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ViacomCBS confirms former Seven and Fox Sports exec as new sport sales director

Ten ViacomCBS has hired former Seven Network sales manager, Nick Bower, to a newly created role of sport sales director.

Bower brings over 20 years of experience in sport sales and was most recently SVP of partnerships at Football Marketing Asia in Singapore. He will report directly to Ten ViacomCBS national sales director, Lisa Squillace.

Squillace said Bower’s experience around football, in particular, makes him a good fit for the role, in which he will bring football’s “tribal audience” to life for advertisers and sponsors.

She said: “We are thrilled to have Nick join the team. He has made a career out of connecting brands to some of the biggest moments in sport and has been a successful leader in the commercialisation of major sports properties including Olympic Games, Formula 1, MotoGP, Australian Open Tennis, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, US Open Tennis, US Masters Golf, AFL, ARU and most recently the Asian Football Confederation.

“Nick’s extensive specialist knowledge complemented by his OTT and commercial football experience, highlights how we are shaping the future of football across 10, 10 Play and Paramount+. He will be responsible for leading the ideas and client opportunities across all three platforms to truly bring to life the tribal audience of football for advertises and sponsors.”

In May, ViacomCBS announced it had signed a five-year deal with the Australian Professional Leagues (APL) to broadcast the A-League and W-League across its free-to-air channels and also new streaming service Paramount+.

That agreement was followed by a June deal with Football Australia to broadcast matches played by Australia’s national football teams including the Socceroos and Matildas, outside of World Cup games, through to 2024.

Bower said he is looking forward to returning to the Australian market. “I could not be happier to come back to the Australian market and join 10 ViacomCBS. Rod and Lisa have built such a unified and engaged sales team it will be a privilege to be a part of it. Lisa has the strongest respect and leadership in market, it’s wonderful to join forces with her once again.

“With such a forward-thinking rights agreement, taking all rights on all platforms, 10 and Paramount+’s football offering is far beyond what’s been in the market before and something I know brands and fans alike will find incredibly compelling.”

Prior to his time at Football Marketing Asia, Bower was digital head of advertising sales for True Digital Group in Thailand. He also spent over three years as Fox Sports’ VP of ad sales and partnerships for APAC and the Middle East.

He was with Seven from 2008 through to 2016 in roles including sport sales executive, sponsorships manager and Sydney sport sales manager.

Bower, who will take up his new role from 1 September added: “We are at a very exciting moment in Australian football, and it will be an honour to stand in market with Football Australia and Australian Professional Leagues to tell the story of our incredible teams and athletes to our commercial partners.

“With a powerful combination of free to air broadcast, 10 Play and Paramount+, I’m genuinely excited for Ten ViacomCBS’ clients, partners and our many friends in the market to see our offering.

“I’m passionate about sport and firmly believe in the power of sports broadcasts to tell the athlete’s stories, engage fans and excite brands like no other platform out there.”

His hire follows the recent promotion of Liz Baldwin into a newly created role of senior vice president, head of streaming at ViacomCBS ANZ.

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