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iHeartMedia, Inc., or CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American
mass media Mass media include the diverse arrays of media that reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit information electronically via media such as films, radio, recorded music, or television. Digital media comprises b ...
corporation headquartered in
San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
, Texas. It is the
holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...
of iHeartCommunications, Inc., formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc., a company founded by
Lowry Mays Lester Lowry Mays (July 24, 1935 – September 12, 2022) was an American businessman. He was the founder and chairman of Clear Channel Communications. Early years Mays was born in Houston on July 24, 1935. His father, Lester T. Mays, was an ...
and
Red McCombs Billy Joe "Red" McCombs (October 19, 1927 – February 19, 2023) was an American businessman. He was the founder of the Red McCombs Automotive Group in San Antonio, Texas, a co-founder of iHeartMedia, Clear Channel Communications, a past chairma ...
in 1972, and later taken private by
Bain Capital Bain Capital, LP is an American Investment company, private investment firm based in Boston, Massachusetts, Boston, Massachusetts, with around $185 billion of assets under management. It specializes in private equity, venture capital, credit, p ...
and
Thomas H. Lee Partners Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P. is an American private equity firm headquartered in Boston. The firm focuses on investing in middle market growth companies across various sectors, including financial technology, services, healthcare, technology, ...
in a
leveraged buyout A leveraged buyout (LBO) is the acquisition of a company using a significant proportion of borrowed money (Leverage (finance), leverage) to fund the acquisition with the remainder of the purchase price funded with private equity. The assets of t ...
in 2008. As a result of the 2008 buyout, Clear Channel Communications, Inc. became a wholly owned
subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company, or daughter company is a company (law), company completely or partially owned or controlled by another company, called the parent company or holding company, which has legal and financial control over the subsidia ...
of CC Media Holdings, Inc. On September 16, 2014, CC Media Holdings, Inc. was rebranded iHeartMedia, Inc., and Clear Channel Communications, Inc., became iHeartCommunications, Inc.


Overview

iHeartMedia, Inc. specializes in
radio broadcasting Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio signal, 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 lan ...
,
podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...
ing,
digital Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Businesses *Digital bank, a form of financial institution *Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) or Digital, a computer company *Digital Research (DR or DRI), a software ...
and live events through division iHeartMedia (sans "Inc." suffix; formerly Clear Channel Media and Entertainment, Clear Channel Radio, et al.) and subsidiary iHeartMedia and Entertainment, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Broadcasting, Inc.); the company owns more than 870 full-power AM and FM radio stations in the U.S., making it the country's largest owner of radio stations. The company has also been involved in
internet radio Internet radio, also known as online radio, web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio and IP radio, is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not ...
and
podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...
ing via the digital platform
iHeartRadio iHeartRadio (often shortened to just "iHeart") is an American freemium broadcast, podcast, radio streaming and Music Streaming platform owned by iHeartMedia. Founded in August 2008, iHeartRadio serves as the national umbrella brand for iHeart ...
(from which the company derives its current name). In the past, the company was also involved in live events and
out-of-home advertising Outdoor advertising or out-of-home (OOH) advertising includes public billboards, wallscapes, and posters seen while "on the go". OOH advertising formats fall into four main categories: billboards, street furniture, Transit media, transit, and a ...
. The company spun off these businesses in 2005 and 2019 respectively, as the present-day
Live Nation Entertainment Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. is an American multinational entertainment company that was founded in 2010 following the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster. It promotes, operates and manages ticket sales for live entertainment internation ...
and
Clear Channel Outdoor Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. is a multinational corporation focused on outdoor advertising. The company is based in San Antonio, Texas. Together with JCDecaux, it is one of the largest outdoor advertising companies. History Founding ...
.


