McQuilken Out As Cartoon Network Restructures Ad Team

In the midst of a languishing upfront sales season, Cartoon Network is reorganizing its advertising sales organization. Longtime Cartoon Network advertising executive Kim McQuilken will leave the company at the end of the upfront season.

McQuilken had been at Cartoon Network for 10 years, and at Turner Entertainment for 15 years overall. He leaves as executive vice president, Cartoon Network ad sales, marketing and enterprises--a position he was promoted to last year, overseeing all advertising, licensing, merchandising and home video sales areas.

No replacement has been named. Cartoon Network's John O'Hara, senior vice president of ad sales, Phyllis Ehrlich, senior vice president of promotions and marketing, John Friend, senior vice president of Cartoon Network Enterprises, and Thalia Doherty, vice president and national sales manager, will now report directly to David Levy, president of Turner Entertainment ad sales and marketing and president of Turner Sports.

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Based in Atlanta, McQuilken did a lot of traveling to New York in recent years. Now McQuilken wants to spend more time in Atlanta with his family, and has started up a sporting marketing agency. Before Turner, McQuilken had been involved in a number of sports marketing positions, as well as doing On-Air sports broadcasting for ESPN, WTBS, and ABC Radio. All this stemmed from his NFL professional athletic days as a quarterback with the Washington Redskins and Atlanta Falcons.

Turner Broadcasting hasn't said so, but industry executives say that a new senior Cartoon Network executive ad position will most likely move to New York in the coming months.

As with much of the TV upfront advertising market, the kids' TV part of the upfront continues to drag on, with few price increases and little overall revenue change versus a year ago. Cartoon Network has sold about 30 percent to 40 percent of its kids' upfront inventory so far.

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