Pandora hires Sling TV’s Roger Lynch as new CEO

Pandora Media Inc. has hired its fourth leader in less than two years.

Effective September 18, its new Chief Executive Officer is Roger Lynch, founding CEO of US cable company’sDish Network Corp’s online service Sling TV.

Chief Financial Officer Naveen Chopra – who took over in the interim when co-founder Tim Westergren stepped down in June after returning a year before – returns to his original CFO role.

Pandora also said Michael Lynton, former CEO of Sony Entertainment and current Snap Inc. Chairman, will join its board.

Pandora Chairman Roger Faxonsaid ina statement, “Roger brings a stellar leadership reputation, a wealth of consumer experience, and a lifelong passion for music to Pandora – all of which are critical ingredients in the continued evolution of our company.

“We are absolutely confident that Roger is the right leader for Pandora who can create value for shareholders by marrying Pandora’s numerous assets with the opportunities ahead.”

According to Faxon, Pandora’s immediate aim is to increase its ad revenue. But Lynch will have to address other issues.

Pandora was late in responding to Spotify and Apple’s threat.

It introduced Pandora Premium earlier this year, but has been losing its user base to the two relative newcomers.

Its userfigure was at 76 million in 2017’s second quarter. This was a drop of 2.1 million from Q2 2016 and down 3.4 million from Q2 2015.

Net loss in the first six months of 2017 was $407 million – a worrying figure for the company as its entire net loss through the 12 months of 2016 was $343 million.

However two positives for Lynch to work with were that revenue was up 10% year-on-year to $376.8 million in Q2, while ad revenue was up 5% to $278.2 million.

In early June, SiriusXM’s parent company Liberty Media, which is heavily invested in Pandora, injected $480 million for 16% preferred shares. Sirius is getting three seats on Pandora’s board, including the chairmanship.

Pandora also covered costs by selling its ticketing division, Ticketfly, for the slashed down price of $200 million. That business was bought for $335 million in October 2015.

Faxon, looking at the future, added in his statement, “As I have said before, with ‘digital radio’ at the core of our business, and both ‘Plus’ and ‘Premium’ as new, integral parts of our arsenal, Pandora is now in an ideal position to leverage changing consumer behaviors to further expand and monetize our listening audience.

“We are very excited to welcome Roger as our CEO as we embark on our next chapter with renewed focus, a strong balance sheet, a strategic partnership with SiriusXM, and an incredible team of loyal and creative employees.”

Lynch, who is also lead guitarist in a band called The Merger, said, “I cannot imagine a more important and exciting time to join Pandora.

“With a massive, diverse and highly engaged audience, a market-leading digital advertising business, a best-in-class product portfolio and an extremely passionate and talented group of people, Pandora is well-positioned to capture an even greater market opportunity.

“As a lifelong musician and exuberant music fan, this is the perfect opportunity to combine my industry experience with my love for music.

“I look forward to working with this great team, having a lot of fun, and leading Pandora through its next exciting phase.”

Lynch began working at Dish in 2009 as EVP of Advanced Technologies.

Dish was the first major pay-TV provider to introduce the concept of “skinny bundle” – giving customers the option of paying less than the average cable package for fewer channels.

Sling, which he founded in 2015, is the largest online TV package in the American market.

One-time technology investment banker Lynch has served as Chairman and CEO of UK-based IPTV provider Video Networks International Ltd.

He was also President and CEO of Chello Broadband in Amsterdam, Netherlands where he pioneered the rollout of consumer broadband services across Europe.