History


20th century

Clear Channel Communications purchased its first FM station in
San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...
in 1972. The company purchased the second "clear channel" AM station WOAI in 1975. In 1976, the company purchased its first stations outside of San Antonio. KXXO (now
KAKC KAKC (1300 Hertz, kHz) is a commercial radio, commercial AM broadcasting, AM radio station in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The station airs a conservative talk radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The radio studio, studios are on South Yale Avenu ...
) and
KMOD-FM KMOD-FM (97.5 MHz) is a commercial radio station in Tulsa, Oklahoma, owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. It airs an active rock radio format. The station's studios and offices are at the Tulsa Events Center on South Yale Avenue in Southeast Tulsa. KMOD ...
in Tulsa were acquired under the name "San Antonio Broadcasting" (same as KEEZ). Stations were also added in
Port Arthur, Texas Port Arthur is a city in the state of Texas, United States of America, located east of metro Houston. Part of the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area, the city lies primarily in Jefferson County, with a small extension in Orange County. ...
(KPAC-AM-FM, now
KDEI KDEI (1250 AM broadcasting, AM "Radio Maria") is a radio station airing Catholic programming in Port Arthur, Texas. It is a Broadcast relay station, repeater station of KJMJ 580 kHz in Alexandria, Louisiana. History In Brownsville KDEI's ...
and
KTJM KTJM (98.5 Hertz, MHz) is a commercial radio, commercial FM Broadcasting, FM radio station city of license, licensed to Port Arthur, Texas. It is owned by Estrella Media and airs a Regional Mexican radio format. The radio studio, studios and of ...
, from
Port Arthur College A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manches ...
), and
El Paso, Texas El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...
(KELP, now KQBU) from John Walton Jr. In 1992, the
U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...
relaxed radio ownership rules slightly, allowing the company to acquire more than two stations per market. By 1995, Clear Channel owned 43 radio stations and 16 television stations. When the
Telecommunications Act of 1996 The Telecommunications Act of 1996 is a United States federal law enacted by the 104th United States Congress on January 3, 1996, and signed into law on February 8, 1996, by President Bill Clinton. It primarily amended Chapter 5 of Title 47 of ...
became law, the act deregulated media ownership, allowing a company to own more stations than previously allowed. Clear Channel went on a subsequent buying spree, purchasing more than 70 other media companies and individual stations. In a few cases, following purchase of a competitor, Clear Channel was forced to
divest In finance and economics, divestment or divestiture is the reduction of some kind of asset for financial, ethical, or political objectives or sale of an existing business by a firm. A divestment is the opposite of an investment. Divestiture is a ...
some of its stations, as it was above the legal thresholds in some cities. In 2005, the courts ruled that Clear Channel must also divest itself of some "
border blaster A border blaster is a broadcast station that, though not licensed as an external service (broadcasting), external service, is, in practice, used to target another country. The term "border blaster" is of North American origin, and usually ass ...
" radio stations in international border cities, such as the
alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
radio station
XETRA-FM XETRA-FM (91.1 MHz), branded as 91X, and sometimes identified as XTRA-FM, is an English-language radio station licensed to Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. It airs an alternative rock radio format. The studios and offices are on Cornerstone Cou ...
("91X") in
Tijuana Tijuana is the most populous city of the Mexican state of Baja California, located on the northwestern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the Tijuana Municipality, the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area and the most popu ...
/
San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
. In 1997, Clear Channel expanded and diversified its business, purchasing Eller Media, a billboard media company led by
Karl Eller Karl Eller (June 20, 1928 – March 10, 2019) was an American businessman and entrepreneur. Early life Eller grew up in Tucson, Arizona. He played football collegiately at the University of Arizona where he was a member of the Phi Gamma Del ...
. In 1998, it made its first move outside of the US when it acquired the leading UK outdoor advertising company More Group plc, which was led by
Roger Parry Roger George Parry (born 1953) is a media and technology entrepreneur based in Canada and the UK. He was chairman of a number of companies quoted on the London Stock Exchange including Future plc, Johnston Press plc, Oxford Metrics plc and Yo ...
; Clear Channel went on to buy many other outdoor advertising, radio broadcasting, and live events companies around the world, which were then re-branded Clear Channel International. These included a 51% stake in Clear Media Ltd. in China. R. Steven Hicks and
Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst HM Capital Partners was a private equity firm in the United States that specialized in leveraged buyouts. The firm was previously known as Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst. It was founded in 1989 by Tom Hicks and John Muse as Hicks, Muse & Co. and was c ...
began Capstar Broadcasting in 1996, and a year later had become the largest owner of radio stations in the country, with 243 stations in total. In August 1997, Capstar and Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst announced plans to acquire SFX Broadcasting, with the resulting company owning 314 stations in 79 markets and ranking as the third-largest radio group by income. A year later, Chancellor Media Corporation and Capstar Broadcasting Corporation announced a merger that would result in Chancellor Media owning 463 stations in 105 markets when the deal was completed in second quarter 1999. Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst owned 59 percent of Capstar, with 355 stations in 83 markets, and was the largest single owner of Chancellor (which had 108 stations in 22 markets), with 15 percent of the stock. Chancellor Media later became AMFM Inc., which was acquired by Clear Channel in a deal announced October 3, 1999, and valued at $17.4 billion. The resulting company would own 830 radio stations, 19 television stations, and over 425,000 outdoor displays in 32 countries. In 1999, the company acquired
Jacor Communications Jacor Communications was a media corporation, existing between 1987 and 1999, which owned many radio stations in the United States. In 1998, Jacor was purchased by Clear Channel Communications, now iHeartMedia, for $2.8 billion. Jacor Communicat ...
, a radio corporation based in
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
. The company also made an investment in the new
satellite radio Satellite radio is defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)'s ITU Radio Regulations (RR) as a '' broadcasting-satellite service''. The satellite's signals are broadcast nationwide, across a much wider geographical area than te ...
service
XM Satellite Radio XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. (XM) was one of the three satellite radio ( SDARS) and online radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Holdings. It provided pay-for-service radio, analogous to subscription cable ...
, giving it the rights to program a selection of stations on the service (which would be drawn from some of its stations and syndicated output).


