The past few months have been a whirlwind of activity for WestwoodOne CEO Paul Caine. Caine joined the company (previously Dial Global) in March, after spending 23 years at Time, Inc. In late August, Cumulus Media announced it was acquiring the syndication giant as part of a series of deals, in a $260 million cash deal. The following week, Dial Global announced that it was reviving the famous WestwoodOne brand. In this week’s Cover Story, Caine speaks about the company’s outlook on the syndication business, the Cumulus deal, the reasons behind the company’s rebranding, and more.
Paul Caine
By Joey Odorisio
The past few months have been a whirlwind of activity for Paul Caine, CEO ofWestwoodOne (formerly Dial Global). In late August, Cumulus Media announced it was acquiring the syndication giant as part of a series of deals, in a $260 million cash deal. The following week, Dial Global announced that it was reviving the famous WestwoodOne brand.
Caine was named CEO of Dial Global this past March, after spending 23 years atTime, Inc., leading the sales and marketing teams for major media brands. He recently spoke to FMQB about the company’s outlook on the syndication business, the Cumulus deal, the reasons behind the company’s rebranding, and more.
What is WestwoodOne’s overall outlook on the state of syndication and radio in 2013?
At WestwoodOne, we are very optimistic about the future of the audio industry. It begins with the dramatic shift we’re seeing in consumer consumption trends, from how they access content to where. For advertisers, the coinciding opportunities to deliver audio content in more meaningful ways, across platforms, have never been more exciting.
People today are consuming more media than ever before. This includes text, video and certainly more audio because they have greater access to media. The reality is consumers constantly have a media channel in their pockets. This constant access has opened up an opportunity to reach a wider audience and reach them more rapidly. What is important here is that, in order to distinguish yourself, you must be delivering trusted and valued content.
When we think about the delivery of content, it’s important to understand the main forms of media vs. distribution platforms. Video, text and audio are the true media forms. Television, radio, print, digital, etc. are platforms for distribution. As an audio syndicator, we believe in the power of sound and see it as largely untapped.
In particular, consumers spend more time with audio. A third of their days are spent listening to audio products, including terrestrial and non-terrestrial form. We believe that terrestrial is stable and we see growth in the non-terrestrial audio platform. When you have unique, trusted and engaging content like we do at WestwoodOne, there is a world of opportunity for us to reach more consumers and connect marketers and advertisers to a wider range of potential customers. We have the right mix at WestwoodOne to help open up more channels and more relationships with consumers, so we’re very optimistic about where this company and the industry are going.
What can you tell us about WestwoodOne’s recent acquisition by Cumulus?
The merger has yet to be finalized, however, Cumulus is a strong company and a well-known and trusted partner within the broader broadcast community. We are excited about the potential opportunities these two companies will bring to the audio market and beyond. Cumulus CEO Lew Dickey has done a great job of communicating to the press the overall strategy of how this new entity will open up opportunities for producers and for independent stations. We are excited to continue to work with all of the 10,000 radio stations that make up the radio community and with all of the digital and mobile platforms.
How did the decision come about to bring back the WestwoodOne name?
When I joined Dial Global, I saw that there was a very high recognition and esteem for the Dial Global brand amongst the radio community. Dial Global is considered a very strong partner, delivering great content and being a valued part of the community. But when you step outside of the traditional radio community, the recognition of the Dial Global brand was very low, especially among consumers and the broader advertising community.
However, WestwoodOne had a wonderful brand recall amongst all the constituents. WestwoodOne had a multi-decade relationship as a broadcaster, representing play-by-play sports, particularly the NFL, plus The Grammys and The Masters, as well as some other premium content. The WestwoodOne brand helps accelerate the conversation and open up conversations with a broader range of partners.
How does Cumulus’ philosophy and approach of large scale broadcasting lend itself to the value of syndicated programming?
Lew Dickey has spoken publicly about a ‘big tent’ strategy of offering a large amount of like-minded product to the broader industry, and we’re excited to help fulfill this strategy by continuing to bring the best possible products to market.
Is the changeover with the rebranding of WestwoodOne complete?
Yes, the rebrand to WestwoodOne is complete. We launched the new name on September 4, timed to the kickoff of the NFL season. The logos and brand treatments have all been changed and the response from our partners and consumers has been very positive.
With broadcasters increasingly relying on national content, what do you see as the immediate future of syndication?
Consumers want high quality content. WestwoodOne offers unique and exclusive programming by award-winning personalities across entertainment, sports and talk that appeal to a variety of audiences. The key is to create the best, most intriguing content for the consumer and then make sure to provide it in a way that is easy to access.
What advantages have digital platforms and digital technology afforded the business of syndicated programming?
Digital technology is paving a path to the future, and we are doing some incredible things within the digital audio space. We’re really excited about all the new introductions to platforms. The news of Cumulus’ position with Rdio shows that there are significant opportunities emerging in the digital audio space. Consumers not only want easily accessible content, but they want quality content. This is where digital distribution creates a terrific growth opportunity for WestwoodOne. We’re very optimistic about the opportunities for digital audio as a complement to terrestrial radio.
In the announcement of the WestwoodOne rebranding, it was also revealed that the company will be releasing an industry study on the “power of sound” later this year. What can we expect from this study?
The initial findings show that consumers have very different reactions to sound than they do to text or video. Because experiencing audio requires more senses, it creates a different and powerful response in the consumer’s brain and this directly impacts consumer engagement with advertisers. Overall, that is what we expect our findings to showcase – the consumer engagement trends with audio and the opportunities for advertisers to leverage this growing base of listeners.
What have been some of WestwoodOne’s recent success stories in the syndication market?
We just signed an exclusive three-season deal to broadcast live coverage of Barclays Premier League so we’re broadcasting about 400 soccer games now. It’s also available on demand, on NBCSports.com. That’s been very exciting for us. We are also looking for marketers to audio-enable their owned media. We have a new product called SiteSound, consisting of audio content and programming that can be broadcast from a brand’s website, retail location or other owned property. We’re also seeing some interesting programs emerge that we may be unveiling soon.
How important is the NFL to WestwoodOne’s brand?
Play-by-play, led by the NFL, the NCAA and The Masters, all represent the marquee quality products that WestwoodOne distributes. We’re only a few weeks into the NFL season right now, and the demand has never been stronger. Furthermore, theNBC Sports Radio Network brand, although not play-by-play, is broadcast on more than 350 affiliates now, which is a tremendous accomplishment in only one year’s time.
[eQB Content By Joey Odorisio]
