New Business and Sports Sales Manager - WSOC TV

Location: NC-Charlotte

Job Title: New Business and Sports Sales Manager - WSOC TV

Position Overview

Join WSOC-TV, a leading local media brand within Cox Media Group, as our New Business and Sports Sales Manager. In this role, you’ll lead new-client acquisition, grow sports sponsorship and advertising revenue, and accelerate growth across television, streaming, and digital marketing platforms.

This player-coach role is built for an accomplished media sales leader who thrives on building a disciplined new-business engine, expanding digital and sports revenue, and developing a high-performing sales team. You’ll bring strong leadership along with expertise in linear television, sports programming and sponsorships, connected TV (CTV)/OTT, streaming video, audience-based advertising, and the broader digital marketing ecosystem.

You’ll guide Account Executives through the full sales cycle—from target-account identification and prospecting through discovery, solution design, presentation, negotiation, close, renewal, and expansion. You’ll set clear activity and pipeline expectations, strengthen the team’s digital and sports selling skills, package and sell sports programming, sponsorships, and events, and collaborate across WSOC-TV and Cox Media Group to deliver integrated, measurable marketing solutions for local and regional advertisers.

If you’re a competitive, collaborative sales leader ready to shape the future of local media sales in Charlotte while helping clients achieve meaningful business results, we’d love to hear from you.

At WSOC-TV, you’ll combine the strength of a trusted local media brand with the resources of Cox Media Group to help Charlotte-area businesses grow. This is a chance to lead with impact, build something meaningful, and grow your career with a team that values results, collaboration, and community.

- Sell with powerful assets. Bring clients trusted local news, sports programming, streaming, and digital solutions that reach audiences across the region.

- Own the strategy. Shape the new-business and sports sales approach, build your team, and see the direct impact of your leadership on revenue growth.

- Be part of a dynamic market. Work in Charlotte’s growing business community and passionate sports culture, with opportunities to connect brands with the fans and communities they want to reach.

- Collaborate with talented teams. Partner with News, Sports, Creative Services, Digital Operations, and Traffic to deliver creative, high-impact solutions.

- Grow your career. Develop as a leader within Cox Media Group, with opportunities to expand your expertise across television, streaming, and digital media.

How You'll Make an Impact

- Build a focused, accountable sales team that consistently generates qualified new business opportunities and advances them through the pipeline.

- Achieve or exceed new-business, digital revenue, total revenue, client retention, and market-share goals.

- Achieve or exceed sports revenue and sponsorship goals by securing new sports advertisers, renewing, and expanding sponsor partnerships, maximizing sell-through of sports inventory, and delivering on all sponsor commitments.

- Improve key performance indicators, including prospecting activity, pipeline coverage, conversion rates, average deal size, forecast accuracy, and digital revenue mix.

- Help advertisers achieve measurable business outcomes through integrated, insight-led solutions and effective campaign optimization.

- Build productive partnerships across Sales, News, Creative Services, Digital Operations, and Traffic to deliver a seamless client experience.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Sales Leadership

- Lead and develop Account Executives focused on new clients, digital growth, retention, and account expansion.

- Build a high-performance culture grounded in prospecting, consultative selling, digital expertise, and accountability.

- Set clear expectations for sales activity, pipeline coverage, conversion, forecasting, and revenue performance.

- Coach sellers through one-on-ones, pipeline reviews, call preparation, field support, and deal strategy.

- Support priority presentations, negotiations, and closes while removing barriers to growth.

New Business Development

- Execute a market-level new-business strategy focused on priority categories, target accounts, and prospecting campaigns.

- Coach sellers to generate qualified opportunities through research, outreach, networking, referrals, and insight-led conversations.

- Build relationships with businesses, agencies, and key decision-makers across the market.

- Turn advertiser objectives into integrated strategies using WSOC-TV and Cox Media Group assets.

Sports Sales and Sponsorships

- Lead sports sales strategy across sponsorships, programming, special events, and multi-platform sports packages.

