| Norm Pattiz |
Dial Global, in partnership with Norm Pattiz’s Courtside Entertainment Group, says Monday’s airing of Bill O’Reilly’s Presidential Town Hall cleared 169 radio stations nationwide, including stations in all 25 top markets. RBR-TVBR spoke with Pattiz about this, the first special he’s done with Dial Global, post merger with Westwood One. Listen to the audio above, which addresses all of the products Courtside represents with DG.
Also, Norm (while supervising his move out of Westwood One’s LA offices) tells us there is a “Change of Control” provision in his contract with Westwood, which now applies to Dial Global. It would allow him to take his programming and consulting to another company within 90 days after the deal closed if things didn’t work out. But the way he spoke highly of DG folks on the audio, that isn’t likely to happen. He did say people have approached him about possibly leaving, but Pattiz tells us that he wants to see how it works with DG first. So far, “It’s just like working with Westwood. It was a very smooth transition. I’m certainly not looking for reasons to use the clause.”
Sponsored by the AMAC and The Heritage Foundation, the three-hour town hall featured Republican Presidential Candidates Mitt Romney, Herman Cain, Rick Perry, Newt Gingrich, Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum, Jon Huntsman and Ron Paul answering tough questions from acclaimed O’Reilly.
Herman Cain won the online straw poll which gave listeners a chance to vote for their favorite candidate live. Texas Governor Rick Perry also commented on Cain’s recent rise in the polls: “Any time that you rise to the top of the polls, any time that you appear that you are going to be an individual of substance that those on the left are concerned about, you’re going to get whacked,” Perry told O’Reilly when asked whether the scrutiny of Herman Cain served as a cautionary tale. “As you said” – he continued to O’Reilly – “it’s Herman’s turn in the barrel.”
“Bill and I have wanted to do this project for some time and it is exciting to be able to do it as Courtside’s first national radio special,” commented Pattiz, managing partner of Courtside. “It’s great to work with the good folks at Dial Global and I hope this is the beginning of many more projects to come.”
Dial Global’s Talking Points with Bill O’Reilly airs daily on radio stations nationwide and features an inside, first look at Bill O’Reilly’s talking points memo offering analysis and compelling commentary on national and world affairs, politics, lifestyle and current events.
