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Clear Channel Radio Expands Online Ad Sales, Names Ronning Lipset As Exclusive National Third-Party Rep

Posted on: Wednesday, 21 September 2005, 09:00 CDT

Clear Channel Communications, Inc. (NYSE:CCU)

-- Online Advertising Specialist Ronning Lipset Radio Will Represent Online Radio Properties to National Advertisers, Consult on Systems

-- Clear Channel Radio Sales Continues to Sell Locally and Will Package Online Into Broader Clear Channel Pitches

Clear Channel Radio's Online Music & Radio unit today announced it has named Ronning Lipset Radio as its exclusive, national third-party rep firm for its online properties. Ronning Lipset will focus on national sales opportunities for Clear Channel Radio's network of 1200 radio-station Web sites and exclusive, on-demand programming. Also under the agreement, Ronning Lipset will consult on the creation of systems that will quantify the value of national advertising on the Online Music & Radio network as well as be housed at the Katz Radio offices in New York.

"The market has been eagerly awaiting a traditional radio company to jump into the online radio space with both feet," said Andy Lipset, managing partner of Ronning Lipset Radio. "Clear Channel's innovative approach to online content and massive audience reach bring tremendous credibility to the market in general and greatly increases the unduplicated audience reach of online listeners."

Clear Channel Radio's online streaming audience ranked an impressive third in the most recent Arbitron/comScore ratings of online streaming radio, with some 850,000 unique visitors for the month of July 2005. The Online Music & Radio unit has launched a broad range of exclusive, on-demand programming in its nine months, including stripped, Sneak Peek, In Concert and most recently, NEW!. The unit has also become a leading provider of podcasts, with material from local Clear Channel Radio stations placing in the Top 10 of iTunes' national rankings.

"Ronning Lipset have made huge strides in helping national advertisers fully appreciate the value in an online audience," said Evan Harrison, executive vice president of Clear Channel Radio and head of the company's Online Music & Radio unit. "We have great confidence in their knowledge, expertise and strong relationships."

The addition of Clear Channel Radio's Online Music & Radio network boosts the unduplicated listenership of Ronning Lipset affiliates -- which also include America Online's AOL Radio Network, Yahoo! Music's LAUNCHcast, Live 365 and Microsoft's MSN Radio and Windowsmedia.com -- to some seven million online radio listeners weekly, creating an attractive umbrella buying opportunity for national advertisers.

Clear Channel Radio local sales teams will continue to sell the properties locally and will package the online properties into broader company pitches. More than 130 Clear Channel Radio stations in 50 markets have sold local broadband show sponsorships to clients such as Budweiser, Road Runner, Comcast Communications, Virgin Mobile, Charter Communications, Bell Wireless, local legal firms, local automobile dealerships and upscale salons and restaurants.

About Clear Channel Online Music & Radio

A division of Clear Channel Radio, OM&R is focused on bringing terrestrial radio listeners online to the Web sites of the company's network of approximately 1,200 radio stations. Nearly 10 million unique visitors per month choose Clear Channel Radio's online and on-demand music programming, which now includes videos of signature in-studio performances as well as live concerts, exclusive access to new releases and a full podcast roster of top-rated radio segments. Almost 400 Clear Channel Radio station Web sites, including all of the company's stations in the top 25 markets, stream terrestrial broadcasts online. Over 400 Clear Channel Radio station sites are live with redesigned interfaces, extending to the Internet the company's focus on improving the value of radio through less clutter.

About Clear Channel Radio

Clear Channel Radio is a leading radio company focused on serving local communities across the U.S. with more than 110 million listeners choosing Clear Channel Radio programming each week. The company's operations include radio broadcasting, syndication and independent media representation. Clear Channel Radio is a division of Clear Channel Communications, Inc. (NYSE:CCU), a leading global media and entertainment company. More information on the company can be found at www.clearchannel.com.

About Ronning Lipset Radio

Ronning Lipset Radio was formed specifically to help traditional advertisers find and reach the highly qualified and consistently growing number of listeners to online radio. A key element of the company's mission is to "normalize" the use of online radio broadcasters in the traditional mix of media by way of Arbitron ratings data. With affiliates America Online's AOL Radio Network, Clear Channel Radio's Online Music & Radio network, Yahoo! Music's LAUNCHcast, Live 365 and Microsoft's MSN Radio and Windowsmedia.com, the company represents the largest online broadcasters in the country. With its network, the company is able to showcase an engaged online radio audience whose size is viable in the traditional marketplace. The principals have spent a significant amount of time in the sale and marketing of traditional radio and, later, the online space, which allows them to have a complete understanding of how radio and online marketing come together to meet a marketer's objectives.

Certain statements in this release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

Source: Business Wire

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