Robert Pittman (media executive)

Add links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Robert Pittman
Pittman at 2018 Interbrand Best Global Brands Summit
Born
Robert Warren Pittman

(1953-12-28) December 28, 1953 (age 70)
Jackson, Mississippi, United States
OccupationBusinessman
Known forMTV
iHeartMedia
AOL
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1979; div. 1997)​
Veronique Choa
​
(m. 1997)​
Children3

Robert Warren Pittman (born December 28, 1953) is an American businessman. Pittman was the CEO of MTV Networks and the cofounder and programmer who led the team that created

AOL Time Warner
.

Pittman has also been a radio and TV programmer, marketer, investor and media

entrepreneur who has had multiple careers in a number of consumer-focused industries. According to Sean Parker, Pittman is the only media mogul who is genuinely an entrepreneur. In giving him its first 'Media Visionary" award, advertising publication Adweek[3]
referred to him as a "jack of all media" and former MTV executive Tom Freston referred to him as "the wonder boy of branding".

Biography

Early life

The son of a Methodist minister, Pittman was born in

WNBC (AM)
, in New York when he was 23. He also produced and co-hosted a music video and news show in 1978 that ran on NBC's O&O Television stations. He did learn to fly and has been a pilot for almost 50 years: He now has over 6,000 flight hours; currently holds an Airline Transport Pilot's license for airplanes; and is rated for helicopters and three types of jets.

MTV Years

At

Ethiopian famine relief on June 13, 1985, and launching the MTV Video Music Awards show in 1984. For his development of the MTV brand, Advertising Age selected Pittman in 2010 as one of the ten most influential marketers who transformed American Culture.[6] In 2023, Grunge Magazine named Pittman "One of the Unsung Heroes of Modern Pop Music," someone who made "contributions to popular music that were utterly, ridiculously game-changing"[7]
for the innovations he made to the music industry and popular culture as a co-founder of MTV. Pittman also received a 1984 Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Award in recognition of MTV's impact on fashion and popular culture.

Quantum Media and Time Warner

After MTV, Pittman founded Quantum Media with

Time Warner.[9] In 1990, Pittman was appointed president and CEO of Time Warner Enterprises, the new business group of Time Warner, and in 1991 became chairman and CEO of Six Flags Theme Parks where his team oversaw the revitalization of the Six Flags brand, taking attendance from 17 million to 25 million using a “classic second-place strategy” with their “Bigger than Disneyland, closer to home” positioning of the brand.[10]

Century 21 Real Estate

After Pittman led a process that led to Time Warner selling a controlling interest in Six Flags to Boston Ventures in 1995, he left to join Century 21 Real Estate as CEO.[11] Pittman and his team grew Century 21 Real Estate through a strategy that included brand-building and national marketing, a new franchise sales organization, and the early adoption of the Internet as a lead-generating tool.

America Online and AOL Time Warner

While at Century 21, Pittman met Steve Case and joined the board of directors of America Online, Inc.; he joined the company as president and CEO of AOL Networks in 1996 and later became president and COO of America Online Inc. While at AOL, Pittman led the operating team that moved AOL from 6 million members to over 30 million; took the company profitable; and continued the mission of making the Internet as easy for consumers to use as the telephone or television. During Pittman's tenure, AOL had almost 50% of all Internet traffic in the U.S. and pioneered the development of digital advertising. The company's most memorable ad of that time had the tagline “America Online: So easy to use, no wonder it’s number one”. After AOL merged with Time Warner in 2001, Pittman became the Co-COO (and eventually COO) of the combined AOL Time Warner before leaving the company in 2002.[12]

Pilot Group

Pittman joined a number of his longtime operating team colleagues when he co-founded Pilot Group LLC, a private investment firm based New York in 2003. Pilot Group previously owned and sold investments including

Huffington Post and Facebook. In April 2018, Pilot Group sold its stake in Casa Dragones tequila brand to BDT Capital Partners
LLC — Warren Buffett's banker—which is taking the lead investor role and providing capital to take Casa Dragones to the next level—although Pittman, as the co-founder, maintained his personal stake and remains on the board.

Clear Channel Media Holdings, Inc. and iHeartMedia, Inc.

In November 2010, Pittman took on the role of Chairman of Media and Entertainment Platforms for

Clear Channel, and made a personal equity investment in the company.[16] In this role, Pittman worked to leverage the company's media assets and spearhead the further development of a digital strategy for Clear Channel Radio, particularly with regard to its iHeartRadio digital radio platform. At this time, the company was burdened with $20 billion in debt as the result of a 2008 leveraged buyout. In September 2014, Pittman led the company's transformation to iHeartMedia, Inc. to better reflect the company's multi-platform focus. Today Pittman is chairman and CEO of iHeartMedia, Inc., with multi-platform assets across broadcast radio; digital; podcasting; mobile; social; data; and live events. Under Pittman's leadership the company's debt was significantly reduced—from $16.1 billion to $5.75 billion—and the company emerged from restructuring in May 2019.[17] At that time, T. Rowe Price referenced the company as one that had been revived by disruptive change. In addition to being the number one audio company in America by reach, iHeartMedia, Inc. is the number one streaming radio company and is now the number one podcast publisher globally. In October 2018 closed its acquisition of podcasting pioneer Stuff Media, LLC, the leading for-profit publisher of entertaining and informative podcast content, which includes the HowStuffWorks (HSW) brand and content.[18] Pittman played a pivotal role in developing the iHeartRadio Music Festival, the biggest live concert festival in radio history, the first of which took place in Las Vegas on September 23–24, 2011 in conjunction with the launch of the New iHeartRadio.[19]
The company has since expanded its national tentpole live events platform to include the nationally televised iHeartRadio Music Awards; the iHeartCountry Festival; iHeartRadio Fiesta Latina; the iHeartRadio Podcast Awards; iHeartRadio ALTer Ego and the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour. In December 2016, the company launched its two new on demand subscription platforms, iHeartRadio Plus and iHeartRadio All Access.

