Taylor Vill

iHeartMedia Inc.

200 East Basse Road

San Antonio, Texas, 78209-8328

 

Overview

iHeartMedia Inc. is the leading media and entertainment company in the United States. The company has 245 million monthly listeners in the United States, serving more than 150 markets with 858 broadcast radio stations.[1] The company leads the media industry not only through its vast broadcast radio platform but also through its digital radio, live events and on demand entertainment. iHeartMedia has three distinct radio brands: Premiere Networks, Katz Media Group, and Total Traffic & Weather Network.[2] Clear Channel Outdoor is a subsidiary of iHeartMedia.

History

iHeartMedia, formerly known as Clear Channel Communications, was created by L. Lowry Mays in 1972.[3] The company is currently headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. Although the company acquired many radio stations in its first few years, the company acquired a majority of their stations after the passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.[3] In October 1996, the company was second largest radio company in the United States behind Westinghouse.[3] The company to continues focusing on creating dynamic and innovative campaigns for advertisers. iHeart Media maintains their top position in the media market by expanding their iHeart Radio platform and engaging listeners through a variety of unique live events.

Executives

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On October 5th, iHeart Media announced that Steve Mills will be the new Chief Information Officer.[4] On October 23rd, the company announced that Adam Weiss would be iHeart Media’s new Vice President for Political Strategy.[5]

Financials

iHeart Media released its third quarter earnings on November 5th and reported a third quarter revenue to be $847 million.[6] This was a 2% increase compared to the third quarter of 2014, however operating expenses increased by 3.3%. [6] This led there to be no change in operating income before depreciation and amortization compared to 2014.[6] The company also reported a $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter.[7] The media company’s current market capitalization is $151,990,000.[7] In the past year, the company’s stock has reached a high of $8.00 per share and low of $1.18 per share.[8] On the day the earning’s report was released, the current price of the stock was $2.00 per share and it is currently $1.40.[8]

iHeartRadio Brand

In addition its numerous broadcast radio stations, iHeartMedia has a very successful digital radio brand, iHeartRadio. iHeartRadio reaches listeners by enabling access 20 million songs and hundreds of live radio shows through cars, mobile devices and the internet.[9] The amount of iHeartRadio registered users surpassed 75 million on September 30, 2015.[6] In the third quarter, total listening hours to iHeart Radio increased by 21%.[6] Since the creation of iHeartRadio, the the company has expanded the brand by creating live events such as the iHeartRadio Music Festival and iHeartRadio Music Awards, expanding the brand to new platforms and targeting new audiences. To learn more about what iHeartRadio has to offer for your music tastes, please click here.

Fifth Annual iHeartRadio Music Festival

The music festival took place this year MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas during the evening of September 18th and 19th.[10] The music festival was hosted by Ryan Seacrest who is host of his own iHeart Radio show, “On Air with Ryan Seacrest.”[10] The evening performances consisted of well known music artists, such as Kanye West, Jennifer Lopez, Coldplay, Blake Shelton and many others.[10] During the day there was the iHeart Radio Music Festival Daytime Village that was held at the MGM Resorts Village which consisted of performances by artists such as Demi Lovato, Trey Songz, Nick Jonas and Tori Kelly.[10] This year the event created a record breaking 7.3 billion social media impressions.[11] The festival was broadcasted on all iHeartMedia radio stations and streamed live by Yahoo.[10] It was also broadcasted by the CW Network on September 29th and 30th as an exclusive special.[10]

CW and iHeart Media Sign Broadcast Deal

On September 28th, the CW Network and iHeart Media Inc. signed a multi-year contract for the CW Network to be the exclusive broadcaster of the iHeartRadio Music Festival.[12] In addition, the contract allows CW to exclusively telecast the New York City iHeart Radio Jingle Ball concert that will take place in December.[12] This is significant for the iHeartRadio brand because it allows people to view the event beyond iHeartRadio’s digital interfaces.

iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour

On September 28th, iHeart Media also announced the return of the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball 2015 Tour presented by Capital One.[13] This is the first year that Capital One will sponsor the event. The Jingle Ball Tour will span eleven cities in the month of December with performances by top recording artists and new emerging talent.[13] The New York City Jingle Ball will be broadcasted by Yahoo and on iHeart Radio’s Contemporary Radio Stations nationwide.[14]

iHeart Radio Partners with Microsoft Groove

On October 13th, iHeart Radio announced that they will be the exclusive digital radio and streaming service for Microsoft’s music service, Groove.[15] This is another platform on which iHeartMedia can promote iHeartRadio. The music service is part of the Windows 10 upgrade.[15] Groove is available on Window devices, Xboxes, Android devices and iPhones.[15]

iHeartRadio Family

On November 10th, iHeart Media launched the iHeart Radio Family app in conjunction with Build-A-Bear Workshop.[16] Build-A-Bear Workshop provides the global, kid and family friendly brand.[17] This version of iHeartRadio was launched with the aims to reach a new demographic that iHeartRadio formerly did not reach. The new app is geared towards children ages four to eleven with stations such as Radio Disney Junior and Build-A-Bear Workshop Radio.[18] The music and radio stations reflect current pop sensations such as Nick Jonas, Five Seconds of Summer, One Direction and Selena Gomez. The app emerged after the “Hackathon” event iHeartRadio created to develop new digital devices. [16] Numerous other companies have recently creating media apps aimed specifically at children, for example, Rhapsody announced “kid mode” in October and YouTube created launched their own kid friendly app in February.[18]

Shining a Light

On November 20th, iHeart Media partnered with A+E Entertainment for Shining A Light: Progress on Race in America.[19] This was a concert with many famous artists to launch A+E Network’s campaign to focus on the issues of race in America and promote racial equality. [20] A+E Networks created the series, Progress on Race in America, in response to the shooting at the Emanuel AME church in Charleston earlier this year. [19] iHeart Media broadcasted the special on all of its radio stations nationwide and on all of its digital platforms.[20] The concert’s performers included Ed Sheeran, Bruce Springsteen, Zac Brown Band and Pharrell Williams.[19] Not only does this event further diversify and expand the iHeartRadio brand, it shows the company values social responsibility as well.

To view the the concert, please click here.

Overview

It is evident that in the recent months and past quarter, iHeartMedia has focused on reaching new audiences and diversifying the iHeartRadio brand. In order for the company to grow and succeed, the company should continue its mission to create new live events and to expand its digital platforms.

Sources

1. IHeartMedia Home. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
2. HeartMedia Brands. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
3. Clear Channel Communications Inc. History.  Retrieved December 1, 2015.
4. Steve Mills Named iHeartMedia’s Chief Information Officer. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
5. Adam Weiss Named iHeartMedia’s Vice President For Political Strategy. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
6.  2015 Third Quarter Results. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
7. iHeartMedia Releases Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $1.63 EPS.  Retrieved December 1, 2015.
8. IHRT Stock Quote. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
9. iHeart Radio. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
10.  The Fifth Annual iHeartRadio Music Festival Rocked Las Vegas With A Mega Lineup & Superstar Surprise Collaborations. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
11.  iHeartMedia, Inc. Reports Results for 2015 Third Quarters. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
12.  The CW and iHeartMedia Announce New Multi-Year Broadcast Agreement For the iHeartRadio Music Festival. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
13.  iHeartMedia Announces The Return Of The Iconic National “iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour Presented by Capital One” With Exclusive Cardholder Presale.Retrieved December 1, 2015.
14. iHeart Media Announces The Holiday Season With The Return of Its Iconic 2015 National “iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour Presented by Capital One.”  Retrieved December 1, 2015.
15.  iHeartRadio Becomes First Ever Digital Radio Service to Partner With Microsoft Groove. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
16. iHeartMedia Launches “iHeartRadio Family.” Retrieved December 1, 2015.
17.  iHeartMedia Launches “iHeartRadio Family.” Retrieved December 1, 2015.
18.  iHeartMedia Launches Kid-Friendly Radio App. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
19.  ‘Race in America’ Concert to Feature Bruce Springsteen. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
20.  A+E Networks & iHeartMedia Partner On ‘Race in America’ Concert. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
21. Our Team. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
22. Jingle Ball 2015. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
23. Official Site of the CW Network. Retrieved December 1, 2015.