• by David Kaplan , January 26, 2005

Emphasizing the need for media neutrality in its approach to ad sales, ESPN ABC Sports' Customer Marketing and Sales is adopting a new structure to unify sales teams across television, the Internet, radio, print, wireless, broadband, video games, and other businesses.

The change is being led by John Skipper, ESPN executive vice president for advertising sales, new media, and consumer products, along with Ed Erhardt, president, ESPN ABC Sports Customer Marketing and Sales. In addition, Patricia Betron has been named senior vice president of multimedia sales. In her new role, Betron joins Executive Vice Presidents Lou Koskovolis and Dave Rotem and Senior Vice President Michael Rooney in driving sales efforts across the full ESPN and ABC Sports portfolio with 13 teams, organized around the major agencies and geographic territories. Betron will be responsible for Chicago and Detroit offices, and the Midwest.

Under this new structure, each team--made up of those who previously focused on one area--will now be comprised of "multimedia specialists" who will complete integrated deals and account executives who will execute agreements for a specific medium at a customer's request, which will streamline the sales process, Erhardt said.

"We believe we are the first sales organization to adopt such a completely integrated approach," said Erhardt. "This reconfiguration will allow us to provide first-class service, bring even greater value to our customers with our market knowledge, and enhance our position as the leading sports marketing and media entity in the world."