$10 Billion Dollar Woman

NBCUuniversal ad sales chief Linda Yaccarino reigned supreme in the upfronts again this year, but she’s just getting started.

- Jason Lynch

When the dust settled after this summer’s upfront negotiations concluded, it’s no surprise which ad sales chief had once again secured the biggest windfall. That would be Linda Yaccarino, chairman of advertising sales and client partnerships for NBC Universal, who wrapped upfront sales of close to $6.5 billion for her company’s portfolio of two broadcast networks, 15 cable networks and more than 50 digital properties.

As NBC reclaimed the 18-49 demo lead last season among broadcasters, Yaccarino leveraged buyer demand for shows like breakout drama This Is Us and resurgent Saturday Night Live to secure CPM upfront increases in the high single digits, while volume was up 8 percent across the company’s entire portfolio.

Factoring in the upfront business for NBC Universal’s three major sporting events in 2018—the Super Bowl, the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and Telemundo’s Hispanic language rights to the World Cup— that $6.5 billion figure inches close to $7 billion, according to sources (Yaccarino herself declines to confirm it). This year, she’ll oversee more than $10 billion in ad revenue for the company.

It’s another triumph for Yaccarino, who arrived at NBC Universal six years ago, after heading up ad sales for Turner. She initially was in charge of cable and digital sales, but within two years was elevated to head up all the cable and broadcast networks under a single portfolio—a then-revolutionary shake-up that was eventually adopted by almost all of her competitors.

The Long Island, N.Y., resident was in an understandably jubilant mood as she relaxed on a sofa in her midtown Manhattan office and reflected on this year’s upfront, her battles with digital advertisers and Nielsen, and why she’s “the most competitive person you’ll ever meet.”