Clear Channel Spectacolor Selected as Sales Agent for World’s Largest, Most Technically Advanced Digital Billboard in Times Square to Help Brands Captivate Consumers

November 17, 2014 by David Grabert

New York’s Busiest Consumer Playground Now Even More Dynamic with Over 25,000 Sq. Feet of the Highest Resolution LED Ever, Covering an Entire City Block

New York, NY—November 17, 2014— Clear Channel Spectacolor, a brand division ofClear Channel Outdoor (NYSE: CCO), a subsidiary of iHeartMedia Inc. (NYSE: IHRT), today announced the addition of the largest, most technically advanced billboard in Times Square to its portfolio of media and experiential marketing solutions helping advertisers make an impact in one of the most visited, photographed and filmed locations in the world.

Spanning a full city block – and larger by far than any other billboard in Times Square — the new billboard was built by Vornado Realty Trust in a dramatic redevelopment of the Marriott Marquis hotel’s façade and retail spaces. Located at 1535 Broadway between 45th and 46th Streets, the new sign offers both massive size superiority and marquee placement in the heart of Times Square. The sign is visible from virtually every vantage point in the Square’s “bowtie.”

Vornado chose Spectacolor as sales agent for the one-of-a-kind display designed for the world’s most prominent advertisers. Built with state of the art Diamond Vision® display technology from Mitsubishi Electric, the display’s unparalleled features include:

• More than 25,000 square feet of seamless digital canvas — a record-breaking 77.69 feet by 329.65 feet
• Pixel density of 2,368 x 10,048 — the highest resolution LED video display in the world of this size, dwarfing 4K ultra high definition pixel density by 15 million pixels
• The highest contrast LED screen in the U.S. with Real Black™ LED technology, producing deep, rich black levels and unsurpassed vertical viewing angles, ensuring Times Square crowds have clear views of the display when close and in bright sunlight
• High definition crowd cameras
• Interactive, social media and live broadcast feed capabilities

Spanning a full city block – and larger by far than any other billboard in Times Square

“Times Square now has North America’s biggest and most awe-inspiring digital screen, enabling Clear Channel’s marketing partners to stand out in an incredibly significant way in one of the world’s busiest shopping and tourist meccas,” said Harry Coghlan, president and general manager, Clear Channel Outdoor New York. “This innovative and thoroughly distinctive display establishes a new iconic landmark in Times Square while creating a powerful, value proposition for our advertisers. We experienced tremendous pre-sale interest, and the display is sold out to one advertiser through January 2015. We have great confidence that this spectacular billboard will be the most sought after display in the world for years to come.”

Per TAB ratings, the new display will deliver more than 2 million impressions with adults 18+ passing this prime location weekly. Times Square is the center of the consumer universe, with as many as 460,000 people visiting daily. Nearly 500,000 vehicles pass through Times Square each week, and nearly 400,000 direct and indirect employees traverse the square on their commute. Times Square is home to twenty-five percent of all New York City hotel rooms, and eighty percent of New York City tourists visit Times Square, with eighty-three percent saying the billboards are the appeal of Times Square. And on New Year’s Eve, one million people will stand for five to ten hours on the Square celebrating and waiting for the ball to drop, while more than one billion worldwide will view the celebration televised.

In addition to the billboard’s direct exposure to consumers in the Square, marketers investing in this premium opportunity will enjoy incomparable secondary impressions from media outlets located nearby or broadcasting prominent events, including Good Morning America, Telemundo, Extra, Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin Eve, The New York Times; Advertising Week and Crain’s New York Business to name but a few.

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