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Clear Channel Nabs Time Warner Exec for Outdoor/Radio Sales Head

Clear Channel has named John Partilla, until now head of Time Warner’s Global Media Group, as its new corporate evp and president of global media sales.

Partilla will lead national business development across the company’s radio and outdoor business, the first time a sales position at Clear Channel has encompassed both radio and outdoor, according to the company.

Partilla joins Clear Channel from Time Warner, where he led Time Warner’s Global Media Group in its mission to work with major advertisers and help drive the growth of advertising and marketing revenue across all of Time Warner’s businesses.  Prior to overseeing Global Media at Time Warner, Partilla was president at Young & Rubicam, and founder and CEO of Brand Buzz, an “agency within an agency” at Young & Rubicam designed to provide solutions for smaller advertisers.

“We’re entering a new era for advertising and marketing, and the strides that Clear Channel has made in digital platforms across both the radio and outdoor businesses are an outstanding match for the new demands being placed on marketers,” says Partilla. “Realizing that potential will require adding strategic and creative value for our best advertising partners - helping them solve their most critical business problems. The result will be more revenue across all of Clear Channel’s businesses.”

Clear Channel CEO Mark Mays says the company has driven a “tremendous increase” in the value of Clear Channel’s radio and outdoor platforms to national brands in recent years. “Now is the time to accelerate and expand our attention to chief marketing officers and brand managers,” he says.

Time Warner has promoted Mark D’Arcy to head up the company’s Global Media Group as president and chief creative officer. D’Arcy joined the group in 2004, reports the Wall Street Journal.

The loss of Partilla comes as Time Warner spins off AOL as an independent entity with separate, publicly traded stocks.

Clear Channel is touting its “digital momentum,” claiming record audience levels for its digital properties and announcing a host of improvements to its online platform like the launch of a new media player and new audience analytics, and more exclusive online and mobile programming.

Clear Channel Radio has more than 850 broadcast streams, differentiated digital channels focused on niche music genres and personalities, and a vast library of on-demand music, news and entertainment content. Users engaging with its digital properties has hit 22 million per month, according to data from Omniture.