Discovery's Ad Chief Joe Abruzzese Retires; Ben Price Ascends

Longtime Discovery Communications senior advertising executive Joe Abruzzese is retiring.

Abruzzese has been president of advertising sales for Discovery for 14 years. Previously, he was president of advertising sales at CBS for 11 years.

Ben Price, EVP of national ad sales, has been promoted to president of advertising sales at Discovery -- a 27-year Discovery veteran, who will report to Discovery Chief Commercial Officer Paul Guyardo.

Joining Discovery Communications in 2002, Abruzzese led all advertising sales for the company’s U.S. networks, including overseeing the rollout of the sales strategy for the launch of OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network.

David Zaslav, president/CEO of Discovery Communications, states that Abruzzese created a strong advertising sales organization as well as creating “fantastic value for Discovery and our shareholders.”

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At CBS, Abruzzese ran advertising sales for the company’s entertainment, sports, daytime, news and late-night divisions, as well as the UPN networks and CBS Internet sales.

While at CBS, he made key corporate sponsorships in launching the landmark reality-TV series “Survivor.” He began at CBS in 1980 and held senior ad posts for daytime, children’s, sports and late night, before leading network ad sales. Prior to  CBS, he worked at NBC for 10 years.

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