BSkyB cuts commercial jobs after taking on Viacom ad sales team

BSkyB is to shed about 30 commercial staff following the integration of the Sky Media and Viacom airtime sales operations. The satellite broadcaster signed a £375m, five-year deal to sell advertising airtime for Viacom's UK channels , including MTV and Nickelodeon, in November. Since then Sky has been integrating Viacom's 70-strong ad sales team with its own operation, Sky Media, which has around 180 staff. The 250-strong combined team is understood to have been trimmed by about 30, according to advertising industry sources. Staff were informed of the redundancy process, which has led to job losses from both teams, in late November. Sky Media's headcount has still grown by more than 20% overall following the £375m, five-year deal with Viacom. The highest-profile casualty of the deal was the departure of Nick Bampton, the managing director of Viacom Brand Solutions. • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email [email protected] or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. • If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".