Scott Collins, AMC Networks’ Ad-Sales Chief, to Depart

By Brian Steinberg

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Scott Collins, who has had a hand in luring advertisers to top programs like “The Walking Dead,” is leaving the company.

Collins, who joined AMC Networks in 2008 and became its top ad-sales executive in 2017, is departing to pursue new opportunities.  A spokesman for AMC Networks declined to comment on who might replace him or whether Collins was leaving to work for a new employer.

Collins’ departure illustrates the growing instability around TV ad-sales in an era when marketers are spreading dollars around all kinds of new-tech video opportunities, including streaming and mobile video, and as much of the industry has begun to consolidate. Last month, AT&T’s WarnerMedia parted ways with longtime ad sales chief Donna Speciale. Media buyers believe the company’s new owner wants to install an executive in the role who is more familiar with AT&T leadership. New top ad-sales executives have also been placed at the new Fox Corporation after it sold the bulk of its studio and cable businesses to Walt Disney.

Among Collins’ achievements was fitting in a kiwi-green Hyundai Tucson into a few seasons of “The Walking Dead,” a program in which weaving brands into the action is notoriously difficult, because of its setting in a dystopian civilization where even bottled water is hard to obtain. Under his aegis, AMC Networks also found interesting ways to package the final season of “Mad Men,” and aligned marketers with last-minute sneak previews shown  at the end of programs like “Breaking Bad” or “Better Call Saul.”

“I am proud of the accomplishments of our ad sales team and our colleagues from across the company to drive this business forward on the strength of our compelling content and the ability to use that content to deliver value for advertisers. As Don Draper said so eloquently, ‘Success comes from standing out, not fitting in.’” Collins said in a prepared statement. “For more than a decade, AMC Networks has stood out in an expanding sea of original content, players and platforms, and I am proud to have been a part of it.”

In recent months, Collins was working on new offers that involved using consumer data to help advertisers better target their most likely customers. He led the formation of the company’s data- sales initiatives, selling and guaranteeing advanced audiences across TV and digital.

He joined joined AMC Networks in 2008 as senior vice president of advertising sales for WE tv, rising over the years to his current position. Earlier in his career, Collins was vice president of national ad sales for NBC Universal Cable Entertainment, where he oversaw ad sales activities for USA Network and the Sci-Fi Channel. Prior to NBCU, Collins was at A&E Television Networks, where he served as an account executive for A&E and The History Channel. His early career includes roles as a senior account executive at Eyemark Group W and as a research analyst for Nielsen Media Research.

“The growth of our company and ability to entertain and delight fans with original programming across five networks has been made possible in large part by our expanding relationships with leading advertisers, and Scott has been at the center of those relationships and conversations for more than a decade,” said AMC Networks CEO Josh Sapan, in a statement. “We wish him all the best as he pursues his next adventure.”