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Harrington School of Communication and Media

Advisory Board

Tom Cerio

Tom Cerio

Executive Vice President of Cable Sales, Warner Bros.
Burbank, CA

Tom Cerio joined Warner Brothers in April 2009 to head network sales, and has recruited and redesigned the sales team to be more streamlined and strategic. With the combined efforts of strong research and marketing teams plus the realignment of sales, new heights were reached with the sale of programs like The Big Bang Theory and The Mentalist. In September 2010, Tom was given responsibility for overseeing television programming sales on the emerging digital platform. He is also responsible for managing sales on Warner Brothers' 6,000 title theatrical film library, and the entire WB animation library.

Before joining Warner Bros., Tom had been recruited by HBO in 2003 to build a non-traditional distribution unit. The strategy was to draw from existing units inside HBO and Warner Brothers and build presentations and marketing plans, while keeping overhead to a minimum. HBO launched Sex and the City in 2004, and The Sopranos in 2005, far exceeding this plan.

Tom was with Disney/Buena Vista TV from 1990 to 2003, initially serving as VP East Coast Sales and overseeing all regional syndication sales as well as national basic cable sales. He was credited with developing new marketing plans for off-network series to run concurrently on multiple platforms as well as selling theatrical films in rotating windows. In January of 2000 he was elevated to EVP National Sales Manager, moving to Los Angeles to oversee all broadcast network, basic cable network and syndication sales. He managed a team of 17 sales people nationally with revenues exceeding half a billion annually. He helped develop marketing plans and managed the launches of programs such as Home Improvement, Golden Girls, My Wife and Kids, and Live with Regis and Kelly.

From 1996 to 2000 he also served on the board of the New York State Broadcasters Association, an organization that represented the interests of both radio and television in the state of New York. He was responsible for setting up panels at the annual NYSBA convention addressing new and changing trends in syndication.

From 1980 to 1990 Tom worked for Filmways/Orion Pictures, selling small to mid-size markets for syndication. In 1993 he became one of the first salespeople in the industry to sell on multiple platforms for the emerging basic cable business as well as syndication. He was directly responsible in developing new sales strategies to meet the demands of basic cable and sold the first major off-network series, Cagney and Lacy, to a basic cable network in the mid 80s. This sale forever influenced the way major studios approached the aftermarket for program sales. In 1990 he was also responsible for selling one of the first major film packages directly to cable, again altering the way studios did business.

Tom started his sales career in 1977 with Pierre Cardin/Biaggi, a company that designed and sold women's jewelry to major department stores worldwide. He entered as a trainee and became VP Regional Sales Manager for the New York area, overseeing accounts like Macys, Lord and Taylor, and Saks Fifth Avenue. Prior to that, he had co-founded a family-run business from 1975-1977.

Tom graduated from the University of Rhode Island in 1976 with a Bachelor of Science degree.