Bob Pittman Tells CNBC He Senses Ad Turnaround

Bob Pittman

The economy is looking stronger and advertisers are getting more confident in spending money these days, iHeartMedia Chairman and CEO Bob Pittman told "Street Signs" on CNBC Tuesday.

"I sense a turnaround and sense in talking to the advertisers that they are, this is—hopefully, knock on wood—the year in which they say, 'OK, let's stop the slowdown, let's get back to really playing on the offense,'" he said from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

The company announced a number of partnerships with electronics makers at the show aimed at expanding its reach to consumers.

"All these devices are really new radios. We have the clock radio. We have the car radio. Now we have your handheld radio," Pittman said. "So although they are digital products, to the consumer they are just one more way to get their favorite radio stations."


Pittman also addressed Taylor Swift's decision to pull her album catalog from streaming music service Spotify, noting that there is really no impact on radio.

"Radio breaks music and always has," he said.