YES Network Lays Off Ad Sales Dir Wagner Amid Slow Market

By John Ourand, Staff Writer

In the midst of the toughest ad market in generations, YES Network laid off one of its most senior ad sales execs, LISA WAGNER, late last month. The move to lay off the ad sales director at the country's biggest RSN, which carries one of sports' most marketable brands, is symbolic of an ad sales market that has slowed for all RSNs. By all accounts, the local ad sales market for RSNs is moving later than ever, with many advertisers still not committing to full-season sales. The domestic auto and financial categories, in particular, have been especially slow this year, based on interviews conducted with several RSN executives over the past few weeks. Wagner was hired in January '04 and before joining YES had spent 21 years in sales at WPIX-CW in N.Y.