Clear Channel | Principles & Practices

By Billy Eisenberg

Overview:

Clear Channel Communications was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and B.J. McCombs. After initially purchasing their first station in San Antonio, the company’s explosive growth began when new rules for ownership were established in the Telecommunications Act of 1996. With a focus on local programming for talk and music, both integrated with syndicated programming, Clear Channel Radio is now a subsidiary of Clear Channel Media and Entertainment. Clear Channel remains headquartered in San Antonio, Texas and is the largest radio station conglomerate, with 850 stations nationwide and a reach of 110 million listeners weekly. Clear Channel employs approximately 20,000 people worldwide. Unlike Sirius, XM and many other broadcast companies, Clear Channel is committed to a policy of zero tolerance for indecency in their programming. For example, following the September 11th attacks, they strongly advised banning of numerous songs that had lyrics referencing bombs and burning buildings, including “Free Falling” by Tom Petty and “Live and Let Die” by Paul McCartney. Today, Clear Channel has sold their TV rights, but remains the largest privately owned radio station conglomerate globally. [1.]

Key Executives

Chairman and CEO – Bob Pittman

Bob Pittman came to Clear Channel in 2011, having been a key member of the team that helped get MTV launched. He has served as a CEO for MTV, AOL, SixFlags and Time Warner. With his earlier, extensive background in radio station programming, Pittman has been doing great work, helping Clear Channel reach more listeners weekly. He is a very influential figure in the world of Broadcast. [2.]

President and CFO – Richard J. Bressler

Richard Bressler was a partner at a private equity firm prior to joining the Clear Channel team in 2013. He brings extensive experience in managing financial business development and technology functions. With his impressive career, Bressler serves as an important voice in Clear Channel executive decision making. [3.]

Exec. VP and CCO – Wendy Goldberg

Wendy Goldberg is responsible for overseeing all external communications with brands and other marketing partners. Goldberg has years of experience giving counsel to senior leaders of companies on external relationships. She has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer since 2011. [4.]

Financials

Clear Channel Communications in 2008 was acquired by Bain Capital and Thomas H Lee Partners. In 2012, Ryan Seacrest Media agreed to partner with Clear Channel and its new ownership to bring new programming. This will cost THL and Bain $300 million to create this partnership. Clear Channel has the reach but has struggled financially recently and they believe this deal can potentially save the company. Clear Channel will receive a minority stake in RSM while Seacrest cannot have an affect on their business decisions. At the same time, Clear Channel will use Seacrest for new creative programming to reach a targeted audience and diversify their assets. [5]