Westwood One (1976–2011)
Norman J. Pattiz | |
Defunct | 2011 |
---|---|
Headquarters | |
Area served | Nationwide |
Key people | Larry King |
Westwood One was an
On September 4, 2013, Dial Global announced that it was renaming itself Westwood One, citing greater brand recognition.[4]
History
The company was founded by
Although Pattiz long remained a major shareholder and board chairman, control and management shifted to others in the early 1990s. In 1993, operations were shifted to radio station group owner
Purchase of Mutual and NBC
In 1985, Westwood One purchased the
Two years after the Mutual purchase, in 1987, Westwood One acquired the
Until the Dial Global merger, the NBC Radio brand was still occasionally used, including twice daily at the halfway point and conclusion of the early morning news magazine
Westwood One provided operational, sales, and marketing support for the
Westwood One also provided alternate feeds of NFL football games to Sirius Satellite Radio.
Westwood One expanded into digital media with the hiring of radio veteran Gary Krantz in 2006; he remained with the company until March 2008.
Sale
On May 4, 2007, the New York Post reported that Westwood One had retained investment bank UBS to seek potential buyers for the network.[14]
In October 2007, Westwood and CBS Radio signed a new contractual agreement by which Westwood would hire its own officers and directors, and CBS would use Westwood One programming and trademark licenses. Westwood also had use of CBS trademarks under the agreement, which was filed as part of the companies' public disclosures with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. The agreement took effect on March 3, 2008, the same day that Gores Radio Group invested $12.5 million as part of a multi-stage investment takeover of Westwood One. The second stage of the Gores investment happened only two weeks later with another $12.5 million,[15] giving Gores Radio direct ownership of more than 14 million shares of Westwood One stock.
Westwood One stock was traded on the
Westwood One announced its merger with
On September 4, 2013, Dial Global, which had been bought by
Overview
The company was one of the largest producers and distributors of radio programming in the United States. It broadcast entertainment, news, weather, sports, talk, and traffic programming to about 7,700 radio stations across the
Notable personalities
Talk radio personalities distributed by Westwood One included at various times
In 1988,
In the early 2000s, Westwood One handled the distribution of
Imus in the Morning was carried on Westwood One from 1993 until the controversy surrounding his remarks about the Rutgers women's basketball team led to his firing in 2007. The program was then heard on Cumulus Media Networks until the show ended in June 2018.
In 2009, the network added several short-form features based on television series syndicated by
Westwood One attempted to secure the rights to
24-hour radio formats via satellite to affiliate stations
Until 2006, Westwood One distributed a number of 24-hour radio formats via satellite to affiliate stations. These formats included:
The lone exception is the audio feed of
Music programs syndicated
Westwood One syndicated several popular programs for a variety of music formats. Perhaps its most famous alumnus was Casey Kasem, who spent over nine years hosting a weekly radio countdown franchise for the network.
Other shows included
Many of these programs were not maintained in the Dial Global merger; Compass Media Networks picked up the rock-oriented programs, the country programs were split up among various networks, and the fate of the pop programs is unknown.
Live concerts and sports broadcasts
Westwood One was most notable for its coverage and location recording of live concerts and events for broadcast/distribution via LP and eventually satellite.[22] They syndicated the summer solstice Grateful Dead concert on June 21, 1989, a service that currently conglomerated radio stations no longer do. Since the merger with Dial Global, the company no longer records live music and has shut down its mobile recording division.
The company holds exclusive national radio rights for many sporting events including
Westwood One has also handled sales and advertising for the
Syndicated news and traffic programming
In 2005, Westwood One, Inc. and its traffic subsidiary, Metro Networks, sent several existing officers and directors of Westwood to Canada and Australia to unify a number of helicopter aviation companies that were already providing reports to Westwood One and Metro Networks' affiliates. The result was the formation of the Global Traffic Network, which began taking deliveries of Robinson R44 news helicopters in 2005. The companies signed a three-way content and data sharing agreement in November 2005.[23][24]
See also
- List of United States radio networks
- NFL on Westwood One
- NHL Radio
References
- ^ socalTECH.com - Sigalert.com Acquired By Westwood One
- ^ Kevin Roose (August 1, 2011). "Westwood One and Dial Global to Merge". The New York Times. Retrieved December 26, 2011.
- ^ PRNewswire. "A New Name on the Airwaves as the NFL Playoffs Kick Off". Retrieved January 7, 2012.
- ^ Ahead Of Cumulus Merger, Dial Global Changing Its Name To Westwood One Forbes, September 4, 2013, "That's why, as of today, Dial Global is renaming itself Westwood One. That's the name of the radio network Dial Global merged with in 2011, and it's still the name better known to civilians used to hearing it read on the air."
- ^ Mary Turner - American Forces Radio and Television Archive
- ^ "Off The Record" "Mary Turner" site:www.discogs.com
- ^ ~Los Angeles Radio People, Where Are They : T-Z
- ^ "Off The Record" "Mary Turner" site:www.ebay.com/itm
- ^ "Off The Record" "Mary Turner" intitle:Billboard site:books.google.com/books
- ^ allintitle:Off The Record Mary Turner site:www.youtube.com/watch
- ^ "Norman Pattiz, founder of Westwood One Radio Network has died". Los Angeles Times. December 7, 2022. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
- ^ "Westwood One Agrees to Purchase Metro Networks Traffic Report Unit". The Wall Street Journal. June 3, 1999. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
- ^ "Westwood One to Buy Mutual Broadcasting From Amway Corp". Los Angeles Times. September 17, 1985. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
- ^ New York Post
- ^ EDGAR Filing Documents for 0001193125-08-061100
- ^ "Westwood is bumped off the New York Stock Exchange". Radio-Info.com. November 18, 2008. Retrieved May 27, 2011.
- ^ The Don & Mike Show (archive)
- ^ Dennis Miller radio
- ^ lovelineshow.com
- ^ "Talker Michael Savage wants free of syndicator TRN". Radio-Info.com. December 21, 2010. Retrieved May 27, 2011.
- ^ Country Countdown USA
- ^ Westwood One - Discogs
- ^ Sigalert.com, @iheartmedia.com's traffic information website
- ^ SmartRoute Systems
External links
- Official website Westwood One
- CBS Radio - Managing partner of Westwood One