Westwood Launches Classic Hip Hop Format

5-18-15
Westwood One has announced a new 24/7 format for its affiliated stations: Classic Hip Hop. The format is based off of the one being used by Cumulus' WRWM/Indianapolis. That station, featuring hit music from the early days of rap and hip hop, helped the station reach high ratings in its target demo of Adults 18-49. Westwood One's Classic Hip Hop will be hosted by veteran personalities including mornings with Adam Bomb and evenings with WPLJ/NY personality Ralphie.

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O'Malley Promoted to SVP Westwood One

1-27-2015

Westwood One has promoted Cumulus VP-Brand Solutions, Paul O'Malley to Senior Vice-President- Strategic Sales Partnerships, for Westwood One. Strategic Sales is a newly-created  division for Westwood One that will specialize in multi-platform programs for Westwood and Cumulus. O'Malley has 25 plus years experience in radio sales and was previously Regional President-Sales, for Citadel from 2004-2011. Continue Reading...

O'Malley will be based in Atlanta and report directly to Westwood One President Steve Shaw. Shaw says of the appointment, "Bringing Paul over to run our new Strategic Sales division was a no-brainer.  His wealth of experience in new business development, world-class reputation among agencies, and vast knowledge of our assets make him the prefect partner to lead this new team.  We are building an impressive and outstanding sales force and Paul is a top-tier player on the team."

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Steinhauer Staying With Westwood

11-3-14

COO Charles Steinhauer has signed a multi-year contract renewal with Westwood One where he'll continue to oversee the management of the company's day-to-day operations. Steinhauer reports directly to Cumulus CEO Lew Dickey who said, ?Charles is an exceptional talent and a key member of our executive leadership team.  We?re excited to extend his contract and look forward to his important contribution as we build Westwood One into the world?s leading audio content company.?

Steinhauer was president of operations for Dial Global, before his promotion last June to chief operating officer for the company. Prior to that, he served as senior vice president, research and operations for Dial Global. Cumulus acquired Dial Global, Inc. in December of last year. He said, "Lew Dickey, Steve Shaw, and the entire Westwood One team, along with our incredible content and distribution partners, connect audiences with the very best in sports, music, news, spoken word, and digital content. There?s never been a more exciting time for Westwood One, and I?m proud and excited to be a part of it.?

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Westwood One News Names News Anchors

11-4-14

Four news anchors have been added to the Westwood One roster, a new news product launching at the end of the year. Dirk Van, Molly Paige, Evan Haning, and Barbara Kusak will be behind the mic when the service launches. Van will cover morning drive, Hanning is the mid-day host, and Kusak and Paige will anchor PM drive and evenings. Stations have the option to select one- to five-minute newscasts so they can integrate network news with their local operation. Here are more details on the new anchors...

Dirk Van is the host of Westwood One's First Light and The Week in Review and previously anchored newscasts for NBC News Radio. He was also news director at WGCH, Greenwich, CT and WHN in New York and a reporter for WCBS. Van is now in his 25th year at the helm of First Light.

Molly Paige is celebrating her two-year anniversary with Westwood One's news operation in Washington, DC.  For most of her career, Molly has been a news director and/or anchor at multiple stations in L.A, including KCBS, KRLA and KABC. Most recently, Molly has been an anchor/writer and producer for NBC News Radio and regular substitute host for Jim Bohannon on America in the Morning.

Evan Haning has been on the air in Washington, DC for 30 years. For nearly a decade, he was a reporter and anchor for WTOP. Most recently, he anchored afternoon drive for CBS's WNEW-FM since it launched in 2012. 

Barbara Kusak got her start in news in Detroit. She was a reporter and Sunday talk show interviewer and producer at WCSX. She went on to work for the CBS all-news station WWJ as an anchor and reporter. Barbara ventured into TV as a writer at MSNBC in New York City and then served as an anchor and writer for Metro Networks. Later she worked for Fox News Channel as an associate producer and at 1010 WINS as a writer and assignment editor. A family move took her west, where she was a reporter and anchor, helping to launch all news KDWN in Las Vegas.

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Westwood Hires Foley as VP, Business Development

10-1-14

Prior to joining Westwood One, Jack Foley was a Business Development Manager for the Radio Disney Group. He also served as VP/Director of Sales for Entercom's Boston cluster, including WEEI, WAAF, WRKO, and WMKK.  Past roles include Regional VP/Sales at Clear Channel where he was responsible for revenue for 44 radio stations in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Maine. In this new role, Foley will develop revenue streams and create growth opportunities for the company, its agency clients, and its  partners across multiple platforms.

