Marketron has announced the promotion of Jimshade Chaudhari to CEO succeeding Jim Howard, while selling its “Marketron REV” software to Imagine Communications.
Chaudhari has served as SVP/Product for Marketron since 2019 after holding executive roles at Sling TV, Dish Network, Sprint Nextel, and Credit Suisse First Boston. Howard, who has been CEO for the past five years, will continue as Board Chair.
The appointment comes as Marketron sells its television sales and order management platform to Imagine Communications where it will be relaunched as CrossFlight and integrated into their OSI traffic and billing systems. Marketron will now focus more completely on its radio sales services.
Marketron, the broadcast industry’s leading technology provider for more scalable, predictable and reliable revenue, today announced the appointment of Jimshade Chaudhari as CEO and the acquisition of Marketron REV by Imagine Communications.
Imagine Communications and Marketron have signed a definitive agreement for Imagine to acquire the award-winning Marketron REV broadcast sales and order management platform. REV integrates access to real-time inventory, ratings and dynamic pricing, allowing salespeople to deliver more revenue more effectively.
“With REV, our team built and delivered something unique and highly valuable for TV broadcasters looking to transform daily sales operations and to maximize revenue while preparing for a future of converged orders,” said Jimshade Chaudhari, CEO of Marketron. “We leave REV in the highly experienced and capable hands of the team at Imagine. Meanwhile, Marketron will continue our commitment and focus on innovation and revenue-driving technology for radio broadcasters, which is where our roots are.”
The acquisition of REV also coincides with transitions on the Marketron executive team. Jimshade Chaudhari, who has been the senior vice president of product at Marketron since 2019, will now serve as CEO of the company. Jim Howard, CEO for the past 5 years, will be returning to his role as Board Chair. “We want to thank and congratulate Jim for leading Marketron to a return to rapid, consistent and profitable growth,” said Kevin Ma, Managing Director at Diversis Capital.
Chaudhari brings with him extensive product experience to his new position, having successfully driven the strategy, roadmap, user experience and customer adoption across Marketron’s portfolio of products for the past 5 years. Prior to joining Marketron he led product, marketing and business development organizations in highly competitive industries, including his role as vice president of product and partnerships at Sling TV.
“Jimshade led the transformation of the product portfolio to an integrated broadcast and digital offering, enabling transformation of the radio industry into the next stage of its development. I can think of no one better than Jimshade to continue to lead Marketron forward,” said Howard.
“I am honored to lead Marketron’s talented team,” said Chaudhari. “Together, we’re committed to continue developing innovative products and services that will help our customers succeed in the ever-changing world of broadcast and media.”
Imagine Communications, a leading provider of ad tech solutions for TV broadcast, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the award-winning Marketron REV broadcast sales and order management platform. By integrating the powerful sales growth engine into its core ad tech portfolio, Imagine now offers a comprehensive monetization solution that enables North American broadcasters to transform daily sales operations, maximize revenue and prepare for a future of converged orders and expanded audience measurement. The product will be re-released as CrossFlight™ after some key enhancements for broadcast TV and is expected to be available in early 2024.
CrossFlight is a cloud-based broadcast sales platform that automates management of ad sales, proposals, pricing and audience forecasting. The platform integrates with Imagine’s widely deployed OSI™ traffic and billing solution, providing a modern, unified monetization solution that enables salespeople to deliver more revenue more effectively. As development continues, the rapidly evolving platform will enable broadcasters to make more money in a cross-platform world by selling an audience across linear and streaming from a single, converged system.
“We are excited to integrate Marketron’s innovative technology into our ad tech portfolio, which will enable us to deliver the exact right solution at the right time for the North American broadcast market,” said Rob Malcolm, general manager of Ad Tech at Imagine Communications. “Our OSI customers will realize immediate benefits from this extension to our core solutions, allowing them to reduce the workload on their sales teams and run their businesses much more efficiently ― while at the same time preparing to successfully navigate a converged linear/digital future.”
CrossFlight delivers an array of powerful sales tools designed to help broadcasters maximize revenue. Built-in pipeline management capabilities allow salespeople to easily manage prospects and customer accounts. Avail requests and proposals can be converted with one step, and orders are executed in TV traffic systems using a modern, web-based user interface (UI). Dynamic pricing capabilities enable inventory to be sold at the best possible price point. Sales performance is easily monitored via an interactive dashboard that provides visibility into pipeline, committed orders, top sellers, and how stations are performing against targets.
“With Marketron REV, our team built an unrivalled platform for sales efficiency, and we are confident that Imagine is the ideal partner to take the platform to the next level of success, while we focus on bringing innovation to the radio industry,” said Jimshade Chaudhari, CEO at Marketron. “Imagine’s deep customer relationships in broadcast TV will enable them to move quickly on development to further meet the industry’s requirements for audience-based and converged linear and CTV sales solutions.”
