21st Century Fox

Posted on October 16, 2016 by erlipins

Gina Reitenauer, Erika Lipinski, Dwayne Ellmore

[1]

Adress/ Contact Info:

1211 6TH AVE.

NEW YORK, NY 10036

(212) 852-7000

Key Executives:

James Murdoch Co-Chief Operating Officer

James Murdoch- CEO

Murdoch has been with the Fox corporation for over 20 years, over these years, he has held a variety of different leadership positions in the company. He was appointed as the CEO in 2015.

Lachlan Murdoch- Executive Chairman

L. Murdoch has been in the communications industry for over twenty years. Some of his past leadership positions for the company include: Board of Directors member, Deputy Chief Operating Officer, and Co-Chairman of the corporation.

Rupert Murdoch- Executive Chairman

R. Murdoch has served as both the CEO and Chairman of the company, a role that he had since 1979 when the corporation was known as “News Corporation” . R. Murdoch was appointed to his current position as Executive Chairman of the company on July 1st, 2015.

Reed Nolte- Executive Vice President of Investor Relations

Before becoming an executive at 21st Century Fox, Mr. Note held a variety of different financial positions at communications companies. Most notably, he was the Assistant Treasurer at Paramount Communications. Additionally, Mr. Nolte was previously the Vice President of Investor Relations at Viacom.

Julie Henderson- Chief Communications Officer

Ms. Henderson is the Chief Spokesperson for the company. Her previous experience in Public Relations and the communications field extensive; she has worked as the Senior Vice President of MPRM Public Relations and also Fox Interactive Media. Ms. Henderson has been apart of the 21st century fox team since 2012 when she took her current position.

John Nallen- Senior Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer

John Nallen assumed his current role at 21st century fox in July of 2013. Mr. Nallen originally joined the “News Corporation” back in 1995 after working at Arthur Andersen as a partner.

[2]

Brief Overview:

Twenty-First Century Fox is one of the largest mass media conglomerates in the world. The four major segments of this company include cable network programming, television, filmed entertainment, and direct broadcast satellite television. Twenty-First Century Fox is parent organization to many subsidiaries. For instance, Fox Entertainment Group is a subsidiary of which are many of Fox’s well-known divisions, such as FOX News Channel, Twentieth Century Fox Film, and Fox Network Group. Going even further, Fox Network Group is the parent of many other subsidiaries as well, one of them being Fox Broadcasting Company. [3]

[4]

FOX Broadcasting Company, like other traditional television outlets, is experiencing declining viewership. This is partly due to the fact that media consumers are embracing newer digital platforms, which leads broadcasting networks like FOX to be dependent on the news and coverage of national and international events, such as the 2016 Summer Olympics, the 2016 Election, and general sports coverage. For instance, FOX is hopeful that its coverage of the Super Bowl in 2017 will boost ratings as it did in the past. [5]

Finances:

Stock Price:

The stock of the 21st century corporation, has not changed much since the beginning of the year through the current fourth quarter of stock trading. The peak point of the stock price in 2016 was on April 25th, 2016 at $31.06. The lowest point of the stock price was on September 9th, 2016 when the stock price was $23.57. Since this low point, the stock has only rebounded to the point where it is as of Mid-November (Nov 15th, 2016) at $27.45. [6]

Revenue:

For the fiscal year 2015, the revenue for 21st Century Fox was $28.99 billion dollars and the the revenue for the 2016 fiscal year was $27.33 billion. In Quarter 4 of 2016, the company beat expert’s estimates coming in at $6.65 billion. This marked at 7% increase over the prior year’s Quarter 4 results. [7] As of 2016, 21st Century Fox is the 4th highest grossing media company in the world, only behind Alphabet, The Walt Disney Company, and Comcast. [8]

Current Projects/ Recent Releases:

Some Fox films in theaters now include: Trolls, Keeping Up with the Jones, and the recent release Rules Don’t Apply.