21st century

In 2000, Clear Channel acquired Robert F. X. Sillerman's SFX Entertainment, a
concert promoter Tour promoters (also known as concert promoters or talent buyers) are the individuals or companies responsible for organizing a live concert tour or special event performance. The tour promoter makes an offer of engagement to a particular artist, ...
that had focused on consolidation of regional promoters under a national operation. In 2005, Clear Channel spun off its entertainment and live events business as
Live Nation Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. is an American multinational Entertainment industry, entertainment company that was founded in 2010 following the Mergers and acquisitions, merger of Live Nation (events promoter), Live Nation and Ticketmaster. It ...
. On November 16, 2006, Clear Channel announced plans to go private, being bought out by two
private-equity Private equity (PE) is stock in a private company that does not offer stock to the general public; instead it is offered to specialized investment funds and limited partnerships that take an active role in the management and structuring of the co ...
firms,
Thomas H. Lee Partners Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P. is an American private equity firm headquartered in Boston. The firm focuses on investing in middle market growth companies across various sectors, including financial technology, services, healthcare, technology, ...
and
Bain Capital Bain Capital, LP is an American Investment company, private investment firm based in Boston, Massachusetts, Boston, Massachusetts, with around $185 billion of assets under management. It specializes in private equity, venture capital, credit, p ...
Partners for $26.7 billion, which included their assumption of $8 billion in Clear Channel debt. This was just under a 10 percent premium above its closing price of $35.36 a share on November 16: the deal valued Clear Channel at $37.60 per share. In a separate transaction also announced on November 16, 2006, Clear Channel said it would seek buyers for all of its television stations and 539 of its smaller radio stations, because the private-equity buyers were not interested in owning television or small-market radio. Over a hundred stations were assigned to Aloha Station Trust, LLC upon the consummation of the merger. The television stations were sold to
Newport Television Newport Television, LLC was a television station holding company founded by Providence Equity Partners and Sandy DiPasquale in 2007 to acquire the television stations owned by Clear Channel Communications. History In September 2007, Newport a ...
, a broadcaster owned by
Providence Equity Partners Providence Equity Partners L.L.C. is a specialist private equity investment firm focused on media, communications, education, and technology investments across North America and Europe. The firm specializes in growth-oriented private equity inves ...
, on April 23, 2007. Due to the credit market crunch of 2007, Clear Channel encountered difficulty selling some of its radio stations. Clear Channel's attempt to sell off over 100 stations to GoodRadio.TV, LLC was rejected by the equity firm backing the deal. The deal then shifted to Frequency License LLC, but took longer to resolve itself as the two parties were engaged in lawsuits. On top of that, the sale of Clear Channel's television portfolio to Newport Television had also turned uncertain, as Providence considered other options, although this transaction was ultimately completed. On December 4, 2007, Clear Channel announced that they had extended the termination date of the buyout from December 12, 2007, to June 12, 2008. On July 24, 2008, Clear Channel held a special shareholder meeting, during which the majority of shareholders accepted a revised $36-per-share offer from
Bain Capital Bain Capital, LP is an American Investment company, private investment firm based in Boston, Massachusetts, Boston, Massachusetts, with around $185 billion of assets under management. It specializes in private equity, venture capital, credit, p ...
and
Thomas H. Lee Partners Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P. is an American private equity firm headquartered in Boston. The firm focuses on investing in middle market growth companies across various sectors, including financial technology, services, healthcare, technology, ...
, revaluing the deal at $17.9 billion plus debt. Shareholders received either $36 in cash, or one share of CC Media Class A common stock for each share of Clear Channel common stock held. The company announced that it would move to more centralized programming and lay off 1,500 employees, or approximately 7% of its workforce, on January 20, 2009. The reasoning was bleak economic conditions and debt from its transition to a private company. By the completion of the restructuring in May 2009, a total of 2,440 positions were eliminated. In early 2010, it was announced that the company was facing the possibility of bankruptcy due to its "crippling debt". After 21 years, Mark Mays stepped down as president and CEO of Clear Channel on June 23, 2010. Mays remained as chairman of the board. Later that year,
