CBS has added fuel to the speculation fire that Ten is set to split with ad sales partner Multi Channel Network (MCN).
According to The Australian Financial Review, big wigs from CBS recently held an informal roadshow with some senior media agency executives while its international president, Armando Nuñez, was in town – quite an interesting move considering MCN handles all of Ten’s ad sales.
A Network Ten spokesperson told B&T: “It’s business as usual and our focus continues to be on promoting the strength of our second half programming with advertisers and audiences.”
Meanwhile, an MCN spokesperson said the company “has a number of international partners who often visit Australia and meet with our teams and agency clients to provide updates on their businesses”.
“These are great opportunities for our partners to share their vision and reinforce the strength of their content,” the spokesperson said.
The AFR’s report comes shortly after MCN shed some of its workforce and discontinued a few of its developer contracts as part of an operational restructure.
It also comes after MCN’s leader of 15 years, Anthony Fitzgerald, departed the company, with the rumour mill suggesting he may have been pushed out rather than leaving on his own accord.
CBS is expected to make its intentions for Ten and MCN known next week when it holds a presentation for shareholders.