Rules Don’t Apply

Rules Don’t Apply was released by Twenty-First Century Fox on November 23rd, 2016, two days prior to Thanksgiving. There are many Thanksgiving releases this week from competing studios such as: Moana from Walt Disney Studios and Bad Santa 2 from Broad Green Pictures. We’ll see how Rules Don’t Apply performs in comparison to the films from other studios. Their last release, Trolls, was expected to gross 35 to 40 million, yet ended up grossing $45.6 million in its first week. [9]

Assassins Creed

[10]

Assassins Creed is based on the video game franchise and will hit theaters on December 21st, 2016. Several sources in the trade say that Assassins Creed won’t make money. The movie budget has not been released yet, but it is estimated to be between $100-200 million.[11] With a movie budget that high it could be hard to break even.

Listed in the image below are future releases to look out for:

[12]

What’s happening/ News:

On July 26th, 2016 former Fox CEO and Chairman, Robert Ailes, resigned from his position. Ailes was replaced by successor Rupert Murdoch. [13] The scandal broke out when Gretchen Carlson, an ex Fox News Anchor, filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Ailes. Carlson won the case and received a settlement of $20 million from Fox. Afterward, dozens of other female workers at Fox came forward also accusing him of sexual harassment. Megyn Kelley, a Fox News Journalist, writes about her experience of sexual harassment from Robert Ailes in her new book Settle For More, released on November 15th, 2016. When corporate leaders are misogynistic and abuse their power, it shows a lot about the culture of the studio. The scandal has caused public-relation issues for Fox. Hopefully Murdoch assuming this position of power will end favorably. [14]

On another note, on Election Day 2016, FOX News debuted a new studio in honor of the company’s 20th anniversary. The studio cost $30 million. [15]

[16]

However, despite the new glitzy studio, FOX was still outnumbered by its opponents in the news sector of election coverage ratings; FOX News averaged 3.25 million viewers, putting it in fourth place behind NBC, ABC and CBS consecutively. [17]

However, Bill Shine and Jack Abernethy, the co-presidents of FOX News Channel, are both certain the new studio will lead to success. After gathering colleagues in the new studio, Abernethy assured them: “Our records show that about a little over 190 people have been here from the very beginning, continuously,” Jack said. “Most of you, like me, have been here for only a portion of that time. As I get reacquainted with folks, I find tremendous amount of pride in what we do here – I can assure you that Bill and I are going to do our very best to innovate.” [18]

Future Outlook:

An article written for Forbes suggests that three factors will spur growth for 21st Century Fox. These factors are:

Increasing advertising revenue due to premium content
- Because more than half of 21st Century Fox’s revenue comes from subscriptions and advertising, and based on recent success in ratings, it is likely that both consumers and advertisers alike will be drawn to the content. An example of a movie that indicates the recent success of the company’s content is Deadpool,
The ability to stream media
- With a 30% stake in Hulu, the company can compete with other media-streaming powerhouses like Netflix. With the addition of live streaming television on Hulu next year, FOX can expect a boost in revenue. Fox is also hoping to make streaming arrangements with Sony and Sling TV.
Entertainment production (both film and television)
- With an expected increase from $2.3 billion within the next year in terms of licensing revenues, and 20% of Fox’s value grounded in the production of film and television series, Fox is expecting growth and loyalty from distributors as new distribution platforms continue to emerge. [19]

Sources:

[1] “21st Century Fox Logo | Logok.” Logok. May 08, 2014. Accessed November 16, 2016. http://logok.org/21st-century-fox-logo/.

[2] “Executive Team.” Executive Team | 21st Century Fox. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2016. https://www.21cf.com/management/executive-team.

[3] “Businesses.” Businesses | 21st Century Fox. Accessed November 16, 2016. https://www.21cf.com/businesses.

[4] “Businesses.” Businesses | 21st Century Fox. Accessed November 16, 2016. https://www.21cf.com/businesses.

