Mr. Burkhart serves as an investor/advisor and operations consultant to ECRP. He was the senior partner and founder in 1972 of Burkhart-Abrahms-Douglas (BAD), arguably radio's largest and most successful consulting firm ever. BAD provided programming, administration, marketing and sales services for virtually every large and small radio group/owner in the United States. BAD consulted approximately 900 stations, with Mr. Burkhart personally consulting approximately 500 stations. He frequently advised owners in top-20 Arbitron-rated markets in the United States, as well as clients in Australia, England, France, Canada and Mexico. Mr. Burkhart also helped create two networks and advised on the formation of several other broadcasting organizations. He was one of four founders of Satellite Music Network (SMN), the first company to offer turn-key, 24-hour satellite programming to more than 1,000 radio stations. SMN was sold to ABC and is now the ABC Radio Network. He was the first broadcaster to perfect audio sports long form programming on the Internet and convert it to programs for terrestrial radio stations through Sportsline.com. (now CBS.Sportsline.com). His company also developed a new network for NBC called the Source. Additionally, BAD served as a start-up consultant to MTV and to Digital Music Express, a NASDAQ-traded firm that programmed digital music to cable systems in homes and offices. Digital Music Express was eventually sold to TCI, an original investor. Prior to forming BAD, Mr. Burkhart gained experience in the radio broadcast industry as an owner, general manager of a major market, and president of a radio group. He served as Radio Division President for Pacific and Southern Broadcasting, where he was responsible for overseeing the management of stations in Atlanta, Cincinnati, Denver, Los Angeles, Portland and in the New York City Metro. His ownership experience extends to stations in Austin, Charlotte, Jacksonville, Columbia, and Greenville. In 1996 Radio Ink magazine named Mr. Burkhart one of the 75 who made a difference in the first 75 years of the industry’s evolution. In 2004, he appeared on the radio industry Legends panel at the annual Fall National Association of Broadcasters convention. He has held board seats on two NASDAQ companies and many private companies, as well. He has authored countless articles on radio station management and programming for major trade publications such as Billboard, Radio Ink, Radio and Records, Radio Business Report and Talkers Magazine. He has lectured radio classes or groups in colleges and universities including the University of Southern California (UCLA) in Los Angeles, and the University of Georgia. |