• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, August 4, 2003

The sudden departure of Gene DeWitt as president of the Syndicated Television Network Association is raising eyebrows on Madison Avenue, the very sector the advertising trade group was intended to instill confidence with. The move is the latest bump in the short and tumultuous life of the SNTA and comes just as the trade group was starting to win points with media buyers and planners who lauded the New York-based syndication showcase the SNTA hosted in February, as an alternative to the annual NATPE boondoggle.

The latest hiccup comes just a year-and-a-half after the SNTA let go another former Madison Avenue heavyweight, Allison Bodenmann, who was recruited from the top network buying post at Jordan, McGrath, Case & Taylor. Like Bodenmann, DeWitt who owned his own media shop before selling it to Publicis, came with strong ad industry credentials and an understanding of what makes advertisers and agency execs tick.

"You've got to scratch you head," said a top agency exec. "By all accounts it was a job well done."

Others agreed, but some questioned the need for the trade group altogether, noting that it provided little information that buyers and planners at the major syndication shops didn't already have.

"When the market is strong we buy them and pay high increases. When the market is weak, we pay less for them. It's just another form of television as far as we're concerned," explained one.

"I think what they've been trying to do is make syndication a planning component, but if anything, we've been moving away from that. People are looking at reaching a target and then we put together the proper pieces of television or other media that best reach that target," added Rino Scanzoni, president of the broadcast division of Mediaedge:cia. "To us, syndication is just another form of television. We don't buy syndication as syndication any more than we buy cable as cable. We buy specific cable networks and specific shows on specific cable networks."

The SNTA turmoil reflects the difficulty media companies have when operating within highly competitive sales environments. In fact, the Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau had a great deal of difficulty finding a successor to former president Joe Ostrow, before finally recruiting Sean Cunningham from Universal McCann. Dissention among the CAB's search committee forced Ostrow to stay on several months past his planned retirement.

Similar infighting and the highly competitive nature of the Hollywood studios were also cited as probable reasons for DeWitt's departure. The colorful and forceful ad exec reportedly operated with more autonomy and independence than some of the members would have liked.

SNTA board members were not available for comment and when reached, DeWitt declined to comment on the reasons for his departure. However, he did tell MediaPost he is proud of the work he did during his brief tenure, noting that syndication increased its share of the national TV advertising marketplace for the first time in recent memory during his stint.

"My leaving SNTA should not reflect on syndication as a medium," he said. "It's a terrific medium that offers important options for national advertisers. I stand behind it."

As for a successor, likely candidates would come from the same high-profile media buying backgrounds that DeWitt and Bodenmann came from.

"Whoever they recruit, they should do it fast and regain stability as quickly as possible," said a top syndication buyer.