iHeartMedia is acquiring podcasting and streaming service provider Triton Digital from E.W. Scripps for $230 million.

The deal adds Triton’s audio products to iHeartMedia’s platform. Triton’s businesses included audio streaming and ad insertion, similar podcasting platforms including the Omny Studio suite, digital advertising management, and audience measurement for streaming and podcasting. iHeart has made similar acquisitions to build their digital audio technology over the past few years adding Voxnest, Jelli, RadioJar, and Unified to their holdings.

Scripps had purchased most of Triton Digital’s assets in October 2018 for $150 million. The company’s website platform was sold to Frankly in 2019 for $3 million. The deal follows the sale of Scripps’ other podcasting businesses to SiriusXM last July for $265 million.

iHeartMedia (NASDAQ: IHRT), the No. 1 audio company in America and the No. 1 podcast publisher globally, today announced it has entered into an agreement with The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP) to acquire Triton Digital®, the global technology and services leader to the digital audio and podcast industry, for $230 million, subject to certain adjustments.* With this acquisition, iHeartMedia will now be able to provide audio content to producers and advertisers with an industry-leading full ad service package for streaming and podcasting no matter their size, reach or distribution method.

The addition of Triton Digital’s vast array of infrastructure and measurement solutions will complement iHeartMedia’s current advertising technology services, data platforms and programmatic platforms while providing additional solutions for those in the digital radio industry, allowing iHeartMedia to be the first and only company in the audio market to provide four distribution methods for audio, including on-demand, broadcast and digital streaming radio and podcasting, and to service all audio assets programmatically.

The acquisition of Triton Digital is the latest of iHeartMedia’s investments in the audio technology space, and further enhances its position as the leader in audio. Most recently, in October 2020, iHeartMedia acquired Voxnest, the leading marketplace for podcasts and provider of podcast analytics, enterprise publishing tools, programmatic integration and targeted ad serving. Over the past two and a half years, the company has also acquired Jelli Inc, the pioneering technology that offers marketers a digital-compatible buying platform for broadcast radio that includes programmatic buying, data targeting and creative optimization; Radiojar, the centralized, cloud-based audio playout platform, through iHeartMedia, Inc.’s subsidiary RCS; and Unified, the leading social advertising data intelligence platform and solutions provider.

“Adding Triton Digital and its industry leading services to the iHeartMedia audio ecosystem establishes iHeartMedia as the only company with a total audio advertising technology and data solution,” said Bob Pittman, Chairman and CEO of iHeartMedia, Inc. “iHeart, with our strong leadership position in podcasting, digital radio and broadcast, already provides cutting edge audio management, programmatic and data solutions for the broadcast radio, digital audio and podcasting industries, and this acquisition further strengthens our position as the No. 1 audio company in America and provides unique — and critical — solutions for the industry and for advertisers.”

Operating in more than 50 countries, Triton Digital is a global Advertising Technology SaaS platform for audio streaming, podcasting and metrics that enables publishers to monetize their audiences by providing a highly respected digital audio measurement and advanced audio-focused infrastructure to maximize the yield of audio inventory. The company’s two lines of business focus on advertising infrastructure and measurement, including a content delivery system that distributes digital audio streams and podcasts to listeners while dynamically inserting ads and measurement business that tracks audience and creates ratings reports.

In addition to measuring audiences for customers, Triton Digital operates the world’s first programmatic marketplace for digital audio programmatic ad-buying and Yield-Op, a world-class Supply Side Platform (SSP) that specializes in Audio and enables programmatic audio advertising.

“We are thrilled to join the iHeartMedia family,” said Neal Schore, CEO of Triton Digital. “We remain deeply committed to providing the world’s broadcasters, podcasters, and online audio publishers with continuously innovated, best-in-class solutions and services for online audio management, advertising, and consumption data, and are well positioned to enhance iHeartMedia’s value proposition to audiences and advertisers.”

*The consummation of the proposed acquisition is subject to the satisfaction or waiver of customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval.

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The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP) has entered into an agreement with iHeartMedia (NASDAQ: IHRT) to sell Triton Digital for $230 million – a cash-on-cash return of 1.6x for a business Scripps acquired in late 2018.

Triton is the global technology and services leader for the digital audio and podcast industry. Scripps bought the company for $150 million, and it has been accretive to segment margins since then.

Scripps – which sold its podcast company Stitcher in October and nearly doubled its return on that investment – was an early entrant into podcasting and digital audio.

The Triton divestiture reflects Scripps’ consistent invest-for-growth strategy that capitalizes on emerging media marketplaces to unlock shareholder value.

“The sale of Triton creates significant value for Scripps’ shareholders and employees, as we close a chapter on our growth of digital audio businesses through a series of successful transactions and a focus on prudent operations, including our core TV business,” said Adam Symson, Scripps president and CEO. “We believe iHeartMedia is a perfect fit for Triton Digital given their focus and position as the leader in audio solutions.”

Scripps Chief Financial Officer Jason Combs said the company would use proceeds from the Triton sale to pay down debt.

“We remain focused on bringing our debt back down to our company’s historical levels as quickly as possible while at the same time we reap the financial benefits of being a new leader in national television as we have been in local broadcast,” Combs said.

Transaction highlights:

• Sale price of $230 million, representing an internal rate of return after taxes in the mid-20% range and a low teens EBITDA multiple
• Proceeds from the sale used primarily to pay down debt
• Tax liability effective rate of 5%
• The move of all Triton employees to iHeart

The Triton transaction is expected to close in the first quarter, pending Hart-Scott-Rodino clearance.