CW losing sales exec to baseball

The top sales executive for the limping CW television network -- Bill Morningstar -- is resigning to take a job with Major League Baseball, three people familiar with the situation said Tuesday.

The move, first reported by the Wall Street Journal’s website, comes as the CW scrambles to launch its make-or-break season Sept. 2. The 2-year-old joint venture between CBS and Warner Bros. Entertainment has struggled to get off the ground despite buzz-worthy shows such as “Gossip Girl” and “America’s Next Top Model.”

The venture is under increasing pressure, from its parent companies and its TV station affiliates, to field a lineup of shows that will attract a large enough audience to provide sufficient ad revenue to support the network’s programming and overhead costs. Tribune Co., which owns The Los Angeles Times, also owns KTLA-TV Channel 5 in Los Angeles, which broadcasts CW programming.

Morningstar, the CW and Major League Baseball declined to comment. His departure date had not been set.

Morningstar has worked at the CW and its predecessor, the WB television network, for 14 years. He was responsible for all of the CW’s sales efforts, including prime-time, kids and afternoon programming, and was the chief liaison to the CW’s West Coast operation to integrate advertisers’ messages and their products into programs.

“Bill has been the face of the CW, and before that, the WB,” said Jason Maltby, president of the national broadcast division of MindShare, one of the industry’s leading ad buying firms. “He was very well liked and respected in the industry. It will be very telling who they put into that role in how they view the network and its future.”

The CW is pinning its hopes to a sophomore bounce for its signature show, “Gossip Girl,” which has attracted a small and loyal audience as well as plaudits for setting new style trends, but has not matured into a mainstream hit. It is also betting big on a spinoff of the former Fox hit “Beverly Hills 90210” and a drama called “Privileged” about a down-to-earth young woman who becomes a tutor for two rich and spoiled teenage girls.

“It’s a very important season for the CW,” Maltby said. “Advertisers want the CW to succeed because it targets a tricky audience to reach. But that opportunity is also their challenge because they are targeting the first generation that is not using the standard television as their primary means of entertainment.”

In his new role, Morningstar will head up ad sales for Major League Baseball’s new cable channel, MLB Network, early next year. The service, which will initially be available in about 50 million homes, including on the digital basic tiers of DirecTV and Time Warner Cable, is scheduled to offer live games, highlights and original programming.

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meg.james@latimes.com