[5] Great Speculations. “Fox’s Broadcasting Revenue Growth Is Largely Dependent On Its Sports Programming.” Forbes. February 9, 2016. Accessed November 16, 2016. http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2016/02/09/foxs-broadcasting-revenue-growth-is-largely-dependent-on-its-sports-programming/#65c1dd6269b3.

[6] “21st Century Fox Inc. Cl A.” FOXA Stock Quote – 21st Century Fox Inc. Cl A Stock Price Today (FOXA:NASDAQ) – MarketWatch. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2016. http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/foxa.

[7] Statista. “Revenue Generated by 21st Century Fox in the Fiscal Years 2011-2016. Accessed November 27th, 2016. https://www.statista.com/statistics/262513/21st-century-foxs-annual-revenue/

[8] O’Reilly, Lara. “The 30 Biggest Media Companies in the World.” Business Insider. Business Insider, 31 May 2016. Web. 29 Nov. 2016. http://www.businessinsider.com/the-30-biggest-media-owners-in-the-world-2016-5/#4-21st-century-fox–1867-billion-in-media-revenue-27.

[9] “‘Rules Don’t Apply’ Roundtable with Warren Beatty and Key Crew.” IndieWire. N.p., 27 Nov. 2016. Web. 29 Nov. 2016. http://www.indiewire.com/2016/11/rules-dont-apply-warren-beatty-crew-roundtable-interview-1201749928/.

[10] Nicolas Wright & James A. Woods and Dean Devlin & Roland Emmerich and James Vanderbilt. “Independence Day: Resurgence.” Independence Day: Resurgence | 20th Century Fox. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2016. http://www.foxmovies.com/movies/independence-day-resurgence.

[11] “Ubisoft Doesn’t Think Assassin’s Creed Movie Will Be Very Profitable.” Screen Rant. N.p., 08 July 2016. Web. 29 Nov. 2016. http://screenrant.com/assassins-creed-movie-ubisoft-box-office-predictions/.

[12] “20th Century Fox Upcoming Releases.” 20th Century Fox Upcoming Releases. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2016. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/studio/chart/?view2=upcoming&view=company&studio=fox.htm.

[13] 21 CF Staff. “Roger Ailes Resigns as Chairman and CEO of Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network, and Chairman Fox Television Stations”. 21st Century Fox Press Releases. July 21, 2016. Accessed November 22, 2016. https://www.21cf.com/news/21st-century-fox/2016/roger-ailes-resigns-chairman-and-ceo-fox-news-channel

[14] Grynbaum, Michael. “Fox Settles With Gretchen Carlson Over Roger Ailes Sex Harassment Claims“. The New York Times. September 6, 2016. Accessed November 23, 2016. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/07/business/media/fox-news-roger-ailes-gretchen-carlson-sexual-harassment-lawsuit-settlement.html

[15] 21 CF Staff. “FOX News Channel Celebrates Its 20th Anniversary by Introducing a New State-of-the-art Studio to Debut on Election Day.” FOX News Channel Celebrates Its 20th Anniversary by Introducing a New State-of-the-art Studio to Debut on Election Day | 21CF BLOG. October 7, 2016. Accessed November 16, 2016. https://blog.21cf.com/blog/2016/10/07/fox-news-channel-celebrates-20th-anniversary-new-studio.

[16] “Fox News Unveils Nearly $30 Million Election-Night Studio.” AdWeek. November 6, 2016. Accessed November 16, 2016. http://www.adweek.com/news/television/fox-news-unveils-nearly-30-million-election-night-studio-174405

[17] “Election Night Broadcast Numbers down a Bit from 2012: Tuesday Final Ratings.” TV By The Numbers by Zap2it.com. November 10, 2016. Accessed November 16, 2016. http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/daily-ratings/tuesday-final-ratings-nov-8-2016/.

