Just days after its LBO led by Thomas H. Lee Partners LP and Bain Capital Partners LLC
gained shareholder approval, Clear Channel Communications Inc. has
launched a major online radio initiative. Two Clear Channel subsidiaries, media sales and marketing firm Katz Media Group and broadcaster Clear Channel Radio, have combined forces to create the new Katz Online Network, which it says will reach 5 million listeners each week.
Absent from the company statement is any mention of personalized radio provider Pandora Media Inc., widely
rumored to have been in discussions with Clear Channel a couple of months ago. The Katz Online Network will include hundreds of streams from AM and FM terrestrial stations, syndicated Air America content and additional content from several Internet radio providers.
Clear Channel competes directly with CBS Inc., which has a key
distribution deal with AOL and
acquired social music and personalized radio site Last.fm Ltd., a Pandora competitor, for $280 million last year.
- Paul BonanosSee press release from Clear Channel
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