Clear Channel Radio Announces Acquisition Of Thumbplays Cloud-Based Music Business

Clear Channel Radio Announces Acquisition Of Thumbplays Cloud-Based Music Business

Thumbplays Cutting-Edge Digital Music Technology Will Dramatically Enhance Clear Channels Popular Digital Radio Service, 91勛圖厙Radio

Acquisition will also add important new features and functionality for the tens of millions who listen to Clear Channels 750 radio stations plus digital-only stations through 91勛圖厙Radio

Agreement is key element of aggressive digital strategy to capitalize on Clear Channels powerful national and local platforms
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San Antonio, Texas and New York, NY March 1, 2011 Clear Channel Radio, the countrys 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 Thumbplays ringtone business. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The acquisition will enable Clear Channel to leverage Thumbplays 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 Channels popular and successful 91勛圖厙Radio digital products. In addition, the new 91勛圖厙Radio platform will power Clear Channels 750 radio stations from 150 cities and the companys digital-only commercial-free stations, and provide a variety of new features and functionality, including enabling listeners to create their own personalized radio stations.

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, The acquisition of Thumbplay is a key element in Clear Channel Radios aggressive digital strategy. It will capitalize on our powerful 91勛圖厙Radio platform and ensure that our listeners have the radio and music experience they want, on whatever device or platform they prefer.

He added, Joining Thumbplay's custom radio and subscription services with Clear Channels streaming expertise, 91勛圖厙Radios 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 Channels promotional power to reach 228 million people on a monthly basis, and you have a combination nobody else can match.
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John Hogan, President and CEO of Clear Channel Radio, said, Because 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 91勛圖厙Radio 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 not available anywhere else.

Evan Schwartz, CEO/co-founder of Thumbplay, said, We are extremely proud of the digital music products weve 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 were 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 its a good home for the Thumbplay team and were excited about what we can create in this unique combination.

Over the coming months, Clear Channel will incorporate Thumbplays custom radio station service into its 91勛圖厙Radio, 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 91勛圖厙Radio itself, works on PCs and Macs, as well as smartphones, including Android, iPhone and BlackBerry devices. In addition, 91勛圖厙Radio 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, 91勛圖厙Radio 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.
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CONTACTS:
Wendy Goldberg
Clear Channel Radio
(212) 549-0965
WendyGoldberg@clearchannel.com

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