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
co-founder Robert W. "Bob" Pittman joined the company and would eventually become CEO of CC Media Holdings. In August 2013, Clear Channel sold its minority stake in
Sirius XM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting corporation headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. The company was formed by the 2008 merge ...
for $135.5 million. This also resulted in the removal of most Clear Channel-programmed stations on the service, besides simulcasts of
WHTZ WHTZ (100.3 FM) is a commercial contemporary hit radio station licensed to Newark, New Jersey, and broadcasting to the New York metropolitan area. It is owned by iHeartMedia. WHTZ is the flagship station for ''Elvis Duran and the Morning Show' ...
and
KIIS-FM KIIS-FM (102.7 FM broadcasting, FM, "102.7 KIIS FM") is a commercial radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, United States, and broadcasts to the Greater Los Angeles area. The station airs a contemporary hit radio format. Owned by i ...
. On January 6, 2014, Clear Channel announced a marketing partnership with Robert F. X. Sillerman's
SFX Entertainment LiveStyle, Inc. is a Los Angeles-based live events conglomerate founded by media entrepreneur Robert F. X. Sillerman. The company was formed in June 2012 as SFX Entertainment—the new incarnation of Sillerman's previous company of the same nam ...
(a second incarnation of a live events company that had been sold to Clear Channel, which spun off to form Live Nation), to collaborate on
electronic dance music Electronic dance music (EDM), also referred to as dance music or club music, is a broad range of percussive electronic music genres originally made for nightclubs, raves, and List of electronic dance music festivals, festivals. It is generally ...
content for its digital and terrestrial radio outlets, including a
Beatport Beatport is an American electronic music-oriented online music store owned by LiveStyle. The company is based in Denver, Los Angeles, and Berlin. Beatport is oriented primarily towards disk jockey, DJs, selling full songs as well as resources that ...
top 20 countdown show. The partnership expanded upon the company's existing EDM-oriented outlets, including ''Evolution''. Staff, including
John Sykes John James Sykes (29 July 1959 – December 2024) was an English guitarist and singer, best known as a member of Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy and Tygers of Pan Tang. He also fronted the hard rock group Blue Murder and released several solo albums. ...
, believed that the deal would help provide a higher level of national exposure to current and up and coming EDM artists.Clear Channel and SFX Strike Electronic Dance Music Marketing Deal
from ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'' (January 6, 2014)
In September 2014, it was announced that the company would be renamed from Clear Channel Communications to iHeartMedia, alluding to its
iHeartRadio iHeartRadio (often shortened to just "iHeart") is an American freemium broadcast, podcast, radio streaming and Music Streaming platform owned by iHeartMedia. Founded in August 2008, iHeartRadio serves as the national umbrella brand for iHeart ...
platform to reflect the company's growing emphasis on digital media and
internet radio Internet radio, also known as online radio, web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio and IP radio, is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not ...
. The previous name "Clear Channel" came from AM broadcasting, referring to a channel (frequency) on which only one station transmits. In the U.S.,
clear-channel station A clear-channel station is a North American AM radio station that has the highest level of protection from interference from other stations, particularly from nighttime skywave signals. This classification exists to ensure the viability of cross ...
s have exclusive rights to their frequencies throughout most of the continent at night, when AM signals travel far due to
skywave In radio communication, skywave or skip refers to the propagation of radio waves reflected or refracted back toward Earth from the ionosphere, an electrically charged layer of the upper atmosphere. Since it is not limited by the curvatur ...
. CEO Bob Pittman said that the company had been "doing progressive stuff", yet were still "named after AM radio stations". Beginning in 2008, iHeartMedia struggled to pay down more than $20 billion in debt the company assumed from its leveraged buyout. Various media outlets, including
Bloomberg News Bloomberg News (originally Bloomberg Business News) is an international news agency headquartered in New York City and a division of Bloomberg L.P. Content produced by Bloomberg News is disseminated through Bloomberg Terminals, Bloomberg T ...
,
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...
