One year into his run as head of ad sales for Paramount Advertising, Ryan Briganti says he’s “living the dream.”
“Sports is such a big part of my life, such a big part of my childhood,” Briganti told ADWEEK. “My coaches raised me as much as my parents did in some instances.”
The executive took the position overseeing sports sales across Paramount Advertising in April 2024, succeeding John Bogusz, who retired after 26 years with the company. Briganti, meanwhile, has been with Paramount’s CBS Sports for more than 17 years, with accolades including helping to expand soccer coverage, broadening women’s sports coverage, developing FAST channels, and building the CBS Sports Creator Studio.
Heading into upfront season, Paramount and CBS Sports are coming off several viewership wins, including a Men’s NCAA Final Four reaching an 8-year high; the final round of the Masters averaging 12.707 million viewers, up 33 percent from 2024; and CBS’ NFL ratings outpacing Fox’s averages over the last season (though average ratings throughout the NFL were down 2% year over year).
Of course, those wins also come amid market turbulence. Speculation on the impact of tariffs from the Trump administration is an ongoing theme as publishers head into advertising’s upfront season. Meanwhile, uncertainty over Skydance’s merger with Paramount continues to linger.
Speaking with ADWEEK, Briganti reflected on one year in the job, explained the company’s sports strategy following a restructure, and addressed the market uncertainty.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
ADWEEK: What’s something you’re proudest of looking back at your first year, and how has the CBS Sports strategy evolved since you’ve been at the helm?
The biggest thing, last summer, we went through a sports reorg. I started at CBS Sports on the broadcast sales side, then managed the CBS Sports Network sales team, then inherited the digital team for a few years, and represented all of our digital endpoints, as well as cable. And now it’s bringing it all together. Structuring, formalizing, and I used the word modernizing a lot.
So when we walk into these conference rooms, you want to talk social sports strategy? We talk social. You want to talk about the scale at the top of the funnel of broadcast? You want to go down the funnel to streaming or our FAST channels, which we’ve done some great work with? Everybody’s armed and positioned and learning. You have linear natives teaching digital natives and vice versa. Establishing that structure, formalizing that structure, is definitely a proud thing to have accomplished.
Among its properties, Paramount has WNBA, NWSL, March Madness, NFL, and college football. What are the priorities heading into this upfront season as you’re looking to showcase opportunities to advertisers?
Our portfolio is made of marquee events and massive tentpole moments that the entire country leans into; the fanbase leans into. I’m always excited to talk about the scale and the power of those marquee properties. I’m also excited to talk about the depth of the portfolio and how it’s evolved. The social growth that we’ve had.
I mentioned soccer and building out the team there, led by Pete Radovich, and tapping into those communities. The women’s sports we’ve been involved with for quite some time, and will continue to be involved with. Obviously, streaming. We can talk about broadcast and streaming, linear and streaming, but these other extensions too. I just love connecting with brands and building. I come from a family of entrepreneurs. I love being creative, thinking outside the box, rolling up my sleeves, and figuring it out.
How are you approaching the upfront differently this year as opposed to your first time leading the sports side of things?
Not so much difference. Admittedly, better organized. It’s like a rookie quarterback. As a Bears fan, I was scrambling. I was Caleb Williams, trying to just read the defense. I’m not afraid of making decisions. I want to be smart in my decisions and do the homework. I think it’s just more so I’m reading the defense a little bit better, a little bit more organization on my part. Now that I’ve gone through a cycle of these properties, I understand fully and have understood the importance of sports to our company and to our portfolio as a whole.
And I’m a collaborator. Sometimes you lead from the front, sometimes from the back, and sometimes just alongside. So, as it relates to my counterparts as we approach these upfront marketplaces, it’s a we, not me, game.
Paramount’s been doing more intimate upfront dinners rather than lavish presentations for the past few years. And this year, you’re adding more of a sports element.
In terms of that modernization and that differentiation, I thought there was an opportunity to really bring sports into that conversation a little bit more. This year, for the first time, we are doing a CBS Sports pregame event for an hour each night before the dinner at Chelsea Factory, where we’ve got 30 to 40 people coming in, having an experience together. We’ve got CBS Sports talent each night, doing a little fireside, little riff.
Our talent is such a big part of our sports IP, so brands know them, love them, and ask about partnering with them. It’s not a sales pitch. It’s an experience.
Looking at the current marketplace and uncertainty over tariffs, what’s your messaging to clients?
Every industry, every sector, there’s an impact there, and we’ll figure it out together. That’s my message. At the end of the day, the demand for sports continues to be strong all the way through. We’ll get into the upfront cycle for the fall football season, but first quarter, second quarter, third quarter properties, it hasn’t slowed.
The company is also dealing with the ongoing merger with Skydance. Does that affect anything in the day-to-day?
It’s business as usual for me. Hopefully, things get where they need to go soon, but it’s business as usual.
CBS is having the first-ever WNBA regular-season game in primetime on national broadcast TV—the Indiana Fever vs Chicago Sky on June 7—and Paramount has more than 600 hours of women’s sports programming. What can you say about the growth in women’s sports?
We’ve been in this space a long time and have really ramped up over the last handful-plus years of developing our portfolio. It’s exciting. There are more companies. There are more brands. Volleyball and other sports are coming into the conversation. Yes, the traditional professional and collegiate teams or universities and brands have been strong in the women’s sports marketplace. It’s evolving, just like all the other sports segments are evolving.
It’s been fun to be a part of. And demand there, too, is through the roof. Kudos to our programming team and sports leadership for elevating and putting leagues, conferences, and teams on broader, more scalable platforms.
Moving forward, what can you say about CBS Sports’ strategy that we haven’t touched on yet?
It’s about CBS Sports. It’s not about me. It’s about the portfolio and the brand that I grew up loving, and the momentum we’ve had recently is off the charts. It’s my responsibility to make sure that momentum continues.
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