Jacor Communications was a media corporation, existing between 1987 and 1999, which owned many
radio station
Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...
s in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
. In 1998, Jacor was purchased by Clear Channel Communications, now
iHeartMedia, for $2.8 billion.
Jacor Communications began with three religious stations and went on to acquire dozens of radio stations between 1992 and its sale to Clear Channel in 1999. It also owned a few television stations, including
WKRC-TV in Cincinnati.
History
Jacor Communications was founded by Terry Jacobs. Jacobs incorporated Jacor Communications in 1979 and purchased three religious stations in 1981.
In June 1989, Jacor purchased Telesat Cable, a Northern Kentucky cable provider, for $5 million, which it later sold in May 1994.
In 1993, an investor named
Sam Zell paid $80 million from the
Zell Chillmark fund to purchase controlling interest in Jacor.
In 1992, the
Federal Communications Commission increased the number of radio stations a single company could own in one city to 3AMs and 3FMs. After this change, Jacor began purchasing stations, including
WKRC (AM) in Cincinnati in 1993.
On February 6, 1996, Jacor announced plans to acquire Noble Broadcast Group Inc for $152 million. After the passing of the
Telecommunications Act of 1996, Jacor began buying more radio stations.
On February 13, 1996, Jacor announced it would buy
Citicasters for $770 million. As part of the merger, Jacor acquired
WKRC-TV, a Cincinnati CBS-affiliate television station, and
WTSP, a television station in
Tampa, Florida.
In September, Jacor announced WTSP would be sold to
Gannett Co. in exchange for three radio stations.
In May 1993, founder and CEO Terry Jacobs left Jacor. The VP of programming and COO,
Randy Michaels, was named president of the company that year, and in 1996, he was promoted to CEO. Jacor's corporate headquarters were in downtown Cincinnati from the mid-1980s through 1996 when they moved across the
Ohio River to
Covington, Kentucky. In 1997, Jacor acquired the assets of
Nationwide Communications
Nationwide Communications Inc., originally known as Peoples Broadcasting Corporation, was a media subsidiary of the Nationwide Insurance Company, which operated from 1946 until 1997. Based in Columbus, Ohio, Nationwide Communications owned and ...
.
In 1999, Jacor was sold to
Clear Channel Communications for $3.4 billion in stock.
Clear Channel also assumed approximately $1.2 billion of Jacor's debt.
At the time of its acquisition, Jacor was the third-largest provider of syndicated radio programming,
owning 230 radio stations and
Premiere Radio networks (a radio syndication company), as well as disseminating ''
The Rush Limbaugh Show'' and the Dr.
Laura Schlessinger show.
Clear Channel named Randy Michaels CEO and chairman of Clear Channel Radio in 2000. In 2008, private equity firms Thomas H. Lee and Bain Capital Partners completed a buyout of Clear Channel Communications.
References
External links
Clear Channel Overview
{{Clear Channel
IHeartMedia
Defunct radio broadcasting companies of the United States
Mass media companies established in 1987
Mass media companies disestablished in 1999
Defunct companies based in Ohio
Defunct companies based in Cincinnati
1987 establishments in Ohio
1999 disestablishments in Ohio