Westwood One, Benztown Extend Rep Deal

Charles Steinhauer

Westwood One has  announced it has signed a multi-year extension with imaging powerhouse Benztown, which provides radio imaging, voiceover, programming and jingles to Westwood One and to Cumulus' owned and affiliated stations.

In 2011, Cumulus and Benztown signed an exclusive agreement that created one of the industry’s largest collections of production and imaging libraries.

Under the new agreement, Westwood One will manage affiliation and advertising sales for all Benztown production and imaging libraries and Benztown will direct production of the network’s library offerings. Additionally, Westwood One will manage affiliate and advertising sales for Benztown’s voiceover services available to stations for barter and will serve as exclusive ad sales representation for select Benztown Radio Networks programs, including The Storm Report, The Old Farmers Almanac Report, The Todd N Tyler Radio Empire, Round Trip with Dave-O, and Vipology. The 20 production libraries include Benztown’s AC, HOT AC, CHR, Country, Urban, Rhythmic, Classic Hits, Rock, News/Talk, SpeakerToyz, SpeakerToyz AC, Sports and JACK, and Westwood One’s branded libraries Adrenaline, Ambush, Horsepower, Goldmine, Avalanche, Clique and Turbulence. Libraries from both companies remain market exclusive, but with the majority of formats, there is more than one production service from which to choose, creating an alternative product in markets where one library is already utilized.

Dave Denes

Westwood One will direct affiliation and advertising sales for Benztown’s industry-leading voiceover services, which include more than 100 premium voiceover talents available to stations on a barter basis. Westwood One will also represent Benztown’s imaging group, Benztown Branding, which currently serves over 1900 broadcast radio stations and digital services worldwide with custom voiceover and imaging services across all formats, including commercial voiceover, copywriting and jingles services.

"Benztown is a natural fit for us," adds Charles Steinhauer, Westwood One's COO. "Their imaging products and production resources are creative, top-notch, and always ahead of the curve.  Benztown powers our stations with optimal branding and real  presence in the marketplace.  We look forward to working with Chachi and his team for years to come."

Dave "Chachi" Denes, Benztown President said: "If you're in the tech field you want to work with Apple. If you're in the fashion industry you want to work with Louis Vuitton. If you're in the audio content business you want to work with Westwood One. Lew Dickey, John Dickey, Mike McVay, Charles Steinhauer, Dennis Green, and Steve Shaw work with the best content producers on the planet and we're honored to be part of the team."