Cumulus Names Bruce Gilbert SVP/Sports

Bruce Gilbert

Cumulus has announced that sports programming executive Bruce Gilbert will join the company in the newly-created role of Senior Vice President/Sports for Cumulus and Westwood One, the largest pure-play sports radio network in the world.

Gilbert comes to Cumulus from FOX Sports Radio/iHeart Media, where he was Senior Vice President of Sports Operations.

In his new position, Gilbert will lead the curation, development and execution of all sports content initiatives and will oversee the strategic direction of the company’s owned and operated sports stations. He will report to John Dickey, Executive Vice President of Programming and Content for Cumulus. Jim Mahanay, Corporate Program Director/Sports for Cumulus, will continue in that role and will report to Gilbert. Gilbert assumes his new position on January 7.

John Dickey said: “Bruce Gilbert brings years of experience in sports broadcast programming and management to our senior programming team and we’re pleased to welcome him aboard. Bruce will drive the continued growth and development of the industry-leading sports platform at Cumulus and Westwood One, which together comprise the largest pure-play sports radio network in the world and align with the best brands in the business. His addition furthers our commitment to creating and delivering the most exciting content to sports fans and delivering incomparable opportunities for our partners and advertisers.”

Gilbert said: “Sports is one of the many core competencies of Cumulus and Westwood One. I feel very fortunate to join this team of professionals and look forward to working side by side with them and with our partners to produce best in class content and live events that grow ratings and create unique advertising ownership opportunities for our valuable clients. I want to thank John and Lew Dickey and Mike McVay for this incredible opportunity to provide our sports programming across every platform sports fans access. There is a very bright future for sports radio content and the many sports marketing opportunities associated with that content.”
 
Gilbert brings more than 30 years experience in radio programming and operations to Cumulus. While at iHeart Media, Gilbert directed sports programming for the company, including Premiere Networks and the FOX Sports Radio Network. Gilbert was formerly Vice President/News, Talk and Sports Programming for CBS Radio Dallas, where he led programming initiatives for 105.3 The Fan, NewsRadio 1080 KRLD and the Texas State Network. Prior to CBS, he was Chief Executive Officer of Washington, D.C.-based Red Zebra Broadcasting. Gilbert was also Vice President/General Manager for the ESPN Radio Network, where he led programming, affiliations and sales, and worked with owned and operated ESPN stations.

He has been named “Sports Radio Program Director of the Year” three times by Rick Scott & Associates’ annual Sports Radio Conference. In addition to being recognized by Radio Ink in the magazine's annual list of top programmers, he received the coveted "Andrew Ashwood Award" in 2010 at the annual Talk Show Boot Camp, which honors the broadcaster who has made the most positive impact in the radio business.