Changes Coming to Time Warner’s Turner

Linda Yaccarino led the way selling advertisements on Time Warner’s TBS, TNT and TruTV cable television networks as a colorful executive. Now she plans the leave the company that she has worked hard to promote over the years.

She plans to pursue new professional opportunities, according to the internal memo that was sent to Time Warner’s Turner TV employee unit by the President of Sales, Distribution and Sports, David Levy. Right now, it is planned for her to leave the company before her contract expires at the end of 2011.

Turner has set a broad strategy to persuade advertisers into considering TBS, TNT and TruTV as a substitute for broadcast television advertising. Throughout her time at Turner, she worked aggressively worked as a salesperson, and rarely heard the word “no” from her prospective clients. She has played a large part in the company’s current advertisement strategy. Her tenacity is seen when she convinces marketers to secure a late-night show with Conan O’Brien instead of spending the same money rivaling programs on CBS and NBC.

Yaccarino has several years of experience at Turner. She climbed the ladder after beginning her career with the company in 1993 in syndication ad sales. She rose to a sales manager in 1997 for Turner Entertainment Sales. She moved up even further, becoming the Senior Vice President of Sales in 1999. Nearly a decade later, reaching her highest point in the company as the Executive Vice President-Chief operating officer of Tuner Entertainment ad sales, marketing and acquisitions in 2009.

As she continued to move along in the company, she realized that she was running out of room to move higher. Mr. Levy, another Turner vet, oversees the advertisement sales for the company. Likewise, the network programming is tied to the Turner Entertainment Networks President, Steve Koonin.

Through the work of Yaccarino, Turner worked tirelessly by helping advertisers place commercials during pinnacle moments and themes of various television programs. Over the course of 18 months, Turner build new software, and brought on a team that tagged segments of shows and movies. This gave advertisers the foresight to know what part of the program to place their advertisement.

Her ability to make a sale in tough situations proved time and time again. Recently, Yaccarino urged Turner to locate product placements in reruns of broadcasted programs. She then had the company contact those brands to ask if they wanted to purchase a commercial slot during that designated episode rerun throughout the year.

In his memo to employee, Levy states that Yaccarino’s departure “creates an opportunity for us to review and refine the operating models for our Entertainment Ad Sales and Acquisitions functions.” For the time being, Program Acquisitions will report to Koonin, while Ad Sales report to Levy.