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Westwood Extends Partnership With Dr. Oz

9-19-14

The syndication network has extended its partnership with Harpo Studios and Dr. Mehmet Oz for the daily one-minute feature, Daily Dose with Dr. Oz. The feature airs on nearly 150 stations and in six of the top 10 markets. Dr. Oz said, ?Not a day goes by that I don?t get positive feedback from listeners of Daily Dose. My goal is to spread the message of good health ? body, mind, and spirit. Syndication with Westwood One helps to expand that message to an attentive and diverse audience."

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Westwood One Brings The Party To The Radio Show

9-11-2014

Westwood One popped the cork on the fun bottle at the NAB/RAB Radio Show in Indianapolis last night, kicking off the festivities with a branding party. And in the party tradition, there were treats, prizes, and live music featuring up-and-coming country artist Chase Rice, who opened for the SRO crowd, followed by country duo Montgomery Gentry. Prior to their set, they were interviewed on stage by CBS News correspondent Barry Bagnato.  All of which made Westwood One very much the popular kid in school.

Award-winning country duo Montgomery Gentry burst onto the national scene in 1999. Their hard-driving sound has helped them sell millions of records and rack up 14 Top 10 singles, including five number ones -- ?Something To Be Proud Of,? ?If You Ever Stop Loving Me,? Lucky Man,? ?Back When I Knew It All,? and ?Roll With Me.? Their newly released single, ?Headlights,? is the lead single from their upcoming album.

Chase Rice?s non-traditional career path into music has placed him as a one-time NFL hopeful, a Survivor contestant, and a NASCAR pit crew member! He initially gained attention in Nashville as a songwriter. He co-wrote Florida Georgia Line?s number one single ?Cruise.? His latest album, ?Ignite the Night,? recently reached number one on the Billboard Top Country Album chart. 

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Douglas Moves to Westwood One

7-8-14

Misti Douglas has been named Manager, Country Syndication Affiliate Sales and will develop and manage Westwood One Country radio syndication partnerships for NASH Nights Live with Shawn Parr, Kickin? It with Kix Brooks Overnights, the newly announced NASH Icons, American Country Countdown, Lia, Big Time with Whitney Allen, America?s Opry Weekend, Country Gold with Randy Owen and Country Countdown USA with Lon Helton.

Douglas joins Westwood One from All Access Music Group, where she was Assistant Country Editor. Douglas previously held promotions, programming and on-air positions at radio stations in Nashville, Anchorage, Daytona Beach, Bloomington, and Flagstaff, AZ. She also held marketing positions with NorthStar Studios and Willis Entertainment television and video productio companies and Paige Capo/Paige Musical Products.

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Cumulus Names Steve Shaw President of Westwood One

6-24-14

Shaw is currently Senior Vice President of Cumulus National Sales, a position he has held since March, 2013. Shaw will expand his role as head of national spot sales for Cumulus? owned-and-operated stations to include all national and digital sales for Westwood One. In Steve?s new role he will oversee Westwood One Networks, Westwood One Sports, and Westwood One Digital, including Rdio and Cumulus National Sales, which will be renamed Westwood One Media Group. Shaw was previously President of Katz Radio Group and President of Cox Digital Solutions.

Lew Dickey, Chief Executive Officer of Cumulus, said: ?Steve will drive the integration of our large stable of national media assets and advertising products under the Westwood One brand. His track record of success in both broadcast radio and digital media will be instrumental as Cumulus and Westwood One combine to provide a compelling new set of ad packages designed to meet the rapidly evolving needs of our advertisers.?

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Westwood One Launches Oldies Format

3-25-14

It's the first new launch since Cumulus took over the brand. "Good Time Oldies" will be a 24-hour format, available to stations April 28, featuring music from the golden era of pop, rock and soul--centering on hit music from the 60s and 70s?and positioned slightly earlier than traditional Adult Hits-formatted stations. 

Good Time Oldies will feature several well known personalities from around the country. Jim Zippo has worked at WDRQ/Detroit, WEAM/Washington DC, KQOL/Las Vegas and KTKS/Dallas, and has done mornings nationally for over 12 years. John Summers marks 30 years as a PD, MD, and personality on such stations as BJ105/Orlando and WMMO/Orlando, and he currently does PM Drive on KLUV/Dallas. Kevan Browning will join Good Times Oldies from his current role on WestwoodOne?s Classic Hits format, after a long on-air and programming career with stops in Milwaukee, Memphis, Houston, and Dallas.

The satellite-delivered format will be built on a single clock, with break structure that will allow a station to air local spots or play music seamlessly. All affiliates will be provided with an imaging package, whether they elect to use the version nationally-branded with Good Time Oldies or construct it using their own imaging and slogan.

