Bleav names Jim Thompson Vice President of Sales

Bleav, a leading sports and entertainment production company generating more than 40 million views and listens per month across podcast, YouTube and digital platforms, today announced that Jim Thompson has joined the company as Vice President of Sales. Thompson will oversee Bleav’s advertising sales organization and drive revenue growth across the company’s audio, video and social platforms.

What began as dedicated programming for nearly every professional and major college team has grown into a national content company spanning sports and entertainment. Bleav now produces more than 200 episodes per day from 550+ shows, featuring more than 800 hosts and athletes with a combined 60 million social followers and more than 2,000 hours of original audio and video content each month. That scale gives brands and advertisers a rare combination of volume, targeting and authenticity across podcasting and digital video.

Thompson joins Bleav from Gemini XIII, where he served as Vice President of Sales across the company’s podcasting, radio and premium audio businesses. Before Gemini XIII, he held sales roles at The Athletic- driving multichannel revenue across podcasts, digital and newsletters- and at Cadence13, specializing in direct-response advertising and large-scale brand activations. Thompson also brings deep sports advertising experience from ESPN New York 98.7 FM, where he sold advertising and sponsorships across ESPN programming and New York Jets, Knicks and Rangers broadcasts. He began his career in New York radio at WOR and later served as Sales Manager for Salem Media’s New York stations.

“Jim brings exactly the kind of sales leadership and experience we want as Bleav continues to grow,” said Bron Heussenstamm, Founder and CEO of Bleav. “He understands both sports and no sports, podcasts, creators and advertisers, and has built strong relationships throughout the industry. We are excited to have him leading our sales organization and helping us unlock the value of the audience and content we have built.”

“Bleav has built an incredible network of creators, athletes and content with tremendous opportunity ahead,” said Thompson. “I’m excited to join Bron and the Bleav team, work with our sales organization and partners, and build on that foundation to create even more opportunities for advertisers, creators and the company.”

As Vice President of Sales, Thompson will lead Bleav’s internal sales team, direct advertising and sponsorship efforts, and manage relationships with the company’s third-party sales partners.