Jon Steinlauf, who navigated waves of corporate mergers in recent years en route to becoming head of U.S. ad sales at Warner Bros. Discovery, is leaving the company later this year.
The news was shared internally Friday by WBD Chief Revenue and Strategy Officer Bruce Campbell. (Read his memo below.)
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Steinlauf presided over nearly three dozen linear cable networks and also the advertising tier of Max. He had held the top ad post at Scripps Networks Interactive, which merged with Discovery in 2018. After becoming one of the few Scripps execs to take on a top role at Discovery, Steinlauf then ascended to the highest ad perch at WBD after the merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery in 2022. Steinlauf also previously worked at Turner and ESPN.
The departure follows the news that Kathleen Finch, a former colleague of Steinlauf’s at Scripps and Discovery who became Chairman and CEO of U.S. Networks at WBD, is also planning to depart.
WBD’s traditional TV business has come under intense pressure due to cord-cutting and other factors. The company last August booked a $9 billion write-down on the value of its cable networks, citing the loss of NBA rights starting in mid-2025. NBA telecasts have been a staple on TNT for nearly four decades.
Campbell called Steinlauf “one of the industry’s most respected and well-known ad sales executives and has had an incredible career here at WBD through the major mergers, transformations, and industry pivots. He’s been a critical part of our leadership at the company, and someone both [CEO David Zaslav] and I have come to rely on for many years.”
Here is Campbell’s full memo to staff:
All,
I have news to share that may come as a surprise to many of you. After over 30 years at WBD and its predecessor companies, Discovery, Scripps, and Turner, our Chief US Advertising Sales Officer Jon Steinlauf has decided to leave Warner Bros. Discovery later this year.
Jon is one of the industry’s most respected and well-known ad sales executives and has had an incredible career here at WBD through the major mergers, transformations, and industry pivots. He’s been a critical part of our leadership at the company, and someone both David and I have come to rely on for many years.
Jon became well known to us in 2018 when Discovery acquired Scripps Networks, where he was Scripps’ president of ad sales, and helped make HGTV and Food Network into some of the strongest brands in television. He then led the combined Scripps-Discovery sales organization, managing one of the most powerful advertising portfolios in all of cable. Jon pulled off a hat trick with the Discovery-WarnerMedia merger by creating the ad sales organization that WBD has today – a cash engine that drives such tremendous value for the company.
Jon also established the Max ad-supported sales business last year and led the team that is now delivering double- and triple-digit growth on that platform. He also integrated sports and digital sales into the broader sales structure to create the One WBD portfolio we now offer to all our agencies and clients.
We are very grateful for all Jon has done for us, and while supportive of his personal desire to seek other directions in his life and career, we will clearly miss him.
Jon asked me to share the following with you:
“I have had the privilege of representing this great portfolio of brands for the last 32 years – at Turner, Scripps, Discovery and now at WBD. I’m grateful for the opportunities that David Zaslav, Bruce Campbell, and other leaders have given to me. This is the right time to begin a new chapter both personally and professionally.
It is incredible to look back at my early years at ESPN, and the birth of cable, to see how the business has grown and transformed. I have had the good fortune to have always worked with, and for, the best companies, brands, and people. And this includes all of you. I couldn’t be prouder and more appreciative of this ad sales team and what we accomplished together in both the prosperous and challenging times”.
Jon will continue in his current role while we begin our search for WBD’s next ad sales leader. So, nothing changes in the near term. And in typical Jon fashion – he’s pushing hard to achieve our sales objectives in this important fourth quarter.
We will take time to honor Jon’s legacy here when the time comes, but for now, please join me in congratulating him on his next chapter.
Bruce