iHeartMedia has announced it will split its operations into two separately led groups.
The Digital Audio Group will be lead by CEO Conal Byrne and COO Darren Davis. Carter Brokaw will be President of Digital Revenue and Jessica Jerrick as EVP/Digital Distribution and Platform Partnerships. The Digital Audio Group will include the company’s podcasting businesses, the iHeartRadio app, station websites, newsletters, digital services and advertising companies such as Jelli, RadioJar, Unified, Voxnest and pending purchase of Triton Digital. The company states that the Digital Audio Group encompassed 20% of the company’s consolidated revenue and 23% of its earnings with revenue up 53% year-over-year.
The Multiplatform Group will include the company’s radio stations, live and virtual events and National Sales businesses. The group will also include Premiere Networks, Total Traffic and Weather Network and Black Information Network. That group will be led by CEO Greg Ashlock and COO Tim Castelli. Hartley Adkins will rise to President of the Markets Group, Premiere Networks President Julie Talbott joins the group in that role while Jeff Howard remains President of National Sales and Tony Coles continues as President of BIN.
A third operating group, Audio & Media Services, includes the company’s Katz Media Group and RCS subsidiaries.
iHeartMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: IHRT), the leading audio company in America by reach, announced today a new operating structure under which its Digital Audio Group business, which includes its successful iHeartRadio digital service as well as its industry-leading podcasting business, will publicly report its financials separately from its Multiplatform Group business, which includes its broadcast radio assets. Each group will now operate as a separate reportable segment with dedicated management.
As of Q4, the iHeartMedia Digital Audio Group encompassed almost 20% of the company’s consolidated revenue and 23% of its earnings, and in Q4 2020 grew revenue by 53% year-over-year and Adjusted EBITDA by 74% year-over-year [i]. The company expects the Digital Audio Group will continue to grow as an increasing proportion of its business in the future. Separate reporting of these two operating segments will provide improved visibility into the underlying performances, results and margin profiles of these distinct audio-driven businesses.
The company has created a management structure for each business reportable segment that will both strengthen and tighten the focus of these groups and enable them to work closely together to deliver industry-leading products and services to benefit all of the company’s marketing and advertising partners across iHeart’s full array of platforms and products, including broadcast radio, digital streaming, podcasts, social, data, live events, its SmartAudio suite of data targeting and attribution products and its digital advertising technology companies. Both segments will continue to report to Bob Pittman, iHeartMedia Chairman and CEO, and Rich Bressler, iHeartMedia President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer.
The iHeartMedia Digital Audio Group
The iHeartMedia Digital Audio Group includes the company’s fast-growing and high-profile podcasting business — iHeartMedia is the number one podcast publisher in downloads, unique listeners, revenue and earnings — as well as the industry-leading iHeartRadio digital service; the company’s digital sites, newsletters, digital services and programs; and its digital advertising technology companies, including Jelli, RadioJar, Unified and Voxnest, and will also include the recently-announced Triton Digital upon completion of the acquisition. The iHeartMedia Digital Audio Group will be led as a team by Conal Byrne as Chief Executive Officer and Darren Davis as Chief Operating Officer, with Carter Brokaw serving as the President of Digital Revenue and Jessica Jerrick as Executive Vice President of Digital Distribution and Platform Partnerships.
The iHeartMedia Multiplatform Group
The iHeartMedia Multiplatform Group represents almost 75% of iHeartMedia’s revenue and remains the foundation business that has been at the heart of the company’s success, playing an important role in building its successful digital and podcasting businesses.
The iHeartMedia Multiplatform Group includes the iHeartMedia Markets Group, with its 860+ radio stations in 160 markets; the company’s live and virtual events business; and its National Sales organization, which will continue meeting the needs of advertising partners using iHeartMedia’s full array of products, from broadcast radio and events to its SmartAudio suite of data targeting and attribution products, which allows informed digital-like planning against targeted audiences with the benefit of broadcast scale and impact; as well as using all of the products from the iHeartMedia Digital Audio Group. The industry’s largest Networks business, Premiere Networks, which includes the Total Traffic and Weather Network; and BIN: Black Information Network, the first and only 24/7 national and local all news audio service for the Black community, will also join this group.
With its broadcast radio stations alone, the Multiplatform Group reaches more people every month than any other audio or media company in America and has twice the audience of the next largest radio company.
The iHeartMedia Multiplatform Group will be led by Greg Ashlock as Chief Executive Officer and Tim Castelli as Chief Revenue Officer. In addition, Julie Talbott joins this group in her role as President, Premiere Networks; Hartley Adkins will become President of the Markets Group; Jeff Howard remains President of National Sales and Tony Coles as President of BIN: Black Information Network.
“These new reportable segments will enable us to strengthen the mission and tighten the focus of both the iHeart Digital Audio Group and the iHeart Multiplatform Group, while accelerating our ability to deliver industry-leading products and services to our listeners and advertising partners across all of our platforms,” said Bob Pittman.
“Creating these two business reportable segments will allow us to provide the investment community with increased visibility into the financial results of each segment – enabling them to better appreciate the strong growth and success of our digital businesses, including our industry-leading podcast business, as well as the continued strength of our broadcast radio and marquee events businesses.”
