DISCB Discovery Inc

By Joe Flint 

The dean of television ad salesmen is retiring.

Joe Abruzzese, president of advertising sales for Discovery Communications, is stepping down from his post at the end of 2016, bringing an end to more than four decades of selling commercials for some of the biggest broadcast and cable companies in the industry.

In announcing his retirement, Discovery Chief Executive David Zaslav called Mr. Abruzzese the "gold standard" and added that he created "fantastic value for Discovery and our shareholders."

Before joining Discovery 14 years ago, Mr. Abruzzese headed sales for the CBS broadcast network. When he left CBS for Discovery in 2002, the move made waves in the industry. Cable was still seen by many on Madison Avenue as second class compared with broadcast. By hiring someone of Mr. Abruzzese's stature away from CBS, Discovery was sending a message that cable was tired of being undervalued by media buyers. Mr. Abruzzese also spent many years at NBC selling sports advertising.

Always sharply dressed and never a hair out of place, 68-year-old Mr. Abruzzese has a dashing presence and was very visible around the industry's main events. He was well-known for his strong relationships with marketers across the country.

"I am lucky to have found my way into this wonderful business more than 45 years ago, and to have worked for the best media companies in the world," Mr. Abruzzese said in a statement.

"I've loved this industry from the moment I set foot in 30 Rock many years ago and still love it today," he said, referring to NBC's headquarters at Rockefeller Center.

Succeeding Mr. Abruzzese to oversee the company's U.S. ad sales will be Ben Price, a senior Discovery sales executive who has been with the cable programmer for 27 years.

Write to Joe Flint at joe.flint@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 25, 2016 12:38 ET (16:38 GMT)

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