Turner boosts Levy's duties

Sales unit shuffles exec deck

By ALEX WEPRIN - BROADCASTING & CABLE, JOHN EGGERTON

Levy

David Levy, president of Turner's advertising sales and Turner Sports, is adding responsibility for the company's distribution sales unit Turner Network Sales.

"This new model consolidating oversight of our company's domestic revenue reflects the increasing convergence of the aims, interests and activity of advertisers and distributors, and the importance of sports to both," said Turner chairman Phil Kent, to whom Levy reports.

Concurrent with Levy's promotion, Coleman Breland, who had been exec VP of the distribution unit, will become chief operating officer, overseeing day-to-day operations ad reporting to Levy.

In addition, Andy Heller, who had been leading Turner Network Sales, has been named vice chairman of Turner Broadcasting System, reporting directly to Kent.

In an internal memo issued Tuesday morning, Kent said Heller would be transitioning over the next few weeks from president of domestic distribution to the new post, in which he will "pioneer a next-generation business model for our company and industry."

That new model is focused on putting content in front of people wherever they are, which will mean coordinating Turner's participation in TV Everywhere online program distribution initiative that is a priority for Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes.

According to Kent, Heller has been responsible for delivering "fully half our company's revenue," and those credentials demonstrate how important the cross-platform initiative is to the company's future.

(John Eggerton and Alex Weprin write for Daily Variety sister publication Broadcasting & Cable.)