MTV Nets Restructures Sales: McCarthy, Weinhouse Out

Viacom's MTV Networks has restructured its sales operations so that Lisa McCarthy and her No. 2 heading MTVN Brand Solutions, the cross-platform sales unit for the company, are leaving. Their positions have been eliminated, and the unit formerly known as Viacom Plus is being dissolved. Its functions will be placed elsewhere within MTVN's sales units.

The remaining nine staffers in the group, which was re-branded from Viacom Plus in February during an overall MTVN sales reorganization, are expected to be reassigned elsewhere within MTVN.

The second-in-command to McCarthy, who serves as executive vice president of Brand Solutions, is Marc Weinhouse.

An MTVN representative confirmed the restructuring.

The Brand Solutions operations--which has overseen sprawling deals with Procter & Gamble and Masterfoods--will be reassigned within MTVN's new cluster strategy of selling based on demographic synergies.

MTVN now runs sales divided by three clusters: Youth, which covers MTV and VH1 among other networks and is headed by Sean Moran; Entertainment, which includes Comedy Central and Spike and is overseen by Jeff Lucas; and Kids and Family, where Jim Perry heads the Nickelodeon operations.

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Viacom Plus has a long history under McCarthy, starting as the cross-platform selling operation for the "old Viacom," which was championed by Mel Karmazin and included CBS. Then it shifted to the "new Viacom" when CBS Corp. split off, although it continued to represent CBS properties in a joint agreement. Finally, it moved strictly to "new Viacom" when CBS pulled out of the arrangement.

Under the new structure at MTVN, a client that wants to make a Viacom Plus-style, multi-platform deal would likely have a point person within one of the three clusters, who would execute the deal in conjunction with other executives in the company.

A person familiar with the matter said the dismantling of Brand Solutions is not a surprise, given that the unit has not been a growth engine, and Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman has been looking to cut costs. (Other industry executives who know the high-profile McCarthy were taken aback.) The source said the P&G and Masterfoods deals were Brand Solutions' two largest accounts, and both--particularly P&G in the midst of an overall reassessment of its media planning--have been spending less with MTVN.

Dauman has shown an eagerness to trim costs since he took over a year ago, so much so that he has cited the inflated salaries of some executives as a reason for layoffs.

The MTVN representative had no comment.

There was some speculation among industry executives that McCarthy could wind up at Univision, having worked with its CEO Joe Uva at Turner some years ago. She also has a long-standing relationship with David Lawenda, the just-named president of ad sales at Univision, who joined the Spanish-language broadcaster from MTVN.

McCarthy did not return a call seeking comment Wednesday. Calls to Univision representatives were not immediately returned.

Other major media companies continue to operate Brand Solutions-type cross-platform operations, including CBS Connections and Disney/ABC Unlimited.

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