BOSTON: The radio giant dominates terrestrial, but lags behind Pandora and Spotify online.
iHeartMedia revenue grew 2 percent to $847 million in the third quarter, according to the company’s earnings released Thursday. Operating income before depreciation and amortization of non-cash charges, the company’s preferred measure of operational performance, was flat at $326 million.
“We continue to leverage our entire company’s expansive portfolio of products, media platforms, content and personalities to enable advertisers and partners to engage seamlessly with consumers around the world,” said Bob Pittman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, in a statement.
iHeartMedia is commonly known as a radio company but also includes an outdoor advertising business. Revenue for the consolidated company declined 3.1 percent to $1.58 billion while OIBDAN fell 4.4 percent to $458 million. Due mainly to $454 million of interest expense related to the company’s $20.6 billion in debt, the consolidated company’s net loss in the quarter was $221.9 million.
On the music and radio side, iHeartMedia also has a concerts and events business. It owns and operates iHeartRadio theaters in New York and Los Angeles. The annual iHeartRadio Music Festival is its biggest of its festivals and concerts. At the end of the quarter, iHeartMedia has over 850 radio stations in over 150 markets.
The company has also built a presence online. Registered users of the iHeartRadio streaming app grew 35 percent year over year to over 75 million. Total listening hours were up 21 percent in the quarter. Even with those gains, iHeartRadio lags behind two streaming giants, Pandora and Spotify. According to Triton Digital, iHeartRadio’s August session starts were 14.4 percent of Pandora and 23.3 percent of Spotify’s.
