Pilot Group

He’s Back: Bob Pittman Named CEO of Clear Channel

Kara Swisher in Media on October 2, 2011 at 2:00 pm PT

Longtime media and Internet exec Bob Pittman has been named CEO of radio broadcast and outdoor advertising giant Clear Channel, the company announced today.

SoftBank Keeps Up Its Game With MocoSpace Funding

Kara Swisher in News on September 23, 2010 at 6:00 am PT

SoftBank Capital forked over $3.5 million in funding to mobile entertainment destination MocoSpace. SoftBank recently invested $150 million in online gaming powerhouse Zynga and apparently wanted to make a play in mobile browser-based social gaming.

How to Win at Farmville: Bob Pittman’s Pilot Group Sells Zynga Shares

Peter Kafka in Media on June 25, 2010 at 11:11 am PT

Zynga generates most of its revenue selling virtual goods for hit games like Farmville. And that has turned into real money for at least one of its investors.

Betaworks Gets Another $20 Million for Twitter-Friendly Start-Ups. Building a Mountain or Digging a Hole?

Peter Kafka in Media on March 12, 2010 at 3:00 am PT

Do you like Twitter’s chances? Then you’ll like Betaworks, a holding company that builds and invests in the Twitter ecosystem. CEO John Borthwick explains what it plans to do with the $20 million it just raised from the likes of Intel, the New York Times and AOL.

A Father and Son Team That Founds Web Start-Ups Wants to Finance Them, Too: Ken and Ben Lerer Get Their Own Fund

Peter Kafka in Media on February 2, 2010 at 3:30 am PT

Meet another set of investors funding New York-based Web start-ups: Lerer Media Ventures, run by Huffington Post co-founder Ken Lerer and his son, Thrillist co-founder Ben Lerer. Their backers include familiar names like Ron Conway and Arianna Huffington.

Zynga's Mark Pincus Talks About Big Funding, "Offer Ad" Controversies and More!

Kara Swisher in News on December 18, 2009 at 3:32 am PT

Just days after selling $180 million in private stock to a group of investors, including Facebook investor Digital Sky Technologies of Russia, Zynga’s Mark Pincus came to visit the BoomTown Worldwide HQ for a video interview. Zynga, the San Francisco-based social-gaming company, took the money, Pincus explained to me, so it would not have to do what everyone thought it was set to do soon: Go public.

Disney’s “Green” Ideal Bite Site Set to Go Dark

Peter Kafka in Media on December 3, 2009 at 5:45 pm PT

Disney, which paid a reported $20 million for the Ideal Bite lifestyle newsletter and Web site in 1998, is putting it on “indefinite hiatus.” But the company’s employees will be out of work next week.

Netted, a Web-Centric Tipsheet, Tries Squeezing Into Your Inbox

Peter Kafka in Media on November 4, 2009 at 3:00 am PT

Everyone loves to complain about email. Except for the growing batch of entrepreneurs using it to launch newsletter businesses. Latest example: Netted, a Web-centric recommendation guide from the guys who bring you the Webby Awards.

It's Another Tequila Start-Up: Bob Pittman's New Venture

Kara Swisher in News on October 16, 2009 at 2:14 am PT

Earlier this week, while in New York, BoomTown paid a visit to well-known media and Web exec Bob Pittman to hear about his newest venture. And, as it turned out, it tasted pretty good. That’s because the former MTV wunderkind, AOL top exec and currently, investor in a wide range of media and Web companies, is making tequila instead of Internet sites. Thank God it’s Friday!