, ''
Radio Ink ''Radio Ink'' is a radio broadcasting industry trade magazine owned by Streamline Publishing. ''Radio Ink'' serves the management community of the radio industry in the United States and in 43 countries worldwide. The focus of the bi-weekly ma ...
'', and iHeartMedia's hometown newspaper the ''
San Antonio Express-News The ''San Antonio Express-News'' is a daily newspaper in San Antonio, Texas, founded in 1865. It is owned by the Hearst Corporation and has offices in San Antonio and Austin, Texas. The ''Express-News'' is the third largest newspaper in the sta ...
'', claimed that either
bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...
or a major
restructuring Restructuring or Reframing is the corporate management term for the act of reorganizing the legal, ownership, operational, or other structures of a company for the purpose of making it more profitable, or better organized for its present needs. ...
was likely. On April 20, 2017, the company warned investors that it might not survive over the following 10 months. In 2016, one of the company's directors, Julia B. Donnelly, left the board of iHeartCommunications and was replaced by Laura A. Grattan, a director at Thomas H. Lee. Grattan was named to the board of managers of iHeartMedia Capital I, LLC, the direct parent of iHeartCommunications, as well as the board of directors of iHeartMedia, Inc., the indirect parent of iHeartCommunications. On November 30, 2017, it was reported that a group of creditors had rejected iHeartMedia's latest debt restructuring proposal, instead bringing out a deal where the company might file for bankruptcy. On March 15, 2018, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and claimed that it reached an agreement to restructure $10 billion of its over $20 billion in debt. In September 2018, iHeartMedia acquired
HowStuffWorks HowStuffWorks is an American commercial infotainment website founded by professor and author Marshall Brain, to provide its target audience an insight into the way many things work. The site uses various media to explain complex concepts, term ...
'
podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...
network Stuff Media for $55 million. On November 19, 2018, iHeartMedia announced its intent to acquire
Jelli Jelli is a San Mateo, California-based advertising technology firm, which develops solutions for the programmatic sale and airplay of radio advertising. The company was originally established as a provider of interactive music programming for ra ...
, the provider of a programmatic advertising platform for radio stations. In January 2019, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas approved a creditor-supported plan for iHeartMedia to exit bankruptcy, which would reduce the company's debt from $16.1 billion to $5.75 billion. The plan included the spin-out of iHeartMedia's 89.1% stake in its
out-of-home advertising Outdoor advertising or out-of-home (OOH) advertising includes public billboards, wallscapes, and posters seen while "on the go". OOH advertising formats fall into four main categories: billboards, street furniture, Transit media, transit, and a ...
division
Clear Channel Outdoor Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. is a multinational corporation focused on outdoor advertising. The company is based in San Antonio, Texas. Together with JCDecaux, it is one of the largest outdoor advertising companies. History Founding ...
. In April 2019, the company also filed a proposed
initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...
. iHeartMedia emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May 2019, with a new board of directors and the spin-out of Clear Channel Outdoor, but maintaining its existing leadership of CEO Bob Pittman and President Rich Bressler. Rather than pursue its IPO (which was estimated to potentially be valued at $1.1 billion), iHeartMedia instead received approval for a direct listing on the
Nasdaq The Nasdaq Stock Market (; National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the U.S. by volume, and ranked second on the list ...
. On January 14, 2020, iHeartMedia announced a major restructuring, as part of an effort to "modernize our company to take advantage of the significant investments we have made in new technology and aligning our operating structure to match the technology-powered businesses we are now in." This included the restructuring of its Markets Group into three divisions: the Regions division for its largest markets, the Metropolitan division for other major cities, and the Communities division for smaller markets and added a multi-market partnerships unit, and announced the development of centers of excellence that would use technology investments to "provide a better experience for listeners and business partners and a more efficient process for all of its employees". The restructuring was accompanied by a major round of layoffs and displacements, with a large number of staff members and on-air personalities impacted.


