New York, NY – iHeartMedia, the media and entertainment company with the largest reach of any radio or TV outlet in America, announced today the launch of “iHeartMedia SoundBoard,” a one-of-a-kind audio-centric branded entertainment studio. iHeartMedia SoundBoard will invite brands to collaborate with iHeartMedia’s portfolio of talent and personalities to produce original long and short-form audio, video and experiential content that moves seamlessly across radio, apps, and events, creating the next generation of brand storytelling.
iHeartMedia SoundBoard productions will each be designed from the ground up, uniquely pairing the right brands, creators and talent to tell stories in new ways designed to take particular advantage of the power of audio to engage, entertain and capture the imagination.
“As the number one creators of live, daily content, brands have been asking us for more ability to craft original stories that leverage the power of sound to reach consumers when they’re ready to be entertained,” said Bob Pittman, Chairman and CEO of iHeartMedia. “We’re launching the first branded audio studio for the digital era to prove the power of radio, the power of live content, and the power of cross-platform programming designed for a media world without walls.”
Pittman continued, “No one but iHeartMedia has the arsenal of talent, experience and cross-platform audiences that we can deliver to brands. The key to iHeartMedia SoundBoard’s success will be our ability to collaborate and scale successful programming immediately from online to radio to mobile, social and our 20,000 live events.”
iHeartMedia will tap its amazing network of on-air personalities, from national names like Ryan Seacrest and Elvis Duran, to the many local personalities who resonate in their communities — and its unique access to the most innovative thinkers in music and entertainment — to develop new original productions that combine the power of live radio with richer storytelling across platforms.
“Brands are recognizing the power of radio to tell stories in uniquely powerful and immediate ways,” said Ryan Seacrest, host and producer of iHeartMedia’s local and nationally syndicated radio show On Air with Ryan Seacrest. “With the new iHeartMedia SoundBoard team, I know we can develop original audio programming that captures the attention of consumers in new ways, because it’s made for the medium and the moment.”
iHeartMedia SoundBoard, available to iHeartMedia’s largest advertising and marketing partners, will also bring brands together with some of the most innovative thinkers in music and entertainment, like Oscar-winning actor, singer, songwriter and director Jared Leto, who will be an iHeartMedia SoundBoard collaborator.
“This is about making something entirely new, so let’s be bold, break some rules and make something that challenges us, in all the right ways,” said Jared Leto.
The new iHeartMedia SoundBoard Studio will be led by John Sykes, President of iHeartMedia’s Entertainment Enterprises Group, a media pioneer who helped to create record-setting events like the iHeartRadio Music Festival and the iHeartRadio Music Awards, served as a member of MTV’s original start-up team and President of VH1, and is a former record label President, music publishing executive and artist manager; Gayle Troberman, EVP and Chief Marketing Officer of iHeartMedia, a former advertising agency executive who founded the web’s first branded entertainment capability at MSN; and Vanessa Adamo, Senior Vice President of Entertainment Enterprises and former branded entertainment executive at Starcom MediaVest Group’s Liquid Thread. Together, they bring decades of experience producing original content for TV, radio and the web as well as launching some of the fastest-growing live event franchises in history.
“With a monthly reach of 245 million consumers and our unmatched connection with talent, we have an exciting opportunity to engage consumers on all platforms, capturing the personal intimacy of one on one storytelling,” said Sykes.
Added Troberman, “We cannot wait to hear what kind of sounds and stories will emerge when we get the most creative minds in advertising and entertainment riffing together. In media terms, we believe eardrums are the new eyeballs and brands that win with sound, will win.”
About iHeartMedia
With 245 million monthly listeners in the U.S., 97 million monthly digital uniques and 196 million monthly consumers of its Total Traffic and Weather Network, iHeartMedia has the largest reach of any radio or television outlet in America. It serves over 150 markets through 858 owned radio stations, and the company’s radio stations and content can be heard on AM/FM, HD digital radio, satellite radio, on the Internet at iHeartRadio.com and on the company’s radio station websites, on the iHeartRadio mobile app, in enhanced auto dashes, on tablets and smartphones, and on gaming consoles.
iHeartRadio, iHeartMedia’s digital radio platform, is the No. 1 all-in-one digital audio service with over 500 million downloads; it reached its first 20 million registered users faster than any digital service in Internet history and reached 50 million users faster than any digital music service and even faster than Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest. The company’s operations include radio broadcasting, online, mobile, digital and social media, live concerts and events, syndication, music research services and independent media representation.
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