison, SVP, Ad Sales Strategy and Partnerships; and Kym Frank, SVP, Ad Sales Research.

Moore will lead Client Services, aiming to ensure high-level support for Fox clients. He had been SVP of Digital/Linear Planning, Account Service and Audience Based Targeting at Warner Bros. Discovery.

Schepis will develop yield management strategies across the Fox portfolio. He also joins from WBD, where he was VP, Digital Pricing and Inventory.

Moore and Schepis will report to Michael Falco, EVP, Revenue Management & Strategy. Falco is taking on an expanded role overseeing these two new positions as well as adding oversight of Fox News Media revenue management.

As part of the Business Strategy team, Jamison will work closely with Collins’ leadership team. He will help create Fox’s go-to-market ad sales strategy, develop innovative ad products and deepen Fox’s relationship with media partners. Jamison joins from DirecTV, where he was VP, Head of Partnerships.

Joining Jamison in expanded roles on the Strategy team are Fox’s SVP, Advanced Television Solutions Darren Sherriff and SVP, Business Development Chris Casscells.

Sherriff will oversee addressable television, data-driven linear and advanced currencies while Casscells will lead business development and spearhead new business initiatives across the Fox portfolio for the ad sales team.

Frank will lead a centralized, cross-platform research and measurement team developing attribution models and analytics that inform and shape future ad innovation. Previously, she held the post of Global Chief Experience Officer (Chief Research Officer) at Motionworks.