MTVN Elevates Jeff Lucas

MTV Networks has handed Jeff Lucas a major promotion, naming the TV ad sales veteran head of sales for its Music and Entertainment Groups. The new post adds oversight of ad sales and marketing for MTVN’s Music & Logo Group––a unit that includes the flagship network as well as VH1, CMT and Logo––to Lucas’ collection of entertainment nets (Comedy Central, Spike TV and TV Land).Sean Moran, who had overseen sales at the music unit, will assume a new role under Lucas as evp for MTV, VH1 and Logo 360 brand sales. Lucas will fill out the rest of his sales roster in the coming weeks.He reports to Rich Eigendorff, chief operating officer, MTVN, with additional reporting to Van Toffler, president of MTVN Music & Logo Group, and Doug Herzog, president of MTVN Entertainment Group. Lucas’ absorption of the music sales business alters a structure that was first put into place in February 2007. At that time, the entertainment cluster was entrusted to Lucas; then Moran was granted oversight of the music-oriented nets, and longtime Nickelodeon sales chief Jim Perry was named head of sales for the MTVN Kids & Family Group.Perry remains the point man at Kids & Family, which operates on a radically different calendar and enjoys a unique client base. “This move addresses the evolving marketplace and puts us in the best possible position to meet the changing needs of our advertisers and agency partners,” Eigendorff said Tuesday, by way of announcing Lucas’ promotion. “Jeff’s smart approach meets clients’ needs at the corporate, planning and buying levels, and we want to systematically apply that thinking across our teen and adult-focused brands.”Eigendorff went on to say that he was pleased that Lucas would be leading the charge during the 2011-12 upfront season and beyond. During this summer’s bazaar, MTVN boosted its dollar volume by anywhere from 15-20 percent over the 2009-10 upfront, as clients rushed to buy time on hits like Jersey Shore and across Nickelodeon.Lucas joined MTVN in May 2005 as svp of Comedy Central ad sales and marketing. Before that, he served as president and head of sales, marketing and cross-platform initiatives for NBC Universal’s cable group, including USA Network, Bravo, Sci Fi Channel (now Syfy), Trio and NewsWorld International. Earlier, Lucas held a succession of roles at the NBC Television Network, including vp of Olympic sales and marketing; vp, daytime/late-night/teen/all-night sales and director of prime-time special program sales.

Convergent TV

MTVN Elevates Jeff Lucas

Anthony Crupi

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Anthony Crupi