John Sykes
President
Clear Channel Entertainment Enterprises
POWER MOVE: Global audience of 19 million for the 12-12-12 benefit (and $50 million raised) point to powerful TV translations of Clear Channel franchises like the Jingle Ball concerts.
THE RUNDOWN: As Clear Channel evolves from a radio behemoth into a broader media/entertainment company, it’s banking on former VH1 president John Sykes to spearhead expansion into TV, live events and digital channels, using strategic music partnerships to fuel the transformation.
Two recent mega-events gave an indication of things to come. The star-studded 12-12-12 benefit at New York’s Madison Square Garden, which Sykes co-produced, was seen by a global audience of 19 million and raised more than $50 million for Hurricane Sandy relief. Sykes also cut a deal with the CW Network to air a two-hour version of last year’s iHeartRadio Music Festival, with a repeat airing on New Year’s Eve drawing 1.3 million viewers. “Both shows demonstrated the power of this company when you point all of our 850 stations in the same direction,” Sykes says.
Clear Channel’s radio bullhorn reaches 239 million listeners a month, and those numbers deliver access to artists who can help create content to differentiate the company from competitors. For example, Sykes worked on a large-scale, cross-platform campaign with NBC for last year’s bow of the network’s “The Voice,” featuring a live iHeartRadio webcast of performances by finalists and judges from the House of Blues in West Hollywood.
Future initiatives will expand signature franchises—including the company’s annual Jingle Ball concerts and performances from its intimate iHeartRadio theater in New York—to TV and the Web. Also in the works is an entirely new concert series. “Music is still a juggernaut on TV,” Sykes says. “We see opportunities to create one-of-a-kind entertainment experiences wrapped around music, and our TV network and streaming partners have expressed lots of interest.”