[18]”Fox News Unveils Nearly $30 Million Election-Night Studio.” AdWeek. November 6, 2016. Accessed November 16, 2016. http://www.adweek.com/news/television/fox-news-unveils-nearly-30-million-election-night-studio-174405

[19] Forbes. “These Three Factors Could Drive Growth For 21st Century Fox In Future”. September 27, 2016. Accessed November 28, 2016. http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2016/09/27/these-three-factors-could-drive-growth-for-21st-century-fox-in-future/#56b0884d30ae.

Zynga

Posted on April 25, 2016 by Rebecca Duke

by REBECCA DUKE

[1] Zynga logo

OVERVIEW

In 2007, Mark Pincus founded Zynga, the first social gaming company. Named after his dog Zinga, the company was created in order to make gaming more accessible and turn it into a more interactive, friendly experience [2]. Zynga has created some of the most successful social games to date, including Words with Friends, FarmVille, and Zynga Poker. Over one billion users have played Zynga games and connected via the company’s franchises.

[3] A sampling of Zynga games

Additionally, in 2009, Pincus formed Zynga.org, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that allows the success of social gaming to give back to those in need by connecting revenues from gamers to other non-profits around the world. One of Zynga.org’s biggest projects was the creation of co.lab, a gaming development technology program that gives underprivileged San Francisco kids the opportunity to learn about game design hands-on.

INDUSTRY

The creation of Zynga spawned the entire social gaming industry, an industry of which Zynga continues to be a leader. According to IBISWorld, the industry has grown rapidly ever since its conception in 2007 [4]. Growth peaked during the 2008 recession, when many companies were downsizing and left unemployed Americans with more leisure time. In recovery from the recession, customers are slowly investing more and more in social games in order to unlock achievements and progress more quickly in the game (for example, while playing FarmVille, a user could pay a few dollars to expedite the growth of their crops and thus move on to bigger and better tasks).

[5] FarmVille 2: Country Escape

Before social gaming, those interested in playing interactive games were required to own some form of external console, such as an Xbox or PlayStation. With Zynga, users can play games and connect with other gamers all across the globe as long as they have an internet connection and an account on a social networking site. The number of broadband connections in households has grown steadily each year, widening the potential market of social gamers. The social network aspect of gaming has introduced new customers that were not previously active gamers, namely females over 40.

KEY EXECUTIVES

[6] Mark Pincus – Founder and Executive Chairman of the Board

[7] Frank Gibeau – Chief Executive Officer and Board of Directors Member

Earlier in March, Mark Pincus stepped down as CEO of Zynga and was replaced by Frank Gibeau [8]. Pincus still sits as the Executive Chairman of the Board and oversees the company. Frank Gibeau is a 20-year veteran of Electronic Arts, one of Zynga’s leading competitors, so he is expected to bring positive change and expertise to the company and allow it to progress financially.

FINANCIALS

Zynga is a publicly traded company, listed on the NASDAQ under the ticker ZNGA. The stock price currently sits at 2.48, a relatively high number since averaging 2.15 over the past three months [9]. Zynga stock took a tumble in early and mid-February after the publication of a disappointing fourth quarter and annual report. After bringing in $185 million in revenue, the company’s operating income and net income amounted to losses of $55 million and $51 million, respectively. These numbers were a stark contrast to the third quarter, when Zynga brought in $10 million more in revenue and net income was $3 million. Zynga has two main revenue streams: advertising, namely video and banner ads, and the sale of “virtual goods” from in-game purchases [10].

[11] NASDAQ – ZNGA

One big change for Zynga that will bring in more cash flow is its future sale of real estate. Currently, Zynga operates out of a 670,000 square-foot office in Silicon Valley, a space that is now too large for its 2,300 employees [12]. Downsizing and liquidating their current office space could lead to a $300 million profit, given the astronomical increase in San Francisco properties since 2012.

