RUMOR MILL
“This is meant… to partner with people already in the business and use our deep talent pool to actually create a very powerful entertainment platform."
——John Sykes
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
PITTMAN BRINGS IN SYKES TO HEAD CC MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT
Original MTV Team Members Hope to Bring Similar Spirit of Innovation to Radio Colossus
Bob Pittman has taken the next step in his reinvention of Clear Channel as a diversified media company with the hiring of his former colleague John Sykes as President of Entertainment Enterprises, a newly created unit. It’s the first major move by Pittman since becoming CEO of CC Media last November.
Pittman and Sykes were part of the executive team that launched MTV back in 1981—hey, that’s 31 years ago. Whoa.
The radio giant wants to leverage its strength across a wide range of platforms. "We can use that horsepower to create new products," Pittman explained to L.A. Times reporter Joe Flint, who broke the story of Sykes’ hiring this morning.
Sykes told Flint he wanted to use Clear Channel’s "muscle and reach" to turn it from "850 independent shops" to a "large scale media company."
Last week, CC Media officially changed the name of Clear Channel Radio to Clear Channel Media and Entertainment (see 1/13 Rumor Mill item). But in the interview, Pittman insisted that predictions of terrestrial radio’s demise are off base. "There is nothing wrong with radio," he said. "In 1970, radio reached 92% of the people every week; in 2012, it's 93%."
But changing how radio reaches those people is where Pittman sees opportunity. Last year, CC Channel launched the iHeartRadio app, which enables users to listen to its stations on computers and tablets. CC has also struck partnerships with Facebook and Zynga to promote its properties.
Sykes, who was first recruited by Pittman as a consultant last year, wants to create more events like the inaugural iHeartRadio festival, which was also streamed and carried by VH1. "We can partner with a TV network or producer and create properties with a tremendous amount of promotional power behind them," he said.
The company, which had a loss of $74 million on revenue of $1.6 billion for the three months ended Sept. 30 is saddled with $20 billion in debt from when it was taken private by Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners.
"This is not meant to create a giant overhead within the organization," Sykes said of the Entertainment Enterprises unit. "It is to partner with people already in the business and use our deep talent pool to actually create a very powerful entertainment platform."
After leaving MTV in the late 1980s, Sykes, who’s now 56, became President of Champion Entertainment, where he managed John Mellencamp and Mariah Carey. He went on to become a president of Chrysalis Records, CBS Radio and VH1. Most recently, he was affiliated with Pittman's private equity firm Pilot Group, where he worked on the restructuring of MGM. He also serves on the board of Shazam.
Pittman and Sykes were part of the executive team that launched MTV back in 1981—hey, that’s 31 years ago. Whoa.
The radio giant wants to leverage its strength across a wide range of platforms. "We can use that horsepower to create new products," Pittman explained to L.A. Times reporter Joe Flint, who broke the story of Sykes’ hiring this morning.
Sykes told Flint he wanted to use Clear Channel’s "muscle and reach" to turn it from "850 independent shops" to a "large scale media company."
Last week, CC Media officially changed the name of Clear Channel Radio to Clear Channel Media and Entertainment (see 1/13 Rumor Mill item). But in the interview, Pittman insisted that predictions of terrestrial radio’s demise are off base. "There is nothing wrong with radio," he said. "In 1970, radio reached 92% of the people every week; in 2012, it's 93%."
But changing how radio reaches those people is where Pittman sees opportunity. Last year, CC Channel launched the iHeartRadio app, which enables users to listen to its stations on computers and tablets. CC has also struck partnerships with Facebook and Zynga to promote its properties.
Sykes, who was first recruited by Pittman as a consultant last year, wants to create more events like the inaugural iHeartRadio festival, which was also streamed and carried by VH1. "We can partner with a TV network or producer and create properties with a tremendous amount of promotional power behind them," he said.
The company, which had a loss of $74 million on revenue of $1.6 billion for the three months ended Sept. 30 is saddled with $20 billion in debt from when it was taken private by Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners.
"This is not meant to create a giant overhead within the organization," Sykes said of the Entertainment Enterprises unit. "It is to partner with people already in the business and use our deep talent pool to actually create a very powerful entertainment platform."
After leaving MTV in the late 1980s, Sykes, who’s now 56, became President of Champion Entertainment, where he managed John Mellencamp and Mariah Carey. He went on to become a president of Chrysalis Records, CBS Radio and VH1. Most recently, he was affiliated with Pittman's private equity firm Pilot Group, where he worked on the restructuring of MGM. He also serves on the board of Shazam.