Businesses

iHeartMedia has purchased interest in, or outright acquired, companies in a number of media or advertising related industries. This is not an exhaustive list.


Radio

With 855 stations, iHeartMedia is the largest radio station group owner in the United States, both by number of stations and by revenue. The 855 stations reach more than 110 million listeners every week, and 276 million every month. According to BIA Financial Network, iHeartMedia recorded more than $3.5 billion in revenues , $1 billion more than the number-two group owner,
Audacy Audacy, previously known as Radio.com, is a free broadcast and Internet radio Computing platform, platform developed by the namesake company Audacy, Inc. (formerly known as Entercom). The Audacy platform functions as a Recommender system, mus ...
. In June 2012, the company announced that it would become the first U.S. radio group to partner with record labels to pay
performance royalties A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset or ...
directly to labels and musicians (in addition to songwriters and producers). The royalties are paid via revenue sharing for advertising across platforms (including digital), rather than a flat payment each time a song is played.
Big Machine Label Group Big Machine Records is an American record label, distributed by Universal Music Group. Big Machine is based on Music Row in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee. The label was founded in September 2005 by former DreamWorks Records executiv ...
was announced as the first partner in this scheme. Pittman stated that the arrangement would let "labels and artists participate in the revenue of broadcast radio immediately and in digital radio as it builds".


Radio acquisitions

iHeartMedia has purchased stations from or acquired the following radio companies:


Outdoor advertising

Clear Channel Outdoor Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. is a multinational corporation focused on outdoor advertising. The company is based in San Antonio, Texas. Together with JCDecaux, it is one of the largest outdoor advertising companies. History Founding ...
(CCO) is an advertising company that was previously owned by iHeartMedia. In May 2019, it was spun out from iHeartMedia as part of its exit from bankruptcy.


