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The business news publisher Bloomberg Media has hired digital media executive Christine Cook as its chief revenue officer, Adweek can exclusively report.
Cook fills a role left vacant since 2019, following the departure of Keith A. Grossman and before him Paul Caine. Cook begins the role March 20.
“Having spent most of my career supporting journalism with advertising and innovation, I am inspired by Bloomberg Media’s commitment to global business journalism, which is matched by its commitment to technology and innovation in reaching its customers,” Cook said in a statement.
In the position, Cook will oversee advertising revenues across all Bloomberg Media platforms, including digital, digital video, linear TV, audio, events, custom content, print and programmatic revenues.
The four regional heads of advertising sales for Bloomberg Media will report into Cook, as will a not-yet-hired executive for its Bloomberg Live Experiences role.
Cook will report to Bloomberg Media chief commercial officer Stephen Colvin and work alongside the other global leads within the commercial team, including chief digital officer Julia Beizer, who manages the consumer subscription business.
“Bloomberg Media’s advertising revenue has continued to grow and our commitment to investing in top talent and leadership has remained a priority for the business,” Colvin said in a statement. “I’m looking forward to welcoming Christine to Bloomberg Media and am confident that her experience in creating a holistic sales approach and scaling our business will help accelerate this growth.”
Prior to joining Bloomberg Media, Cook served as the senior vice president, head of brand partnerships at WarnerMedia, and before that, she oversaw sales strategy for CNN Digital as its chief revenue officer.
Cook has also held sales and advertising roles at Flipboard, The New York Times and the Financial Times.
Swearing off open-market programmatic
Cook joins Bloomberg Media as the company records its tenth consecutive quarter of advertising revenue growth and eyes the milestone of 500,000 digital subscribers. The privately held company wouldn’t share whether it was profitable.
Last year, the company saw advertising revenues increase 15%, digital video revenue grow 22% and events revenue surge 46%. Overall, total revenue grew 16% in 2022.
Video revenue alone surpassed $100 million, and the company has prioritized its new series of premium video, recently rebranded as Bloomberg Originals, as a key growth area.
The company also discontinued its open-market programmatic advertising Jan. 1, as Adweek first reported.
The decision reflects a broader trend in the programmatic space, as premium publishers gravitate toward private and programmatic direct deals, which give them greater control over their inventory.
So far, the shift in strategy has positively affected its digital pricing, according to a person familiar with the business. The publisher only sold its remnant inventory on the open market, and it has now replaced those ads with house promotions, such as marketing for its new show Getting Warmer with Kal Penn.
On Tuesday, the editorial division of the company also announced a reshuffling of several senior staff, including the creation of a “this-just-in” news team, according to a memo editor-in-chief John Micklethwait sent to staff.
“You may ask why, when we are doing so well, we need to alter our system,” Micklethwait wrote. “The basic answer is that we can always be better. The media graveyard is full of companies who thought they could be market leaders forever.”
Correction: Adweek incorrectly reported that Christine Cook would be the first-ever chief revenue officer for Bloomberg Media. Instead, she is the first person to fill the role since 2019.
