After more than three decades, Jon Steinlauf is exiting Warner Bros. Discovery.
Bruce Campbell, the company’s chief revenue and strategy officer, made the announcement Friday in a note to staff, saying it was the ad sales chief’s choice to leave.
“I have news to share that may come as a surprise to many of you,” Campbell said. “After over 30 years at WBD and its predecessor companies, Discovery, Scripps, and Turner, our Chief U.S. Advertising Sales Officer Jon Steinlauf has decided to leave Warner Bros. Discovery later this year.”
Steinlauf will stay on in the near term as the company searches for a new ad sales leader.
Steinlauf began at Scripps Networks in 2000, and just three years later, he was running its TV ad sales division. He previously worked in ad sales for TBS and TNT from 1992-2000 and at ESPN from 1985-89.
The ad industry veteran was named chief U.S. advertising sales officer for WBD’s combined company following the WarnerMedia-Discovery merger in 2022, having only five weeks to prepare for the company’s combined upfront week presentation at the time.
“I have had the privilege of representing this great portfolio of brands for the last 32 years—at Turner, Scripps, Discovery, and now at WBD,” Steinlauf said in a statement shared by Campbell. “I’m grateful for the opportunities that David Zaslav, Bruce Campbell, and other leaders have given to me. This is the right time to begin a new chapter both personally and professionally.”
Among his accolades, Steinlauf established the Max ad-supported sales business last year, leading a team that is delivering “double- and triple-digit growth on that platform,” according to Campbell. He also helped integrate sports and digital sales into the One WBD portfolio that’s now offered to agencies and WBD clients.
WBD closed its upfront in August, with CEO David Zaslav announcing strong sports pricing and double-digit volume growth led by increased demand from coverage of March Madness, Major League Baseball, NBA, the NHL, and the Stanley Cup finals. The CEO added that Max’s volume grew by almost 50%.
Like most companies this upfront season, WBD did not reveal specifics on changes in CPMs (cost per thousand viewers reached) or on total volume.
