A year after launching its self-service TV ad platform, Comcast Advertising is reshuffling leadership to accelerate its next phase of growth.

The company has named James Borow as General Manager of Universal Ads, the platform designed to make buying premium video as straightforward as purchasing social media ads. Borow previously served as Vice President of Product Management and Engineering for Universal Ads, where he helped build the platform from the ground up.

Now, he’ll oversee strategy, operations, and execution as Comcast pushes deeper into performance-driven, self-serve television advertising.

From Product Architect to Platform Lead

Borow isn’t an outside hire stepping into unfamiliar territory. He was instrumental in bringing Universal Ads to market, shaping everything from product development to launch execution.

That continuity matters.

Universal Ads is Comcast’s answer to a long-standing friction point in the industry: TV advertising has traditionally been complex, relationship-driven, and largely inaccessible to smaller, performance-focused brands. In contrast, social and ecommerce platforms have conditioned marketers to expect instant campaign setup, clear performance metrics, and transparent return on ad spend.

Comcast wants to close that gap.

According to James Rooke, President of Comcast Advertising, Universal Ads’ first year laid a solid foundation, especially among ecommerce and social-first advertisers reaching TV audiences for the first time. Those brands reportedly saw strong return on ad spend driven by premium video placements.

With Borow now at the helm, Comcast is signaling that product velocity and performance measurement—not just reach—will define year two.

Big Tech DNA Meets Premium Video

Borow brings more than 15 years of experience building performance-oriented advertising businesses.

Before joining Comcast, he served as Global Director of Product Strategy, Go-to-Market, and Partnerships at Snap Inc., where he helped scale its ad business from zero to over $1 billion in revenue. That kind of hypergrowth experience is precisely what Comcast is betting on.

He’s also a two-time exited founder—Market AI and SHIFT—and has advised platforms such as Discord, Grab, and Reddit. In short, Borow’s résumé is steeped in performance media, partnerships, and scaling digital ecosystems.

That background aligns neatly with Universal Ads’ broader mission: simplify TV buying so it feels more like launching a campaign on a social platform than negotiating an upfront media deal.

Making TV “Simple to Buy, Just Like Social”

Universal Ads was built to enable brands of any size to create, buy, and measure ads across premium video inventory. In practice, that means self-serve tools, streamlined workflows, and integrated measurement across NBCUniversal and other participating publishers.

As General Manager, Borow joins Rooke’s executive leadership team, reinforcing the platform’s strategic importance within Comcast’s growth plan. The appointment also deepens integration across Comcast’s broader ecosystem, including FreeWheel and NBCUniversal.

That integration isn’t theoretical. Universal Ads recently served as the first-ever exclusive ads manager for NBCUniversal’s coverage of the Milan Cortina Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games—a high-profile proving ground for self-serve access to premium moments.

Borow has hinted that unlocking events of that caliber—without the traditional complexity—will remain a priority.

The Performance TV Land Grab

Comcast’s move reflects a broader industry shift. As connected TV (CTV) grows and traditional linear declines, advertisers increasingly demand the same accountability from television that they get from digital channels.

Self-serve TV platforms are emerging as a competitive battleground. Tech-native advertisers, particularly ecommerce brands and social-first companies, expect granular targeting, rapid deployment, and clear measurement.

Universal Ads is positioned squarely at that intersection: premium video inventory backed by digital-style buying and analytics.

Over its first 12 months, the platform expanded its publisher ecosystem, enhanced creation and buying capabilities, and onboarded new partners. But the real test lies ahead—proving that TV can consistently deliver performance metrics strong enough to compete with social platforms on efficiency, not just prestige.

Why This Leadership Move Matters

Leadership transitions often signal strategic recalibration. In this case, the promotion of a product-focused executive suggests Comcast is doubling down on execution speed and product-market fit.

Borow understands both sides of the equation: the rigor of performance advertising and the complexity of premium media distribution. That combination could prove critical as Universal Ads attempts to lower barriers to entry while maintaining the brand safety and scale advantages of traditional television.

If Comcast succeeds, TV advertising could increasingly resemble digital: faster to launch, easier to measure, and accessible to brands that once saw it as out of reach.

Year one was about proving the concept. Year two, under Borow, is about scaling it.

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