At the age of 79, Norm Pattiz passed away on Sunday, know his family and net worth
He was a master broadcaster whose Westwood One network of syndicated programmes eventually came to dominate AM radio. Although the cause of death was not immediately revealed, Cumulus Media, the parent company of Westwood One, confirmed it on Monday.
Lakers Super Fan And Westwood One Founder Norm Pattiz Cause Of Death, Age, Family, Net Worth 2022
The career of Norm Pattiz
Norm Pattiz and his rolled-up game program were fixtures at Lakers home games for decades.
We will always treasure his spirit for the game and love for the team. He will be missed. pic.twitter.com/oAej27pmaJ
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) December 6, 2022
Pattiz started his extensive career in broadcasting as a sales representative with the Los Angeles television station KCOP in the early 1970s (Channel 13). He left KCOP in 1976 to found Westwood One, the programme syndicator that would account for most of his media career.
He oversaw the 1985 acquisition of Mutual Broadcasting System, one of the largest radio networks in the country. Two years later, he added the NBC Radio Network to his empire, continuing to utilise the NBC brand name under a licence from General Electric.
Control of Westwood One changed in the early 1990s to Mel Karmazin and Infinity Broadcasting (later acquired by CBS Radio). Pattiz served as the business’s chairman until 2010 when he left to start the on-demand audio network PodcastOne.
Pattiz contributed to the popularisation of on-demand audio during his tenure at PodcastOne, first with an online version of the Adam Carolla programme and later through collaborations with venerable companies like the Los Angeles Lakers basketball franchise.
Tributes pour in for Pattiz
A Los Angeles Lakers official wrote on social media on Monday that “Norm Pattiz and his rolled-up game programme were mainstays at Lakers home games for decades. We will always value his competitive attitude and devotion to the team. He’ll be sorely missed.” Pattiz was recalled by coworkers as a “media visionary” who had a profound and long-lasting impact on the sector.
According to Suzanne Grimes, the president of Westwood One at Cumulus Media, “he launched Westwood One, which evolved to become the largest radio network in the United States and one of the top media organisations in the world.” At Westwood One, “His legacy lives on in all of us.”
Pattiz is in the Radio Hall of Fame’s Giants.
Pattiz was given the Radio Hall of Fame’s Giants of Broadcasting Award and the Library of American Broadcasting Foundation’s Giants of Broadcasting Award in 2019 for his work at Westwood One.
He was named by the governor of California at the time, Gray Davis, to the board of regents of the University of California in 2001. He served in this capacity for 16 years. Later on, he left in 2017 after a comedian and podcast presenter accused him of sexual harassment at his Los Angeles studios for PodcastOne. Pattiz apologised for the event, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times, and stated his decision to leave was not influenced by the episode’s negative news.
He died aged 79 but his cause of death is not known. His net worth stood at $350 million.