Merlin Media was formed to acquire and operate media through a partnership between Chicago-based private equity firm GTCR and Emmis Communications, a diversified media company. The company begins with a base of three properties – two in Chicago and one in New York – and intends to develop a combination of media across the country.
"Walter has unparalleled experience and a true passion for this industry, making him a perfect fit to lead Merlin Media's operations. He has founded two businesses of his own in Sabo Media and Hitviews, and that core competency will be hugely valuable to us," said Randy Michaels, CEO of Merlin Media.
"Success requires building brands that are unique, desirable and difficult to duplicate. Walter has the vision, intelligence, leadership skills, and experience to move Merlin beyond current convention and to take advantage of emerging media opportunities. It also means attracting special, talented people, and Walter knows how to do that."
Sabo founded the New York-based Sabo Media in 1984, where he consulted content in all media, most recently at Sirius XM Satellite. Sabo began his tenure there pre-launch, continuing for eight and a half years consulting on all programming initiatives. In this capacity, he organized and staffed the programming department, initiated attractive subscriber channels and participated in the aggressive recruitment of Howard Stern. Today, Sirius grosses over $3 billion annually.
Prior to his current engagements, Sabo held executive positions with profit and loss responsibilities at ABC Radio Networks and NBC-owned FM stations that included premier properties in New York City, San Francisco, Chicago and Washington DC.
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