Novenstern joins Tennis Channel as VP
January 15, 2013
NEW YORK — Tennis Channel today announced the appointment of longtime advertising executive Larry Novenstern to vice president, integrated partnerships. He will be based in the network’s New York office and report to Gary Herman, senior vice president of advertising.
Well seasoned in the worlds of sports media and brand integration, Novenstern will be charged with expanding Tennis Channel’s efforts with current high-profile sponsors and finding new ways to leverage the network toward their sales end goals. This is in addition to rounding out automotive, financial and other major sponsor categories with additional media partnerships.
“We’re excited to add such a talented and widely regarded leader of the Madison Avenue sports-media community to Tennis Channel’s ad sales team,” said Herman. “Having worked for some of the largest advertisers in the industry gives Larry a unique understanding of how our network can provide advertisers with compelling and effective products to reach our highly desirable audience.”
Novenstern’s multi-decade resume features an extensive body of work with such major brands as Pizza Hut, Visa, T-Mobile, British Airways, Anheuser-Busch, Ford Motor Co., PepsiCo and Google, in addition to media powerhouses Viacom, NBC Universal, Discovery Communications, ESPN, FOX Sports and Turner Sports. With a rolodex full of representatives from the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, NASCAR, NCAA and the PGA Tour, he is the creator of FOX’s Visa NFL halftime show and part of the team that developed naming rights for both the FedEx Orange Bowl and Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. In 1999, while with BBDO in New York, Novenstern created and ran the BBDO Sports Summit, a two-day series of meetings between clients and top-level sports business figures such as NBA Commissioner David Stern, IMG’s Barry Frank and NBC Sports’ Dick Ebersol.
Prior to Tennis Channel, Novenstern served as senior vice president, U.S. media director, at Orion Trading from 2011-2012. He was executive vice president, managing director of national and local investments, for Optimedia U.S. from 2005-2010 and senior vice president, director of national broadcast investment, for Deutsch Inc. from 2001-2005.
After starting his career with tenures at J. Walter Thompson and D’Arcy, McManus & Masius from 1979-1984, Novenstern spent 16 years (1984-2000) at BBDO, rising to the post of senior vice president, director of sports marketing services. The former Syracuse University student has received numerous industry awards, including being named to Sports Business Journal’s “Most Influential Person in Sports Advertising” list.
Novenstern has two children and lives in the New York area with his wife Loretta.