What is being billed by The E.W. Scripps Co. as a “next-generation national news network” has expanded its New York-based sales and distribution team by hiring a VP of Sales and appointing a new VP of strategic partnerships.
Taking the roles, respectively, at Newsy are Ken Ripley and Stephen Strongas.
Ripley will manage Newsy’s internal sales force and relationships with brands and agencies in growing its share of advertising spending in the lucrative streaming video and cable ecosystems, Scripps says.
He comes aboard after serving most recently as VP/Ad Sales for AnchorFree, where he positioned the security app’s users to marketers both nationally and internationally.
Ripley previously launched and led sales divisions for media companies including DirectTV, TiVo, Current TV, Sony Pictures Television and Discovery Communications.
Strong joined Newsy in 2015 as Director of Publisher Development and was promoted to VP/Revenue in 2016. In his new role, he will focus on developing deeper relationships with Newsy’s partners across distribution and advertising technology.
Strong also has held a variety of roles in publisher development and operations at AOL and Viacom.
Newsy is a wholly owned E.W. Scripps Co. subsidiary, led by CEO Blake Sabatinelli. He says these hires bolster the network’s strong sales organization as it continues its expansion onto cable and over-the-top television systems.
