Global Traffic Network

Global Traffic Network is a helicopter traffic reporting service that provides reports to radio and television stations across the United States and Canada. The company was formed in 2005 by principals from Westwood One and Metro Networks, both of which provide direct traffic and news programming to their affiliate stations in the U.S.

Global Traffic Network also has four subsidiaries, Canadian Traffic Network, Australian Traffic Network, UK Traffic Network and European Traffic Network.

The Company

Global Traffic Network was established to be a worldwide aviation company providing helicopter traffic and news reports on the radio and television. Global Traffic Network is already the leading helicopter vendor for radio traffic and weather reports in Canada and Australia. With management and broadcast contracts between Global and Westwood One, the company also is the leading helicopter traffic vendor for radio in the United States.

Global Traffic Network is also attempting to expand its market reach in the televised media. Global Traffic Network, through its Australian subsidiary, has already attained a significant number of television affiliates. Combined with the radio affiliates, Global is the dominant ENG helicopter vendor in Australia.

Global Traffic’s media reach, as a helicopter company, is the largest in the world, an idea first hatched by vendors of Metro Networks in 1999.

History

Global Traffic Network was incorporated in Delaware in May 2005 by William L. Yde, III, who had sold a traffic company to billionaire David I Saperstein, the former CEO of Metro Networks, in 1996.

Yde, who had been living in Las Vegas, Nevada assembled a management group from within Metro Networks and Westwood One, including Shane Coppola, Westwood’s CEO, and Gary Worobow, who was Westwood One’s general counsel, as well as board member of Five “S” Capital, owned by Saperstein.

Yde united four helicopter traffic companies that had been operating in Australia, Canada and Europe. Those four helicopter companies are now subsidiaries of the parent, Global Traffic Network.

Although Global Traffic Network was originally established to serve only the Canadian provinces, Australia and Europe, the company signed advertising and broadcast management agreements with Westwood One and Metro Networks in November 2005, essentially making Global Traffic Network the aviation arm of Westwood and Metro.

Global Traffic Network now owns dozens of Robinson R44 helicopters to service affiliate contracts in the US, Canada, Australia and Europe, according the 2007 Rotor Roster, a helicopter industry publication that reports annually on the ownership and registration of rotorcraft.

Capitalization and Investment

In November 2005, Metro Networks, which is a subsidiary of Westwood One, extended a $2-million dollar loan to Global Traffic Network in order to help capitalize the company, according to financial records filed by Global Traffic Network with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

Global Traffic Network then began the process of an Initial Public Offering, or IPO, and in March 2006 the company went public on the Nasdaq Exchange under the stock symbol GNET. Only three months later, Westwood One bought 1,540,000 shares of GNET on behalf of Metro Networks, essentially giving the companies a 10 percent ownership stake in Global Traffic Network.

Management

Global Traffic Network is operated by the same principals who once ran Metro Networks, and later were in charge of Westwood One. Counted among the field of executives are William Yde, III, who serves as CEO; Shane Coppola, former CEO of Westwood One and a former director at Metro Networks; Gary Worobow, who is general counsel and is also general counsel for Five “S” Capital, owned by former Metro Networks CEO David Saperstein; Ivan Schulman, who serves as an Executive Vice President and once was an EVP at Metro Networks. Scott Cody, who also was on the board of directors for Metro and Westwood One, is the chief financial officer for Global, as well, and was among the first executives to move from Westwood to GNET in 2005.

Coppola, who is married to Saperstein’s daughter, Michelle, worked with Worobow in 2002 and 2003 to raise funding for Global Traffic Network by starting an investment company, Columbus Capital Partners, that worked with Five “S” Capital to fund the acquisition costs related to the purchase of Global Traffic Network’s subsidiary helicopter companies.

Network Offices

Global Traffic Network owns and leases offices both in the U.S., Canada and Australia. Their financial records at the SEC show their primary offices are located in New York City, at 800 Second Avenue, which is also the home of the Israeli Consulate’s New York office.

Their U.S. broadcast headquarters are located in the CBS Building at 40 West 57th Street, where they share offices with Westwood One.

Their Canadian broadcast centers are located in Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario. Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta. Montreal, Quebec. Vancouver, British Columbia and Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Their Australian broadcast centres are located in all major Australian capital cities. Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.

Future

Global Traffic Network is already the largest helicopter traffic company in North America, supplying helicopter traffic reports – through Metro Networks, to 65 markets. Global is also the primary helicopter vendor to radio and television in Australia, through its subsidiary, Australian Traffic Network. While the company originally intended to operate only in Canada, sales and broadcast agreements with its investment companies, Westwood and Metro, have given Global a substantial penetration into the U.S. radio market, according to Hoovers Business.

External links

* Global Traffic Network [http://www.globaltrafficnet.com]
* The Australian Traffic Network [http://www.trafficnet.com.au]
* The Canadian Traffic Network [http://www.trafficnet.ca]
* Securities and Exchange Commission [http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001344907&type=&dateb=&owner=include&start=0&count=40ml]
* Westwood Purchase of GNET Stock [http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/771950/000077195006000015/xslF345X02/primary_doc.xml]
* Hoover’s Business [http://www.hoovers.com/global-traffic/--ID__145300--/free-co-factsheet.xhtml]