[13] Zynga Headquarters

CURRENT PROJECTS

In January, Zynga announced a partnership with The Rubicon Project in developing SponsoredPLAY, a new form of native advertising that allows political candidates to take advantage of what mobile ads have to offer [14]. SponsoredPLAY beta ads have seen six times the engagement rate of normal mobile advertisements, a metric that is incredibly important in today’s age of distracted consumers. With these ads, players connect with brands through mini games that incorporate a piece of the brand’s image. Specifically, The Rubicon Project introduces political candidates as the brands, and encourages the candidates to use the technology to engage voters in a fun and educational way. The SponsoredPLAY ads are also linked to Twitter to create a social buzz around the political issues that the user finds compelling. Ads are expected to be finalized and placed in the games later this year, just in time for the presidential election.

[15] SponsoredPLAY Mockup

One of the two new Zynga games that launched on March 31, 2016 was Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory Slots. This was the first game of many to be licensed from Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, thanks to a multi-year agreement signed in mid-2015 [16]. The partnership allows for a realistic representation of the characters, sounds, and visuals from the original film. Willy Wonka Slots provides the player with nine different slot machines to begin, in addition to a special “High Roller World” with more levels that unlock after the player has earned over 24 million credits. The basic format of the game is similar to other Zynga games, where the user can play completely for free but has many opportunities to progress further with small increments of in-app credit purchases. The game can be downloaded for free on iTunes, Google Play, and Amazon or played on Facebook.

[17] Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory Slots

The second game that debuted at the end of March is Crazy Cake Swap, a variation on the wildly popular Match-3 genre [18]. Crazy Cake Swap is a mix of Candy Crush and Diner Dash, taking place in a bakery and offering different sets of goals for each level. The essentials are similar to other Match-3 games; of course, there’s the concept of matching three or more identical cakes to gain points. A player also only gets five lives and must wait or pay for more when they run out, and a similar wait-or-play model when the end of each “world” is reached. However, it provides a fun element of personalization by allowing users to upload their own photos or avatars, and has more of a storyline than other similar games. Crazy Cake Swap is distributed through the same outlets as Willy Wonka Slots and is free to play with the exception of optional in-app purchases.

[19] Crazy Cake Swap

FUTURE PROJECTS

Zynga has been promising investors two high-development games for awhile, CSR2 and Dawn of Titans, that are finally set to debut later in 2016 [20]. These games could bring in major revenue for Zynga if they become anywhere near as popular as Words with Friends or FarmVille. A recent trend with Zynga has been the overall decline in players, but huge increase in bookings for some of their popular games [21]. Essentially, this means that while there are fewer players, these players are spending a lot of time gaming. If Zynga can successfully recruit more of these avid gamers and grow their user base back up, they will continue to be a force to be reckoned with in the social gaming world.

[22] Dawn of Titans

SOURCES

[1] “Zynga Logo.” Pop Culture Blog. Dallas Morning News, 3 June 2013. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.

[2] “Zynga Leadership.” Zynga. Zynga, n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2016.

[3] “About Game Cards.” Zynga. Zynga, n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.

[4] “Social Network Game Development.” IBISWorld. IBISWorld, n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2016.

[5] “Farmville 2: Country Escape.” Google Play. Google, n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.

[6] “Mark Pincus.” Catchafire. Catchafire, 25 Sept. 2013. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.

[7] “Frank Gibeau.” Live Geek or Die. Disqus, 29 Mar. 2013. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.

[8] Takahashi, Dean. “Mark Pincus and Frank Gibeau Talk about the Future of Zynga and Social Mobile Gaming.” Venture Beat. VentureBeat, 2 Mar. 2016. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.

[9] “Zynga, Inc. (ZNGA).” Yahoo Finance. Yahoo!, n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2016.

[10] Gobry, Pascual-Emmanuel. “How Zynga Makes Money.” Business Insider. Business Insider, 28 Sept. 2011. Web. 24 Apr. 2016.

[11] “Zynga’s Opening Day.” Gigaom. Knowingly, 16 Dec. 2011. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.

