Sunday, March 19, 2000
Clear Channel's wide reach
BY JOHN ECKBERG
The Cincinnati Enquirer
In less than three decades, Clear Channel Communications has grown from a single Texas radio station into a global titan of radio, television, Internet and billboard advertising.
Today, Clear Channel:
• Operates 874 radio and 19 television stations in the United States, reaching more than 120 million people each week.
• Has stakes in another 240 stations in 36 countries.
• Produces the three top-rated syndicated radio programs in the country: Rush Limbaugh, The Dr. Laura Schlessinger Show and Dr. Dean Edell.
• Has rights to broadcast Major League Baseball games of the Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
• Has broadcast rights to National Football League's Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos and St. Louis Rams and the National Basketball Association's Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Clippers and Portland Trailblazers.
• Owns 550,000 outdoor billboards around the globe.
• Has a 13 percent stake in XM Satellite Radio, a digital radio company expected to begin international broadcasts next year to paying customers.
A proposed merger with SFX Entertainment, if approved as expected, also will bring Clear Channel ownership or booking rights to 120 live entertainment venues in 31 of 50 top markets in the country. Included are rights to book shows locally at Riverbend Music Center, Firstar Center, Taft Theatre and Bogart's.
SFX also promotes or produces dozens of pop music performers including the Neville Brothers, Taj Mahal, the Rolling Stones, Elton John, Billy Joel, Neil Young, the Eagles, Pink Floyd, Britney Spears, the Cure, the Dave Matthews Band, Bruce Springsteen and Third Eye Blind.
Enthusiasm — and ticket sales — for upcoming concerts can be expected to surge as the artists get concentrated airplay on Clear Channel stations in advance of their shows.
The SFX acquisition also is expected to allow Clear Channel to stream concerts or interviews onto station Web pages through its SFX Radio Network division.
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SMALL-BUSINESS DIARY
