• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, September 8, 2010

Former Nickelodeon executive Ann Sarnoff has reunited with Herb Scannell at BBC's stateside operations. Sarnoff -- most recently of Dow Jones -- joins as COO, where she will oversee ad sales and affiliate relations at the BBC America network.  

Scannell, the ex-Nickelodeon head, took over as president of BBC Worldwide America in June, replacing Garth Ancier.

Among Sarnoff's other duties will be oversight of BBC.com's U.S. version and other digital operations. The executive spent 10 years at Viacom, where she headed consumer products at Nick and served as COO for VH1 and CMT. She also helped launch the TV Land and Noggin channels.

Scannell stated that Sarnoff is "one of the smartest businesspeople I've worked with and one of the most collaborative."

After Viacom, she was COO of the WNBA and moved to Dow Jones in 2006, where she was president of a ventures operation and the senior vice president of strategy.

Last week, Scannell hired Perry Simon, previously president of Viacom Productions, to the new post of general manager, channels -- responsible for growth strategy and creative direction, including programming, marketing and operations.

Scannell called Sarnoff and Simon a "perfect team" to realize BBC America's potential.