NBC News Digital Group Adds to Ad Sales Staff

Johnson, Robins, Damiano to represent NBCNews.com and other sites

By Jon Lafayette -- Broadcasting & Cable, 5/8/2013 11:02:59 AM

NBC News Digital Group has added three senior executives to its sales team, the company said.

Eric Johnson was named senior VP, sales, marketing. He'd previously been VP, client solutions for USA Today and USA Weekend at Gannett. Johnson will report to Peter Naylor, executive VP in charge of sales for the NBC News Digital Group.

Joy Robins and Joe Damiano have been named senior directors, advertising sales. Robins had been national VP, digital ad sales for the BBC. Damiano had been VP of West Coast ad sales for TheStreet. Both report to Brian Matthews, senior VP, digital advertising sales.

The NBC News Digital Group is taking over sales responsibility for NBC News' Web properties from MSN after the acquisition of the MSNBC Digital Network from Microsoft last year. It represents a portfolio of sites reaching 73 million visitors per month.

"We're excited to welcome Eric, Joy and Joe to the team as we build out our sales organization to support the world-class digital offerings of the NBC News Digital Group," said Naylor in a statement. "As we take over full sales responsibility from MSN in the coming months, we'll be able to focus on serving our clients with innovative, strategic programs that leverage the breadth of our products and the world-class brands within the portfolio."