Clear Channel Radio Announces Acquisition Of Thumbplay鈥檚 Cloud-Based Music Business

Clear Channel Radio Announces Acquisition Of Thumbplay鈥檚 Cloud-Based Music Business

Thumbplay鈥檚 Cutting-Edge Digital Music Technology Will Dramatically Enhance Clear Channel鈥檚 Popular Digital Radio Service, iHeartRadio

Acquisition will also add important new features and functionality for the tens of millions who listen to Clear Channel鈥檚 750 radio stations plus digital-only stations through iHeartRadio

Agreement is key element of aggressive digital strategy to capitalize on Clear Channel鈥檚 powerful national and local platforms
San Antonio, Texas and New York, NY 鈥 March 1, 2011 鈥 Clear Channel Radio, the country鈥檚 leading digital and terrestrial radio company, today announced an agreement with digital music company Thumbplay, Inc. to acquire its leading-edge cloud-based music service, platform and team of mobile technology, product and marketing experts.

The acquisition does not include Thumbplay鈥檚 ringtone business. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The acquisition will enable Clear Channel to leverage Thumbplay鈥檚 state-of-the-art music technology and services, and combine the efforts of both the Clear Channel and Thumbplay technology, product and marketing teams to accelerate development and growth of the next generation of Clear Channel鈥檚 popular and successful iHeartRadio digital products. In addition, the new iHeartRadio platform will power Clear Channel鈥檚 750 radio stations from 150 cities and the company鈥檚 digital-only commercial-free stations, and provide a variety of new features and functionality, including enabling listeners to create their own personalized 鈥榬adio stations.鈥

Thumbplay will also give Clear Channel the capability to deploy a variety of subscription services as the company moves quickly to leverage its significant radio assets across all digital platforms, including the Internet, automotive and mobile devices.

Robert Pittman, Chairman of Media and Entertainment Platforms for Clear Channel, said, 鈥淭he acquisition of Thumbplay is a key element in Clear Channel Radio鈥檚 aggressive digital strategy. It will capitalize on our powerful iHeartRadio platform and ensure that our listeners have the radio and music experience they want, on whatever device or platform they prefer.鈥

He added, 鈥淛oining Thumbplay's custom radio and subscription services with Clear Channel鈥檚 streaming expertise, iHeartRadio鈥檚 Internet and mobile audio and music services, including 750 online radio stations, digital-only stations and apps, will create an unsurpassed integrated music product. Couple this with Clear Channel鈥檚 promotional power to reach 228 million people on a monthly basis, and you have a combination nobody else can match.鈥
John Hogan, President and CEO of Clear Channel Radio, said, 鈥淏ecause the entire digital radio space is still in its infancy, with only 3% of total radio listening hours, we think a new, dramatically enhanced version of iHeartRadio will build on our position as the leaders in digital radio, offering an unparalleled combination of features and reach -- to our listeners, advertisers, artists, music labels, and other partners 鈥 not available anywhere else.鈥

Evan Schwartz, CEO/co-founder of Thumbplay, said, 鈥淲e are extremely proud of the digital music products we鈥檝e launched, and Clear Channel has recognized the real value of what the Thumbplay team has developed. They have the reach, the brands, and the promotional power, and we鈥檙e pleased we can add our team, technology, products and resources to this combination and to create a digital music experience on all platforms that no one will be able to match. I believe it鈥檚 a good home for the Thumbplay team 鈥 and we鈥檙e excited about what we can create in this unique combination.鈥

Over the coming months, Clear Channel will incorporate Thumbplay鈥檚 custom 鈥榬adio station鈥 service into its iHeartRadio, the digital platform for 750 Clear Channel Radio stations nationwide, including such mega-stations as Z100 in New York and KIIS-FM in Los Angeles.

The technology, like iHeartRadio itself, works on PCs and Macs, as well as smartphones, including Android, iPhone and BlackBerry devices. In addition, iHeartRadio will be incorporated into Toyota vehicles as well as other automotive platforms.

With more than 24 million app downloads and 25 million monthly unique users, iHeartRadio is one of the most popular music applications on mobile devices and is consistently in the top downloads of free music apps for the iPhone as well as in the BlackBerry app store.

CONTACTS:
Wendy Goldberg
Clear Channel Radio
(212) 549-0965
WendyGoldberg@clearchannel.com

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