• by Fern Siegel , September 4, 2013

Katz Media Group named Mark Rosenthal CEO of Katz Radio Group, its radio representation company.

Rosenthal, a seasoned advertising and marketing executive, was part of the original team that created MTV, Nickelodeon, VH1 and Comedy Central.

In this new post, Rosenthal will oversee Katz Radio Group, working closely with president Mark Gray and the KRG team to encourage growth in the transactional arena. Rosenthal will also address the company's advocacy efforts while searching for new sources of radio revenue.

KRG is a subsidiary of Clear Channel Media.

John Hogan, chairman and CEO of Clear Channel Media and Entertainment, stated that Rosenthal has "an enormous range of experience across all forms of media, from traditional and digital media to the agency world.”

Previously, Rosenthal spent a decade as president/COO of Viacom's MTV Networks. After that, he worked as chairman/CEO of Interpublic Media, part of IPG. He has also worked at Spot Runner. In 2009, he was named CEO of Current TV, the cable news network.

For his part, Rosenthal called KRG a "fantastic team" and stated he would take the company to "the next next by bringing more money into the radio sector."

KRG represents 3,000 radio stations and a variety of digital platforms across the United States and Canada. KRG’s six divisions include: Katz Radio, Christal Radio, Eastman Radio, Univision Radio, CBS Radio Sales, Entercom Radio Sales and Katz 360 Sales.

Mary Beth Garber, executive vice president, radio analysis and insights at Katz Radio Group, has long touted broadcast radio's endurance. In April, she noted that "broadcast radio isn't losing listeners," explaining that "digital listening represents incremental listening. She dubbed it "additive rather than a substitute."

Per RADAR findings, from January 2012 to December 2012, broadcast radio reached 243 million listeners per week and representing 92.4% of all listening.

Digital listening currently represents only 7.6% of all audio listening.