Further Fusion: Comcast Combining Net Affil Sales Teams

Comcast is gearing up to consolidate its network affiliate sales operations, with the MSO expected to name former HRTV pres Bill Bridgen and E! Nets svp, affil relations Brad Fox as the heads of the new unit. Bridgen and Fox would be headquartered in Philly and report to programming czar Jeff Shell. Comcast refused comment Mon. The move mirrors how Comcast consolidated its network ad sales in Sept when it tapped former E! exec Dave Cassaro to head ad sales for E!, G4, PBS Kids Sprout and all of the MSO’s programming nets. It’s not clear whether the new structure will result in job losses for individual nets’ affil sales teams, but there was no major upheaval following the ad sales consolidation. Comcast would retain east and west Coast affil sales offices. The company has been increasingly uniting its nets under the Comcast umbrella, and it’s expected to add even more networks to its portfolio through its Sony/MGM deal.