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The Integration of Westwood One Continues

1-7-14

As Cumulus absorbs the assets of WestwoodOne radio network, the corporate reporting structure became a little more clear yesterday. Paul Caine, who was brought into then Dial Global as CEO (he replaced Spencer Brown), less than one year ago (March 19, 2013) will leave the company at the end of January. Much like Dennis Green and Mike Pallad were reporting to Cumulus' corporate from the Cumulus Media Networks (Pallad has since left the company to work at Apple), Charles Steinhauer (Operations) and Ron Furman (Revenue) from Westwood will now be the direct reports to Cumulus corporate. CEO Lew Dickey has promised $40 Million in cost synergies as WestwoodOne gets rolled up into the Mother Ship. Dickey has had a history of delivering those cost savings on or before schedule.

Dickey said of Caine, "Paul is an extremely talented media executive and did an excellent job of guiding WestwoodOne during a period of change. He positioned the company for future growth and played an instrumental role in driving a constructive transaction which delivered value for his shareholders. We look forward to working with Paul in the next chapter of his impressive career." AdWeek Magazine is speculating that Caine may return to his old job as Chief Revenue Officer at Time Inc. That job has not been filled yet.

Caine said, "I am so proud of the team we've built and what we've accomplished at WestwoodOne. In such a short time, we've proven the power of sound and its impact on the future of the audio industry. I am confident that this great momentum will continue under Cumulus and the strong talent and leadership of Lew Dickey."

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Westwood And Weather Channel Extend Deal

11-14-13 

WestwoodOne announced it has signed a multi-year contract extension with The Weather Channel for ad sales representation. The renewal runs through 2016. The Weather Channel provides daily, customized cross-platform weather reports to radio stations, giving up-to-the-minute information on local weather or critical storm warnings.  The Weather Channel also provides weather report information from the field during WestwoodOne's NFL broadcasts and weather information for all upcoming matchups around the league.

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Dial Global Is Now Westwood One

As expected, Dial Global has changed its name to Westwood One. The announcement was made official this morning. CEO Paul Caine said, ?We?re proud of what we?ve accomplished as Dial Global. Through our belief in the power of sound we are dedicated to continuously reinventing the industry and creating the most dynamic audio programming that connects people to their passions. With the audio industry?s ever-changing landscape, we know we?ve just scratched the surface of what?s possible for audio?s broad consumption. By reclaiming and reviving an iconic audio brand name, we are not changing who we are, but accelerating the great work we are doing to contribute to the growth of audio.?

The company has also commissioned an industry study on the ?power of sound,? which it says is "aimed at better understanding consumers, their behavior, and their interaction with audio." The study builds on current recency data proving radio as the most used medium closest to point-of-purchase and will explore trends in audio consumption based on behavioral tendencies among various demographics. Full study results are expected to be released in the fourth quarter of 2013.

The company release also says we can expect to see a new website, social media presence, corporate logo, and marketing materials to reflect the new WestwoodOne brand in the days ahead.

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What Does Norm Think About the Westwood Name?

8-29-13

Norm Pattiz founded Westwood One. The company provided news, sports, entertainment, talk, and traffic programming. Westwood One owned, managed, or distributed NBC radio networks, CBS News, CNN radio, the Mutual Broadcasting System, NFL Football, NCAA Basketball plus March Madness, the Super Bowl, and the Winter and Summer Olympic Games. Under his stewardship Westwood became a very recognizable brand on radio stations all over America. And when the company was dissolved into Dial Global, all that branding and the name Westwood One were gone. New Dial Global CEO Paul Caine seems to recognize how important the Westwood One name was. Dial Global is expected to go back to the Westwood name any day now. We spoke to the former Westwood CEO about the name change, the big deal about to be announced and the network business. And we asked him the big question. If he were still in charge would he make this deal with Cumulus? LISTEN HERE

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Former Westwood Employee Morale High

When two companies come together there is typically overlap. Yesterday the combined Dial Global/Westwood One company had to deal with the realities of that as pink slips were handed out as the company moves forward under the Dial Global name. Someone at the meeting told Radio Ink "there were some layoffs but it was relatively light and the morale among the former Westwood employees was very high. They are looking for leadership and stability. It was an exciting but tough day."

The Dial Global management team says "the integration plans were thought through in detail and we tried to minimize personnel reductions. That does not make it any easier for those who were let go but it was our intent to be generous in our treatment of those terminated. So far the feedback gives us reason to believe we were successful".