[12] Bruno, Alessandro. “ZNGA Stock: This Is Why the Bears Are Wrong on Zynga Inc.” Profit Confidential. Lombardi Publishing, 26 Feb. 2016. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.

[13] “Zynga Headquarters.” Games.com. AOL, 12 Nov. 2012. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.

[14] Pakula, Kelly. “Zynga & Rubicon Project Announce New SponsoredPLAY Custom Mobile Advertising Product for Political Campaign Advertisers.” Global Newswire. Nasdaq, 7 Jan. 2016. Web. 24 Apr. 2016.

[15] “Zynga Mockup.” Adweek. Adweek, 7 Jan. 2016. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.

[16] Shaul, Brandy. “Zynga Launches Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory Slots on Facebook, Mobile.” Social Times. Adweek, 31 Mar. 2016. Web. 24 Apr. 2016.

[17] “Willy Wonka Slots.” Zynga Blog. Zynga, 31 Mar. 2016. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.

[18] Allen, Jennifer. “Crazy Cake Swap Review: Sweet, Familiar, and ‘Friendly’.” Gamezebo. Gamezebo, 5 Apr. 2016. Web. 25 Apr. 2016

[19] “Crazy Cake Swap.” Google Play. Google, n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.

[20] Morris, Chris. “What Will It Take To Turn Zynga Around?” Fortune. Fortune, 11 Feb. 2016. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.

[21] Nusca, Andrew. Here’s Why Changing CEOs Won’t Fix Zynga. Fortune. Fortune, 2 Mar. 2016. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.

[22] “Dawn of Titans.” NaturalMotion. NaturalMotion, 5 Mar. 2015. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.

iHeartMedia

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Clelia Ryan

iHeartMedia Logo -Source iheartmedia.com

Headquarters

iHeartMedia, Inc.
200 East Basse Road
San Antonio, Texas 78209-8328

Corporate Structure

Bob Pitman: Chairman and CEO [3]

Richard J. Bressler: President, CFO and COO [3]

Wendy Goldberg: Executive VP & Chief Communications Officer [3]

John Sykes: President of Entertainment Enterprises [3]

About

[source – Electro Area Youtube Channel]

iHeartMedia has become a major force in the mass media industry. It was founded under Clear Channel Communications when they purchased their first radio station in 1972. Today, iHeartMedia Inc. is the parent company of iHeartMedia Capital I, Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings (CCO) as well as iHeartMedia (IHRT) [14].

iHeartMedia has the largest impact of any media platform in America, reaching 245 million monthly listeners through radio. Their reach expands to 150 different markets and ownership of 850 stations. iHeartRadio is a digital platform to listen to all iHeartMedia stations [1]. The company proves to be very successful in the digital radio space. In 2014, Clear Channel Media formally changed its name to iHeartMedia. CEO Bob Pittman states, “The new name will reflect the company’s multi-platform presence and ability to embrace innovation and new technology” [9]. This name change allows the company to align itself with the iHeartRadio name that consumers are familiar with. iHeartRadio is responsible for many live music events throughout the year, such as the Jingle Ball national tour, iHeartRadio Music Festival and iHeartRadio Awards.

Radio

Radio is a still huge media outlet and continues to reach 91% of Americans ages 12+ each week [23]. As of January 2016, iHeartRadio has 80 million register users and total listening hours grew by 30% [18]. iHeartRadio has coined deals with some of the most well known on-air personalities such as Ryan Seacrest and Elvis Duran of New York’s Z100. Seacrest hosts of LA’s number one morning stations, 102.7 KISS-FM. He also hosts nationally syndicated programming with the broadcasts of On Air with Ryan Seacrest and American Top 40 with Ryan Seacrest [16].

Ryan Seacrest [16]

The iHeartRadio website and app provides “Live Radio“, allowing listeners to listen live to over 858 stations. They also provide “For You“, a feature that suggests stations based on the users preferred selection of genres. Finally, “Artist Radio” is a custom made station with songs by an artist selected by the listener and related music [17].

