MAM
Long Ellis is MTV US COO ad sales
MUMBAI: MTV US has announced the appointment of Long Ellis to the position of COO, MTV Networks Ad Sales.
In this position, Ellis will oversee the strategic planning, systems development and pricing and inventory management of the MTV Networks Ad Sales division.
MTV Networks ad sales president Larry Divney said, “Long is a very experienced and extraordinarily talented sales executive, with a deep understanding of our businesses. I am really pleased that he will be taking on this crucial role and help us to ensure that the MTV Networks’ Ad Sales team will be the most effective, pro-active and efficient operation in the business,”
Ellis said, ” The advertising landscape is changing rapidly, and working closely with Larry, I am confident that we can develop innovative and better ways to meet our clients needs as we move forward, particularly in this new multi-platform
world.”
Ellis is a senior sales executive with over 16 years of broadcast advertising sales experience. Prior to this appointment, he served as Comedy Central VP ad sales. He, managed ad sales marketing projects across the US and oversaw the channel’s New York ad sales staff. Previous to this role, he oversaw the comedy network’s inventory, pricing, planning and commercial operations. He also led an MTVN Task Force that developed the new pricing and inventory organisational structure. He joined Comedy Central in 1999.
Before Comedy Central, Ellis had been Director of Broadcast Television at OneMediaPlace, and an account manager at Discovery. He began his career at CBS, where he worked in both programming acquisition and ad sales.
Digital
OpenAI drops Sora AI video tool, ends planned $1 billion Disney deal
Pivot to coding and AGI leaves media giant rethinking AI tie-up plans
CALIFORNIA: In a move that has sent ripples through both Hollywood and Silicon Valley, OpenAI has pulled the plug on its much-hyped AI video tool Sora, abruptly ending what was shaping up to be a landmark partnership with The Walt Disney Company.
According to media reports, the decision came with little warning. Teams from both sides had been working on a Sora-linked project when the shutdown was communicated, catching even those close to the collaboration off guard.
The fallout is significant. The move effectively scraps a proposed $1 billion, three-year agreement that would have seen Disney invest in OpenAI while opening up access to its vast library of characters for AI-generated short-form video content. The deal, however, had not been finalised and no funds had changed hands.
Sora, unveiled in early 2024, had dazzled the industry with its ability to generate cinematic-quality video from simple text prompts, triggering a wave of competing launches from AI players across the United States and China. Its sudden exit marks a sharp turn in OpenAI’s strategy.
The company is now redirecting its focus towards more commercially scalable areas such as coding tools, enterprise solutions and the long-term pursuit of artificial general intelligence. Internally, resources required to run the video model are understood to have weighed on other priorities, accelerating the decision.
Leadership roles are also evolving to match the shift. Sam Altman continues to steer the broader vision, while Fidji Simo’s remit has been realigned towards deploying AGI capabilities as part of a wider push to consolidate offerings into a unified platform.
For Disney, the setback is more strategic than financial. The company is said to be evaluating alternative ways to collaborate with OpenAI, even as it recalibrates its approach to generative AI in storytelling.
For the wider industry, the episode is a reminder that in the fast-moving world of artificial intelligence, even the most dazzling innovations can have a surprisingly short shelf life.