- Identify and develop new advertisers and categories for local, regional, high school, college, and professional sports opportunities.

- Build integrated sports packages across broadcast, streaming, digital, social, and on-site activations.

- Cultivate relationships with teams, leagues, schools, venues, and sports organizations to create new revenue opportunities.

- Manage sports inventory, pricing, and sponsor fulfillment to maximize revenue and deliver on every client commitment.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities (continued)

Multi-Platform Advertising Solutions

- Champion integrated solutions across television, CTV/OTT, streaming, display, search, social, digital audio, email, and audience targeting.

- Coach sellers on discovery, positioning, audience strategy, measurement, and outcome-based selling.

- Ensure proposals are strategic, accurately priced, executable, and aligned with client objectives.

- Use campaign results to optimize performance, demonstrate value, renew business, and uncover growth opportunities.

Cross-Department Collaboration

- Partner with WSOC-TV News and Sports on sponsorships, content integrations, and community-focused revenue opportunities.

- Work with Creative Services to develop compelling, differentiated advertising solutions.

- Coordinate with Sales, Digital Operations, Traffic, and other teams to execute multi-platform campaigns.

- Create revenue opportunities around station initiatives, partnerships, special projects, and events.

Client Success and Retention

- Build lasting client relationships through strategic guidance, responsiveness, and service.

- Turn campaign results into persuasive renewal stories, case studies, and recommendations that drive renewals, upsells, and cross-platform growth.

- Position WSOC-TV as a trusted business-growth partner.

Minimum Qualifications

- Five or more years of media, sports, or digital advertising sales experience, with a demonstrated record of acquiring new clients, growing digital revenue, and expanding existing accounts.

- Experience leading, coaching, and developing sales professionals, including setting expectations, managing performance, and driving accountability.

- Proven ability to build and execute new-business strategies, manage prospecting and sales pipelines, use CRM tools, forecast accurately, and deliver revenue results.

- Working knowledge of linear television, CTV/OTT, streaming video, audience targeting, digital advertising, campaign measurement, and integrated marketing solutions.

- Experience translating client objectives into multi-platform advertising solutions and using campaign results to drive optimization, renewals, upselling, and retention.

- Experience selling sports programming, sponsorships, or event-based marketing, including developing packages, and managing sponsor fulfillment.

- Effective communication, presentation, negotiation, organizational, and relationship-management skills, with the ability to engage clients and support sellers on priority opportunities.

- Ability to analyze audience, market, and campaign data and collaborate across Sales, News, Creative Services, Digital Operations, and Traffic to deliver effective client solutions.

- Must have a valid driver's license and clean driving record.

Tools and Technology

- Proficiency with CRM platforms, such as HubSpot, to track prospecting activity, manage pipeline health, and support accurate forecasting.

- Working knowledge of WideOrbit Media Sales and Traffic or comparable broadcast sales and traffic systems.

- Proficiency with Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint.

- Familiarity with advertising analytics, reporting, audience insights, and campaign management platforms.

- Comfort using company-approved AI tools to support prospecting, planning, productivity, and campaign development.

Preferred Qualifications

- Bachelor’s degree in business, marketing, communications, or a related field.

- Prior sales leadership experience in a local broadcast, media, advertising, or digital sales organization.

- Established relationships with sports teams, leagues, schools, venues, or sports marketing organizations in the Charlotte region.

- Established relationships with local or regional advertisers, advertising agencies, or business decision-makers.

About Cox Media Group

CMG Media Corporation (d/b/a Cox Media Group) is an industry-leading media company with unparalleled brands, award-winning content, and exceptional team members. CMG provides valuable local and national journalism and entertainment content to the people and communities it serves. The company's businesses encompass 17 high-quality, market-leading television brands in 9 markets; 45 top-performing radio stations delivering multiple genres of content in 9 markets; and numerous streaming and digital platforms. CMG's TV portfolio includes multiple primary affiliates of ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, Telemundo and MyNetworkTV, as well as several valuable news and independent stations. For more information about CMG, visit www.coxmediagroup.com

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