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Dial Westwood Deal is Done

Dial Global announced its merger with Westwood One is now closed. As of Monday the company will be listed on the NASDAQ under the symbol "DIAL". Dial Global?s executive team will be led by Spencer Brown, David Landau and Ken Williams. Former Westwood One President Rod Sherwood will remain on with the new company until November 15th and then he will move to an advisory role. Dial Global will continue to be headquartered in New York City, with regional offices across the United States in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, DC.

Neal Schore, Chairman of Dial Global?s newly-constituted Board of Directors, commented, ?Dial Global has always been focused on serving the ever-evolving needs of the radio industry, and this transaction will expand the programming and service offerings sought by both radio stations and advertisers. On behalf of the board, I want to thank Rod Sherwood and the entire Westwood One team, whose tremendous efforts have helped make this transaction possible.?

?The combined platform provides a broader and more diverse range of programming and services to radio stations and advertisers than has ever been offered,? said Spencer Brown, David Landau and Ken Williams, managing partners of Dial Global. ?Dial Global remains committed to maintaining the high level of service and accountability that our customers have come to expect.?

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New Website For Westwood One Sports

Westwood One debuts www.WestwoodOneSports.com, a new destination for sports fans to find exclusive radio content. WestwoodOneSports.com features pregame interviews with coaches and players, exclusive online commentary from Westwood One broadcasters, including Boomer Esiason, Jim Gray, James Lofton, Terry Donahue, Eddie George, Mark Malone, Tony Boselli and more. In addition, WestwoodOneSports.com features broadcast schedules, announcer bios and a station finder to help fans locate local stations airing Westwood One Sports broadcasts.

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Investor Questions Westwood One Merger

In an unusual and short conference call this morning Westwood One CEO Rod Sherwood (pictured) was grilled for about 15 minutes by a representative of Greenbridge Capital. It's odd you see a conference call held to discuss a deal yet to close for this exact reason. The investor questioned why more information wasn't available to shareholders about a second offer that was made (for $5.68 per share) and whether or not Westwood was really seeking the best offer. Westwood One?s stock jumped when the deal was announced on August 1, rising to $6.19 a share that day from $5.85 the previous trading session. But it has since sagged, starting the day today at about $4.30.

Sherwood said part of the decision to go with Dial-Global was based on cost and revenue synergies that they were not going to disclose today and would be aggressively pursued once the merger closed. The investor shot back that that's "hard to quantify and we've been kind of left in the dark on this." He also went on to criticize Sherwood for not providing enough information for anyone else to submit a competing proposal for the company. "There was no information available for anyone to submit a proposal." Westwood's attorney responded by saying everyone was aware of the merger since the 8K was filed with the SEC on August 4th.

The arrangement to merge Westwood and Dial-Global into one company is expected to close some time during the 4th quarter. It has already been approved by D.O.J. It's not expected that Sherwood will be a part of the new company although no official announcement has been made.

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Westwood Reports Slight Increase in Q2 Revenue

There were no stray cats in the radio industry in the second quarter of 2011. For the most part, all the public companies were consistently flat or up a smidge. The year started off a lot brighter with hopes of bigger revenue increases all around. However, a natural disaster in Japan and a political system in gridlock caused a recovering economy to hit the wall. Westwood One CEO Rod Sherwood (pictured) reported in to Wall Street last night with numbers comparable to all the public radio players. Nothing spectacular, nothing devastating.

The Westwood 1.8% increase ($40.8 million from $40.0 million) was primarily due to increased advertising revenue from the Company?s news programming, partially offset by decreased advertising revenue from other programming. Westwood One President Rod Sherwood said ?Our revenue was up slightly in the midst of slower than expected growth in the Network radio industry, and the seasonal absence of major sports programming in the second quarter.? Sherwood also said the NFL lockout may cost Westwood some revenue in Q3, if advertisers made an early decision to go elsewhere, in Q3 but that should pick up again in Q4.

Sherwood said the most significant event of the second quarter was the sale of Metro Traffic to Clear Channel. ?This transaction reduced the Company?s senior debt by approximately $104.0 million, strengthened our balance sheet, and helped position the Company for future growth.  Since that time, we have continued to expand our programming assets, renew key partnerships, invest in our digital business and our IT infrastructure, and build new alliances with affiliates and advertisers and their agencies.? 

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Schreck Promoted to VP of Sports at Westwood One

Michael Schreck first joined Westwood One as an Account Executive from the New York Mets Organization in March 2006, and was promoted to National Sports Manager in 2008.  After a brief hiatus, he returned to the Company as Director of Sports Sales in January 2010. Schreck will  lead sports sales efforts for Westwood One's sports programming, including multi-year agreements as the exclusive Network Radio broadcaster of the National Football League and NCAA Championships, including the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship.

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