There aren’t many rules when it comes to selling commercials, but among traditional media companies, one has long been honored: Before the new head of a sales division comes to work, the predecessor usually leaves.
Paramount Skydance is taking a different tack.
The company, led by entrepreneur David Ellison, last week unveiled an unorthodox new structure for its ad sales operations. Jay Askinasi (above, pictured, left), formerly a senior sales executive at Roku, will arrive November 3 as Paramount’s new chief revenue officer, taking responsibility for ad sales. In a counter-intuitive twist, John Halley (above, pictured, right), the current leader of the company’s ad sales, is expected to stay — though whether it’s for a short-term stint or a longer-term role could not be learned. Despite his new title, Askinasi was not given any authority over other areas of monetization, according to a person familiar with the company, including cash flows coming from syndication of content or distribution via cable and satellite partners or TV affiliates. Indeed, Paramount already has an executive who oversees distribution deals, a veteran named Ray Hopkins who has been with the conglomerate and its predecessors for years.
“Many folks are surprised” by the decision to have Halley and Askinasi work together, says one media buying executive. “The biggest question is what Halley’s role is,” and if he stays for a longer period. Halley could not be reached for direct comment, and Paramount declined to comment on the terms of his current contract.
Askinasi has only a limited tenure on the sales side of Madison Avenue’s negotiating table, but his ascension at the new Paramount puts a spotlight on massive shifts taking place in the world of TV advertising, which is increasingly reliant on digital sales rather than those tied to the traditional video screen. Spanish-language media giant TelevisaUnivison in June parted ways with ad-sales chief Donna Speciale — a TV-sales veteran who logged stints at Time Warner and Publicis Groupe — and recruited a new executive, Tim Natividad, who has worked for Roku, Amazon and TikTok. NBCUniversal has given increasing responsibility for its ad-sales efforts to Allison Levin, another former senior Roku sales executive.
Simply put, executives from digital outlets like Roku have more familiarity with new systems of advertising that more big marketers are tapping with greater regularity. People who watch traditional TV see the same national commercials in a “break,” no matter whether they view their favorite show in Des Moines or Gainesville. But streaming subscribers often see an array of commercials that make use of geography, demographics and consumer preferences to dovetail with the needs of the person watching.
With that in mind, even companies that own large TV networks need more people skilled at setting up deals for what is known as “programmatic” advertising, or commercial inventory often scooped up in seconds via algorithms that seek out specific types of consumers, such as first-time mothers or people poised to buy a new car.
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Halley has many of these skills. Recognized in the ad industry for his deep expertise in managing ad-tech operations, Halley has over years worked set up offerings that allowed advertisers to buy specific kinds of viewer impressions at Viacom, one of Paramount’s predecessor companies. He has experimented with technology that puts commercials aimed at specific consumers over CBS, which typically runs the type of ads everyone sees at once. In recent years, Halley fought for better tabulation of viewers of CBS and Paramount’s cable networks via their digital platforms, refusing for a time to sign a new deal with Nielsen and instead setting up a ratings contract with VideoAmp, a rival audience measurement service. And he has played an instrumental role in the development of a TV-industry council helping to vet new measurement offerings in hopes of setting up a wider array of vendors beyond Nielsen, whose fees are no small part of the media sector’s fixed costs.
Executives at Paramount, however, feel they need more. There is a belief inside Paramount that the bulk of the company’s ad sales will, over time, be sold from streaming platforms, which requires new ad-tech “built from the ground up,” according to the person familiar with the company. The old Paramount never had the resources to build such infrastructure, this person says, and will need to ramp up to battle players such as Amazon and Google if it is to have a viable business. At present, this person says Paramount’s most sizable streaming ad products are found on its free Pluto streaming service, which works on a different platform than Paramount+. In the company’s view, such piecemeal offerings can no longer stand.
Askinasi, who will report to both Paramount’s Ellison, the CEO, and to Jeff Shell, the president, is expected to work closely with both Cindy Holland, the former Netflix executive who now oversees all of Paramount’ streaming properties, and Dane Glasgow, a former Facebook executive tasked with developing innovative products across the company. Meanwhile, Halley remains a valuable navigator of the overall sales market and how to devise enticing offers to potential advertisers.
Still, five people familiar with TV ad sales and the Paramount sales team suggest the current arrangement is messy at best. Askanasi, who has worked as a senior executive for Publicis Groupe’s media buying operations, enjoys a reputation as a gregarious executive who is well-liked by clients and negotiating partners. Halley is viewed as having more academic disposition and is more enmeshed with operations and technology and is respected for his industry smarts. Which executive should clients approach? Which should various sales teams keep more in mind? What’s more, Askinasi takes over just as hundreds of Paramount employees are being laid off — including some, no doubt, in ad sales. He will run a department consisting of a staff he had no say in shaping.
Paramount must grapple with other challenges. Its cable properties are increasingly irrelevant in the market, and networks like Logo, MTV and TV Land have been starved of new content for years. Many of the networks have just one or two original programs and focus heavily on shows from Paramount’s library. Such stuff makes the task of selling CBS’ ad time — some of the most desirable in the business — more difficult, because ad-sales executives often must press clients to buy up cable volume to gain access to top tier stuff.
Paramount’s ad revenue has eroded gradually. Ad sales tied to streaming and those tied to traditional TV were both off 6% for the first half of the year, according to the company’s second-quarter earnings report. The company may see Askinasi as a new ambassador to parties ranging from Coca-Cola to Nielsen.
At least one of Halley’s policies is likely to stay in place. He raised eyebrows in 2022 when he decided to cancel Paramount’s annual May upfront showcase to advertisers. The event, long held at New York’s Carnegie Hall when it was backed by CBS, was viewed as a bellwether for the event, which kicks off an annual scrum to sell billions in TV ad time ahead of the networks’ next cycle of programming. In recent years, Paramount has held a series of bespoke meetings with different advertisers and agencies, changing elements of its presentation to suit the attendee., People familiar with the market say the meetings have been successful, and help Paramount strike longer-term deals with advertisers that are often more complex and worth more money than those they might have gained form traditional upfront outreach
Old-school upfront showcases have become “bombastic,” Halley told Variety earlier this year, and don’t allow for an exchange of ideas between media outlets and advertisers. “Being able to hear from our customers, what they need from us, is critical,” Halley said at the time. “It’s critical, and it can’t be replicated in the big show.”
Executives at Paramount agree, and the person familiar with the company suggests Halley’s strategy is likely to continue in 2026. At least one other outlet has begun to use a similar idea. In 2025, Roku, with ad sales headed by Askinasi, launched its own series of private meetings with advertisers.
From Variety US