In conjunction with this position, Pittman also maintains his role as Founding Member of Pilot Group and continues his activities as a venture investor; in an indication of his continued interest in emerging technologies and businesses, he also serves on the board of live social video company Airtime. With his return to radio, Huffington Postʽs media business expert Charles Warner dubbed him “best radio programmer ever”[20] and in 2011 he was ranked by Radio Ink magazine as the "Most Powerful Man in Radio". "Never before has anyone taken the number one slot on the list in their inaugural year," stated Radio Ink Publisher/CEO B. Eric Rhoads.[21] Pittman retained that designation in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023, and was also named Radio Ink's 2019 Radio Executive of the Year.

Recent years

Pittman is a philanthropist, building community and philanthropic projects into businesses he managed from Live Aid at MTV to educational efforts using the Internet at AOL. He is former chairman of the non-profit Robin Hood Foundation, which fights poverty in New York City, and still serves on the board; and is former chairman of the New York Public Theater.[22][23] He is also on the boards of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy and is a former board member of the non-profit Lupus Research Alliance, the New York City Ballet, the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, New York University Medical Center and the Corcoran Gallery of Art.

Pittman has also served on the boards of companies including Electronic Arts, Atari Games, Excite, 3DO, MTV Networks, America Online, HFS/Cendant/Realogy and AOL Time Warner.

Pittman was one of the minority owners of the New York Mets, holding a 4% stake in the baseball team,[24] before selling his interest to Steven Cohen in 2020.

Awards and honors

Pittman's many honors include: Robert F. Kennedy Memorial's 2000 “Ripple of Hope Award”

Lighthouse International. He also received the American Academy of Achievement’s Golden Plate Award in 1990;[26]
International Teleproduction Society’s Lifetime Achievement International Monitor Award and The President's Award and an Honorary Doctorate from Bank Street College of Education, the school's highest honor, for his many contributions to the advancement of education.

"Math & Magic" podcast

On May 4th, 2019, Pittman announced his podcast "Math & Magic: Stories from the Frontiers of Marketing."[27] The show is produced by iHeartRadio.

Personal life

Pittman married Sandy Hill, a merchandise editor at Mademoiselle, in July 1979; they divorced in 1997. They have one son. Pittman married Veronique Choa in 1997.[28] They have two children.

References

  1. ^ a b Cuff, Daniel F. (March 23, 1990). "BUSINESS PEOPLE; Time Warner Adviser Named Chief of Unit". The New York Times. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  2. ^ "The Beauty and the Brains Behind Casa Dragones Tequila". casadragones.com. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  3. ^ "MTV Founder Bob Pittman Is Our First Media Visionary". Adweek.com. December 16, 2013. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  4. ^ Allen, Jamie. "MTV: Rewinding 20 years of music revolution - August 1, 2001". CNN. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  5. ^ "1983 SPECIAL REPORT: "MTV DISCRIMINATES AGAINST BLACK ARTIST"". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021.
  6. ^ "10 Marketers Who Transformed American Culture". Adage.com. September 6, 2010. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  7. ^ Floorwalker, Mike (May 29, 2023). "Unsung Heroes of Modern Pop Music". Retrieved May 30, 2023.
  8. ^ "Pittman And MCA To Form Joint Co.; Record Label First". Variety. September 3, 1986. p. 7.
  9. ^ "Wanted at AOL: Another Bob Pittman". Bloomberg. July 18, 2002. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  10. ^ "Six Flags Theme Parks, Inc". Referenceforbusiness.com. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  11. ^ "LA Times coverage of Pittman as Century 21 CEO". Los Angeles Times. August 2, 1995. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  12. ^ Harmon, Amy; Kuczynski, Alex (January 12, 2000). "MEDIA MEGADEAL: THE CULTURES; A Bridge Builder For Corporate Culture". The New York Times. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  13. ^ Kumar, Vishesh (August 6, 2008). "Comcast Sets Deal to Buy Daily Candy". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  14. ^ "Comcast to Buy Daily Candy for $125 Million". DealBook. August 5, 2008. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  15. The Wrap
    . Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  16. ^ "A media veteran joins Clear Channel". The New York Times. November 15, 2010. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  17. ^ "iHeartMedia Successfully Completes Restructuring Process". Bloomberg. May 2019. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  18. ^ "iHeartMedia to Buy HowStuffWorks Podcasting Parent for $55 Million". Variety. September 13, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  19. ^ "Breaking News". USA Today. September 23, 2011. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  20. ^ Warner, Charles (March 23, 2011). "Bob Pittman Is Just What Radio Needs". HuffPost. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  21. ^ "40 Most Powerful Issue One Week Away". Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved September 28, 2011.
  22. ^ "Robin Hood Foundation Governance". robinhood.org. October 9, 2016. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  23. ^ "Public Theater Board of Trustees". publictheater.org. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  24. Wall Street Journal
    .
  25. ^ [1] [dead link]
  26. American Academy of Achievement
    .
  27. ^ "Math & Magic: Stories from the Frontiers of Marketing with Bob Pittman". Podchaser. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
  28. ^ https://www.nytimes.com/1997/11/30/style/weddings-veronique-choa-and-robert-pittman.html
Preceded by CEO of AOL
2002 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robert_Pittman_(media_executive)&oldid=1219659974"