PRESS RELEASE

January 16, 2018

Tom Birch Joins Media Services Group

Media Services Group Managing Director, Eddie Esserman, has announced that Tom Birch will join the firm as a Director, effective February 1, 2018.

Birch’s industry background includes 13 years of Lakes Media ownership, which he continues to own and operate, 9 years as Owner/CEO of Opus Media Group and 12 years as Founder and CEO of Birch/Scarborough Research. Lakes Media owns 9 stations serving southern Virginia and northern North Carolina and Opus Media owned market-leading clusters in Jackson MS and Savannah GA and stations in Fort Walton Beach FL and Monroe LA.

At its peak in the 1980’s, Birch/Scarborough employed more than 1,200 people nationwide and maintained sales offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Dallas. The company interviewed over 100,000 persons per month in 260 markets and its client base included major radio broadcast groups such as Clear Channel, CBS and ABC, leading national advertisers such as McDonalds, Anheuser-Busch and Delta Airlines, and major national advertising agencies such as BBDO, McCann-Erickson and Ogilvy & Mather.

As a member of the National Association of Broadcasters Committee on Local Radio Audience Measurement (COLRAM), Tom continues to have a voice in the improvement of audience measurement metrics from Nielsen Audio and other research providers. Tom is a graduate of the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University.

Esserman stated, “Tom Birch brings a wealth of industry, financial and market research experience to Media Services Group. He has raised millions of dollars in investment capital, authored numerous business and financial plans, was involved in successful radio acquisitions and turnarounds and built a major, industry-changing business. He will be an enormous asset. All of us at Media Services Group are thrilled to have Tom’s experience, perspective and involvement in the industry on our team.”

Birch stated, “With an excellent management team now running Lakes Media, I decided to leverage my available time as a broker and consultant. Through the years, I have worked with Media Services Group in successful transactions and have admired the integrity, intelligence, and experience of Media Services Group members. I am honored to join this elite group.”

You may reach Tom at [email protected] or (919) 341-1804.