Great Moments In Syndication
• Westwood One announced an organizational realignment designed to give every affiliate a single point of contact with a senior programming exec, supported by a dedicated team of experts including a Program Operations Manager, Music & Promotion Director and System Operator. This new organization supporting VPs of Programming George King (Country), Cheri Marquart (Contemporary) and David Felker (Gold) can now respond to the over 1800 affiliates swiftly and conclusively.
Effective immediately, Dave Carey and Melody Morgan are promoted to Program Operations Managers, joining the rank of Liz Adams in STORQ support. Al Vertucci and Gerry Dixon are promoted to Music & Promotion Directors, for Gold and Contemporary formats, respectively, and Bill Thorpe is promoted to System Operator. In a related move, Heather Martinez, a 13-year veteran of Westwood One’s 24-Hour Formats, is promoted to Promotion Manager.
Kirk Stirland, President of Programming, commented, “We have a crystal-clear understanding of how vital our service is to our affiliates, with the benefit of insight from our Advisory Board and key affiliates. I’m thrilled that streamlining our customer solutions includes the promotion of many talented team members, and we are committed to continually optimizing our systems and station support as we advance our technology and content delivery solutions.”
• ABC Radio and Skyview Networks have agreed to an early extension of their existing content, ad sales, affiliate sales and audio distribution agreement. This early renewal is good through 2026. Steve Jones, VP/GM of ABC Radio said, “In August 2014, ABC Radio and Skyview Networks partnered to offer radio stations exceptional content while offering advertising clients unique opportunities to associate with ABC’s brands. Since then, we have affiliated over 1,650 radio stations, reaching 73 million listeners weekly! Now, ABC Radio and Skyview Networks are positioned to expand our portfolio of personalities and programs across broadcast and digital radio as we continue our sharp and steady growth.”
Ken Thiele, President of Skyview Networks added, “This early renewal speaks to the success of our collaboration and allows us to continue our joint initiative to deliver quality content to radio stations and provide the media community impactful advertiser opportunities. We feel privileged to have ABC Radio at our side as Skyview Networks continues to experience healthy, sustainable growth.”