Television

Clear Channel Television is a defunct television broadcaster and a former subsidiary of the group that was in operation, for nearly 20 years, from 1988 to 2008. It owned more than 40 stations, most of them were from the Big Six networks, a few of which are independent (non-network affiliates). It was initially headed by J. Daniel Sullivan, who set up as president of Clear Channel's television division. The group made its beginnings when the first television station iHeartMedia purchased as Clear Channel was
WPMI WPMI-TV (channel 15) is a television station licensed to Mobile, Alabama, United States, serving as the NBC affiliate for southwest Alabama and northwest Florida. It is owned by Deerfield Media alongside Pensacola, Florida–licensed independe ...
in Mobile,
Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
in 1988. Later that year, Clear Channel Communications bought out KDTU-TV in
Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...
, which became Clear Channel's second television station. On March 13, 1989, Clear Channel Television bought out
KOKI-TV KOKI-TV (channel 23) is a television station in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States, affiliated with the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network. It is owned by Imagicomm Communications alongside MyNetworkTV affiliate KMYT-TV (channel 41). The two sta ...
for $6.5 million. This was followed on July 3 of that year with the purchase of
Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...
affiliate
WAWS-TV WFOX-TV (channel 30) is a television station in Jacksonville, Florida, United States, affiliated with Fox, MyNetworkTV, and Telemundo. It is owned by Cox Media Group, which provides certain services to CBS affiliate WJAX-TV (channel 47) under a ...
in
Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...
, from
Malrite Communications Group Raycom Media, Inc. was an American television broadcasting company based in Montgomery, Alabama. Raycom owned and/or provided services for 65 television stations and two radio stations across 44 markets in 20 states. Raycom, through its Commun ...
, for $8.1 million. Eventually over time, Clear Channel Television became the second-largest independent television group, behind
Sinclair Broadcast Group Sinclair, Inc., doing business as Sinclair Broadcast Group, is a publicly traded American telecommunications conglomerate that is controlled by the descendants of company founder Julian Sinclair Smith. Headquartered in the Baltimore suburb o ...
. In 1990, Clear Channel bought out its fifth television station,
KSAS-TV KSAS-TV (channel 24) is a television station in Wichita, Kansas, United States, affiliated with Fox and MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, which provides certain services to Hutchinson-licensed Dabl affiliate KMTW (channel ...
in
Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...
, for $7.9 million. In 1991, Clear Channel bought out
KLRT-TV KLRT-TV (channel 16) is a television station in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is owned by Mission Broadcasting alongside ''de facto'' CW owned-and-operated station KASN (channel 38); Mission maint ...
in
Little Rock, Arkansas Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...
for $6.6 million. In 1992, Clear Channel bought out
WPTY-TV WATN-TV (channel 24) is a television station in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside dual CW/MyNetworkTV affiliate WLMT (channel 30). The two stations share studios at the Shelby Oaks C ...
in
Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Mem ...
from Chase Communications for $21 million. Later on in 1993, the company bought out KITN-TV in
Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
/
St. Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...
from
Nationwide Communications Nationwide Communications Inc., originally known as Peoples Broadcasting Corporation, was a media subsidiary of the Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, Nationwide Insurance Company, which operated from 1946 until 1997. Based in Columbus, Ohio, ...
, followed in 1994 by the purchase of
WXXA-TV WXXA-TV (channel 23) is a television station licensed to Albany, New York, United States, serving the Capital District as an affiliate of the Fox network. Owned by Mission Broadcasting, it is operated under a shared services agreement (SSA) b ...
in Albany from Heritage Communications, for $25.5 million. In 1991, Clear Channel Television jumped into the foray of
