Jon Zellner
President Programming Operations
iHeartMedia National Programming Group
May 22, 2020
Jon Zellner (photo: Katherine Tyler for iHeartRadio)
by Fred Deane
There are several crucial decisions that are made at iHeartMedia on an ongoing basis, and there are few that are executed without the input of Jon Zellner. Jon’s core responsibility load is as deep as it is wide and his tentacles are far-reaching inside a complex company that refuses to sit still and constantly challenges itself to perform at higher and more efficient levels.
It takes an acutely intuitive sense of the macro areas of the multi-media landscape and an advanced background in same to successfully pull this job off, and Zellner passes with flying colors on both fronts.
Zellner’s background includes a variety of PD and executive programming roles for CBS Radio, Sirius XM Radio and iHeartMedia, and he’s been given the opportunity to apply his professional arsenal of assets to the perpetual motion mentality of iHeartMedia.
Your core responsibilities span the oversight of a wide variety of internal national functions. Can you summarize these responsibilities?
I oversee national programming for our Format Centers and iHM Custom, working very closely with Tom Poleman, Brad Hardin, the EVPPs and Brand Managers. I also work with our national sales team looking for unique solutions to integrate partners and clients into our brands.
I manage all communication to the field about everything happening at the national level when it comes to contesting, artist-driven programs, public affairs and our events…everything from our iHeartRadio Theater shows to our major events like the iHeartRadio Music Festival, the iHeartCountry Festival, iHeartRadio Jingle Ball and others. And the Programming Ops team works very closely with our production team, digital team, artist relations team, the Entertainment Enterprises group, our podcasting team, IT and the iHeartRadio Networks team to ensure that the unique content we create sounds perfect on all of our distribution outlets.
What are the challenges presented to you in communicating and collaborating with the various iHeart personnel involved in all of these areas?
Everyone at iHeart works in real time at lightning speed and we try to keep the number of participants in some of our meetings (or more recently, Teams calls) to a minimum to ensure they are productive and to be considerate of everyone’s time. That said, tight communication and quick follow-through between departments is crucial. I’m amazed sometimes at the speed with which we’re able to deliver national and local content to our listeners at a massive scale.
Did iHeart essentially repurpose the entire infrastructure of the company to maximize the overall efficacy of its complex operation?
We challenged ourselves to examine and reinvent our infrastructure by using the latest technology to successfully make our teams’ work easier and more impactful and efficient. It’s had a tremendous positive impact on our work and how we deliver content to our listeners.
How integral of a role has data and research gathering played in the formation and now execution stages of the grand plan?
We’re constantly maximizing our investment in data and technology to fully utilize the assets we’ve built. From a programming perspective, the most important aspect of our modernization is our cutting-edge technology and AI, which continues to transform how we program music on many of our stations. This technology analyzes more than 3,000 data points per song, more data than the human mind could process for every song we play, and customizes and localizes it for our stations in ways we couldn’t before, which results in more opportunities for new music and artist development while ensuring that our listeners still have local experience.
How has the pervasive use of data to all stations enabled the company to adapt more quickly to the current pandemic crisis given the revenue shortfalls endemic with all media companies?
Radio is about companionship and broadcast radio continues to hold a unique place in American culture, especially during a time of crisis — like this pandemic. Our team at Critical Mass Media is generating daily research and analytics about the COVID-19 situation specially designed to help our air talent and programmers speak in-the-moment to the ever-changing mindset of our listeners. Personalities inspire listeners and help them cope with their anxiety and concerns during times like these and this data helps talent communicate more effectively with their listeners and serve their local communities across the country with the latest information and programming.
Given the widespread use of science as total integration sources of how the company operates now, how much value does the national programming team place on the creative side of the equation?
Bob Pittman calls it “math and magic” and (shameless plug) it’s also the name of his weekly podcast on iHeartRadio. The “magic” of what our brands do comes from our people. There’s no algorithm for creative ideas so we rely heavily on our programmers and talent to come up with ideas and collaborate with the team. I’ve always believed that great radio brands are the perfect blend of math and magic.
Do the local programmers still have strong input in local decision making?
Absolutely. Every iHeart programmer has access to a wealth of expertise and data and the leaders know how to utilize that information and combine it with their own expertise and knowledge, to deliver a unique and successful brand.
Relative to the staffing that programming departments used to have, is it fair to say that you have relocated all of those supportive roles to a central level?
Think of it this way: If you were building a media company with 850+ local radio stations today, you would gather the best music schedulers, research analysts, imaging and production specialists and data experts and focus their efforts on what they do best. They could be based anywhere. You would combine that team with a group of smart programmers, air talent and sales representatives across the country where they would deliver the most local impact. And taken together they deliver the best possible listening experience to communities nationwide.
How has the centralized data-driven concept been integrated into the music decision-making process?
Our programmers are successfully using this new technology every week, not only to improve the music we’re playing for our listeners, but to solve some of the limitations of callout research, especially as it relates to new artists and new songs. It helps us identify emerging artists faster than ever before.
What has been the label reaction?
The reaction from music companies has been very positive, because we can now better track a song’s performance and impact in markets across the country.
Given the scale of your responsibility load, what areas do you derive the most enjoyment from?
I still love working with programmers and talent. I get excited when I hear our stations in markets of all sizes come to life and hear amazing talent sound “live and local” regardless of where they happen to be based.
What was the theory behind adding an hour to your morning drive shows recently?
We heard directly from our listeners. Most people are not getting up as early during the pandemic since they are not commuting, and they’re starting their days a little later. So, after our local and nationally-syndicated on-air talent began hearing and seeing increased listener demand through daily call-ins and on social media, we decided to extend many of our popular morning shows – more than 65 morning shows across more than 50 markets.
How can radio in general best continue to serve their respective communities during this time of crisis?
As mentioned above, radio is about companionship, and that’s never been more important than it is during times of crisis. Consumers listen to the radio because the voice on the other side sounds like a friend. Our talent serves communities across the country, providing them with important information and timely updates, connecting with families who have been impacted by the virus, helping local organizations, celebrating local heroes and providing on-air and digital companionship.
In some cases, this means NOT always talking about the crisis. While much of America remains concerned about the situation, they also turn to our brands and their trusted on-air personalities to provide them entertainment and stress relief.
Nielsen recently released a COVID-19 study about the role of radio during this pandemic. Radio was recognized as listeners’ comfort food. Over the past two months 28% of Americans are spending more time with us, and 60% trust radio to provide timely information. Also, at iHeart we continue to see listener growth across multiple platforms; web listenership is up 43%, podcast listening on the iHeartRadio app is up 20%, smart speaker listening has increased 11% and we’re seeing a 37% increase in smart TV listeners. This is proof that if ever there was a time that listeners need companionship and human connection, it’s now, and people want to find us everywhere they are.