Right Here, Right Now: Financial Woes

Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw Reports on iHeartMedia’s Debt [20]

Click here to view a Bloomberg video summarizing iHeartMedias debt crisis [20].

Recently, iHeartMedia has been making headlines for their massive debt reported at the end of 2015. The company is reported to have approximately $20.6 billion of debt [2]. In 2008 the company was bought by private equity firms Bain Capital Partners LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners for $28 billion in a leveraged buyout. The buyout came during the economic recession and it was expected that in the coming years iHeartRadio would profit greatly [10]. However since 2008, iHeartMedia has been battling to pay off debt.

In response to the news, it was announced on March 8th that iHeartMedia Inc. hired Moelis & Co. as a financial advisor [4].

Also on March 8th, many bondholders became displeased with iHeartMedia’s executive decision to move $500 million in assets to a subsidiary. As a result bondholders filed notices of default. These bondholders argue that in transferring their shares of Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings Inc. to Broader Media LLC, iHeartMedia violated debt agreements. This was done in an attempt to clear up some of their massive debt [5].

In a press release issued on March 8th, iHeartMedia announced they filed a lawsuit in State District Court in Bear County Texas to prove their transfer of shares was done legally [6]. On behalf of the company, Chief Communications Officer Wendy Goldberg states, “We believe our recent contribution of Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings Inc. stock to our subsidiary Broader Media LLC constituted a permitted investment under, and fully complied with, our financing agreements” [5].

On March 10th, iHeartMedia was granted a temporary restraining order which rescinds the default noticed filed against the company. Moving forward, iHeartMedia and the bondholders, who issued the default notices, will have a court hearing before a judge. This hearing may determine how iHeartMedia will move froward in paying off their $20.6 billion in debt [11].

The trial regarding this matter is set to take place in a Texas state court on May 16, 2106. The shares in question are valued at $1.2 billion [12] .

Click for updating stock prices [19]

On April 25, 2016. iHeartMedia Inc.’s stock (IHRT) closed at $1.18 per share. This is a major drop in price compared to June 2015, when it was selling for $7.50 per share. Subsidiary, Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings also saw a drop in stock price from a year ago. It closed at $4.88 as opposed to its price of $11.21 seen in April 2015 [19]. In their Fourth Quarter and Full Year Report iHeartMedia stated a 3% revenue increase to $1.8 billion [18].

iHeartMedia’s Place in Political Advertising

Brendon DelToro [22]

On February 16th, iHeartMedia announced Brendon DelToro has been appointed to Vice President For Political Strategy. DelToro will aid in managing iHeartMedia’s relations with candidates and other political organizations. This year the company plans to have an iHeartMedia Campaign 2016 Command Center to keep track of over 2,000 elections in 150 markets. Brendon’s role will be to merge the political sales teams across iHeartMedia’s broad market reach [7]. The goal of iHeartMedia’s engagement with the political campaign is to allow political and advocacy groups to have access to iHeart’s 80 million users.

iHeartMedia is also planning on capitalizing on the 2016 election by having advertisers pay to place ads via radio rather than the traditional TV route. Candidates strive to target specific demographics, which is getting more difficult to do through traditional TV. Digital radio platforms, specially iHeartMedia can provide campaigns with data that is relevant for targeting the key audiences [8].

Continuing Their Place in the Entertainment Industry

Despite their well known debt and pending court hearings, iHeartMedia continues to hold their place in the music and entertainment industry.

iHeartMedia celebrated their 3rd annual iHeartRadio Music Awards on April 3rd. This award show is primarily driven by fans and users of the iHeartRadio app to vote for nominees.

iHeartRadio Music Awards Promotional Ad [13]

On social media the iHeartRadio Awards generated 115 billion impressions. This number includes the promotional period of the show throughout the television broadcast. This massive number of engagements far exceeds that of other popular award shows such as the MTV Video Music Awards. Chris Williams, Chief Product Officer credits the shows success to the fan engagement and radio personalities involvement [13].

