Bowley leads Cinema Media team

Carlton UK Sales is to take over the sales side of Cinema Media following its 58.5m acquisition by parent Carlton Communications.

Carlton has also named Adam Poulter, marketing director of transport advertising company TDI, as Cinema Media’s new chief executive.

Cinema Media, which is to be rebranded as a Carlton company, will remain in its own London Soho offices, but its sales team, led by sales director Katrina Hill, will report to Martin Bowley, managing director of Carlton UK Sales.

“We can offer deals that stretch across ITV, cable and cinema when it is suitable,” says Bowley. “Agencies and advertisers are hungry for new spins to put on deals. So we will be coming up with creative selling ideas – and that doesn’t mean conditional selling ideas.”

Carlton UK Sales already handles the ad sales for Carlton Television, Central Television and cable stations, including the Carlton-owned Carlton Select.

A Carlton spokesman claims there are no plans for redundancies at Cinema Media, “although there may be one or two changes”.

Cinema Media’s current chief executive Keith Shepherd and finance director Chris Hicks, who led a management buy-in of the company (formerly known as Rank Screen Advertising) with Schroder Ventures in 1992, are to leave the company.

As well as synergies with its sales operation, Carlton Communications is looking to combine Cinema Media’s operations with Technicolour, its film processing company.

The move follows reports last week that the Independent Television Commission will not allow Carlton Sales’ share of ITV sales to grow above 25 per cent of commercial TV, even if Carlton Communications buys up other ITV companies under the new Broadcasting Act.