• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, October 24, 2011

It’s turning out to be quite a day in the cable TV advertising sales business. Hours after it was confirmed that a top ad TV sales executive was leaving Turner Broadcasting System – Turner Entertainment Networks sales chief Linda Yaccarino – MediaPost has learned that Dave Cassaro is out as president of cable advertising sales at Comcast’s NBC Universal unit. Given the timing of the two departures, some sources are already speculating that the “new professional opportunity” Yaccarino is leaving Turner for is a top sales job at NBC Universal, possibly Cassaro’s former position, or a long-speculated-on new role that would be in charge of both NBC Universal’s cable networks and its flagship broadcast network, NBC.

A long-time Comcast cable network sales executive, Cassaro was named president of the consolidated Comcast and NBC cable networks division last year, after Comcast completed its acquisition of NBC Universal. His departure was unexpected and is surprising, because the NBCU cable nets are believed to have done a solid job during last summer’s upfront advertising sales marketplace.

Yaccarino’s departure as executive vice president-Chief Operating Officer of Turner Entertainment Ad Sales, meanwhile, was equally surprising, given her equally strong track record.