Norm Pattiz, the founder of the syndicated programming network Westwood One, died on December 6 at the age of 79.
The cause of death has not been released by officials at Westwood One’s parent company, Cumulus Media.
Pattiz started out as a salesman for Los Angeles television station KCOP (Channel 13), but left in 1976 to found Westwood One.
In 1985, the company acquired Mutual Broadcasting System, one of the largest radio networks in the United States. Two years later, the company acquired the NBC Radio Network.
In the early 1990s, control of Westwood One shifted to Mel Karmazin and Infinity Broadcasting (later acquired by CBS Radio). Pattiz remained the company’s chairman until 2010, when he founded the on-demand audio network PodcastOne.
Pattiz helped bring on-demand audio mainstream, first with an on-demand version of the Adam Carolla show and later through collaborations with brands such as the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team.
Pattiz was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2019 for his work with Westwood One and received the Library of American Broadcasting Foundation’s Giants of Broadcasting Award the same year.
Information on survivors is not available.
Writer: Bruce Herring
Source: Deadline
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