5 Questions With Radio Media President Ivan Shulman

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Bringing CBS Radio’s 117 radio stations into the Radiate Media fold is certainly a big deal. CBS had been locked into a 10-year deal with Total Traffic & Weather which is owned by iHeartMedia. Radiate Media formed as an independent company back in 2011 and today provides over 1,000 radio stations, including every Cumulus station, with traffic information.

Ivan Shulman, who has 30 years in the traffic business, has been President of the company for nearly five years. We spoke to Shulman about the CBS deal. Here’s what he had to say.

Radio Ink: Congratulations on the CBS deal. You’ve probably been working on that for awhile.
Ivan Shulman: We honestly have been focused on not only CBS, but every other affiliate group deal since the day I started at Radiate 4.5 years ago. CBS, with their substantial footprint, made them extremely important to add to our existing group of affiliated radio groups.

Radio Ink: What does this mean in terms of possible new hires?
Ivan Shulman: Our company will be doubling in size at a minimum over the next couple of years. We will need experienced reporters and sellers. Fortunatley, there are a number of quality broadcasters and sellers in the different cities available.

Radio Ink: Why would you say your product is the best product in the marketplace today?
Ivan Shulman: Our roots are in technology from the old traffic.com and Nokia days. Our “Tru Traffic TM” suite of products for radio and TV stations, is second to none.

Radio Ink: Explain how the technology has changed over the years and why you feel comfortable that what one of your reporters delivers to the listener will be exactly what’s taking place on that road.
Ivan Shulman: Technology has changed over the years; in the old days once your aircraft covered an area you were blind until the next pass. With today’s sensor, probe, and camera data we instantly know about changing traffic conditions and can inform our listeners immediately.

Radio Ink: What do you want every radio station in America to know about your traffic product?
Ivan Shulman: Traffic is our only product and business. We own no radio stations to compete with our affiliates. We are bringing best practices from countries around the world (Australia, Brazil, Canada, and the UK) into our existing suite of services. Our only goals are to give broadcasters the best information available for their listeners, and to give our advertisers a quality product.

On April 5, it was announced that Global Traffic Network was purchasing Radiate Media. A new name for the company will be announced soon.

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