Photo from the 2015 iHeartRadio Pool Party [15]

This summer, iHeartRadio will also be hosting their iHeartRadio Summer Pool Party. Tickets to this exclusive event at Miami’s Fontainebleau will be given to listeners across the country through on-air contests. This years lineup will feature Kygo, Flo Rida, DNCE and Jason Derulo [15]. Seasonal concert events such as the iHeartRadio Pool Party and Jingle Ball Tours are proven to boost listenership across iHeartRadio stations nationwide.

Summary

iHeartMedia is a well respected entertainment company but struggles with being profitable, due to its burdensome debt servicing obligations. Looking ahead, iHeartMedia’s debt crisis and battle with bondholders will have an effect on the financial future of the company. Overall, iHeartMedia remains competitive in the digital radio industry against companies such as Spotify and Pandora providing similar services.

Works Cited

[1] iHeartMedia Corporate. iheartmedia.com, Retrieved April 23, 2016

[2] “The Largest U.S. Radio Operator Is Saddled With $20 Billion Debt”. bloomberg.com, Retrieved April 23, 2016

[3] iHeartMedia Our Team. iheartmedia.com, Retrieved April 23, 2016

[4] “iHeartMedia hires Moelis to tackle debt burden”. newsdaily.com, Retrieved April 23, 2016

[5] “iHeartMedia, Lenders in Fight Over Disputed Share Transfer”. bloomberg.com, Retrieved April 23, 2016

[6] “iHeartMedia, Inc. Responds to Lender Group Allegation”. Businesswire.com, Retrieved April 23, 2016

[7] “iHeartMedia Names Brandon DelToro Vice President for Political Strategy”. iheartmedia.com, Retrieved April 23, 2016

[8] “Inside iHeartMedia Strategy to Steal Presidential Ad Dollars From TV” adage.com, Retrieved April 23, 2016

[9] “Clear Channel Rebrands As iHeartMedia” adage.com, Retrieved April 23, 2016

[10] “Coming, the collapse of radio’s iHeartMedia”. Medialifemagazine.com, Retrieved April 23, 2016

[11] “Court Rescinds Default Notices Against iHeartMedia”. Insideradio.com, Retrieved April 23, 2016

[12] “iHeartMedia Default Fight Set to Go to Trial” wsj.com, Retrieved April 23, 2016

[13] “2016 iHeartRadio Music Awards Social Engagement Captures 115 Billion Impressions Across U.S.” broadwayworld.com, Retrieved April 23, 2016

[14] “iHeartMedia Loses A Director, Gets More Time To Resolve Its Massive Debt Problems” billboard.com, Retrieved April 23, 2016

[15] “iHeartRadio Is Throwing Miami’s Biggest Pool Party of the Year With Flo-Rida, Kygo and More” miaminewtimes.com, Retrieved April 23, 2016

[16] “Ryan Seacrest Inks New Mega Deal with iHeartMedia” hollywoodreporter.com, retrieved April 23, 2016

[17] iHeartRadio. iheartradio.com, retrieved April 23, 2016

[18] iHeartMedia Investors. iheartmedia.com, Retrieved April 23, 2016

[19] iHRT Stock Price. Google.com/ihrt+stock+price, Retrieved April 23, 2016

[20] “Has iHeartMedia Defaulted on Debt?” uk.finance.yahoo.com, Retrieved April 23, 2016

[21] iHeartMedia Sizzle Reel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6pQXJ0jHO8P9ih4rPRh8Kg, Retrieved April 24,2016

[22] Photo Brendon DelToro. allaccess.com, Retrieved April 24, 2016

[23] “Why Radio Fact Sheet”. rab.com, Retrieved April 24, 2016

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