local marketing agreement In North American broadcasting, a local marketing agreement (LMA), or local management agreement, is a contract in which one corporation, company agrees to operate a radio station, radio or television station owned by another party. In essence, it ...
s, starting in 1991 with
WJTC WJTC (channel 44) is an independent station, independent television station licensed to Pensacola, Florida, United States, serving northwest Florida and southwest Alabama. It is owned by Deerfield Media alongside Mobile, Alabama–licensed NBC a ...
, which Clear Channel operated through a LMA with
WPMI WPMI-TV (channel 15) is a television station licensed to Mobile, Alabama, United States, serving as the NBC affiliate for southwest Alabama and northwest Florida. It is owned by Deerfield Media alongside Pensacola, Florida–licensed independe ...
, and subsequently later on in 1992, when
KASN KASN (channel 38) is a television station licensed to Pine Bluff, Arkansas, United States, serving the Little Rock area as a ''de facto'' owned-and-operated station of The CW. It is owned by Mission Broadcasting alongside Fox affiliate KLRT-TV ...
entered into a LMA with Clear Channel's
KLRT-TV KLRT-TV (channel 16) is a television station in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is owned by Mission Broadcasting alongside ''de facto'' CW owned-and-operated station KASN (channel 38); Mission maint ...
. Clear Channel also entered into a deal with
Providence Journal Company ''The Providence Journal'', colloquially known as the ''ProJo'', is a daily newspaper serving the metropolitan area of Providence, the largest newspaper in Rhode Island, US. The newspaper was first published in 1829. The newspaper had won four ...
, who owns
Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...
affiliate
KMSB KMSB (channel 11) is a television station in Tucson, Arizona, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside dual CW/MyNetworkTV affiliate KTTU-TV (channel 18); Tegna maintains a shared services agreement ...
in Tucson to operate KTTU through a local marketing agreement. Memphis also jumped onto the board when
WLMT WLMT (channel 30) is a television station in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, affiliated with The CW and MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside ABC affiliate WATN-TV (channel 24). The two stations share studios at the Shelby Oaks C ...
entered into a LMA with Clear Channel's WPTY. Also in 1993, Clear Channel entered into a local marketing agreement with RDS Communications to operate KTFO-TV in Tulsa, which most of the inventory will be supplied by KOKI. Later on, in 1994, in Jacksonville,
WTEV-TV WJAX-TV (channel 47) is a television station in Jacksonville, Florida, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Hoffman Communications, which maintains a joint sales agreement (JSA) with Cox Media Group, owner of Fox/MyNetworkTV/Telem ...
entered into a local marketing agreement with WAWS, the Clear Channel television station. In 1994, Fox shockingly announced its intentions to purchase
WHBQ-TV WHBQ-TV (channel 13) is a television station in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, affiliated with the Fox network and owned by Imagicomm Communications. The station's studios are located on South Highland Street (near the campus of the Univers ...
, which displaced Clear Channel's
WPTY-TV WATN-TV (channel 24) is a television station in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside dual CW/MyNetworkTV affiliate WLMT (channel 30). The two stations share studios at the Shelby Oaks C ...
as its Fox Memphis affiliate. Also that year, as part of a group deal involving stations acquired by SF Broadcasting, Clear Channel's
WPMI-TV WPMI-TV (channel 15) is a television station licensed to Mobile, Alabama, United States, serving as the NBC affiliate for southwest Alabama and northwest Florida. It is owned by Deerfield Media alongside Pensacola, Florida–licensed independe ...
in Mobile was set to be displaced as Mobile's Fox affiliate by
WALA-TV WALA-TV (channel 10) is a television station licensed to Mobile, Alabama, United States, serving as the Fox affiliate for southwest Alabama and northwest Florida. Owned by Gray Media alongside Telemundo affiliate WMBP-LD (channel 31), the st ...
as part of a three-station deal with the other Burnham stations. These moves didn't sit well for Clear Channel Television, whose president Dan Sullivan thought they wanted to affiliate it with the ousted networks, including
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
in Mobile, and
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
in Memphis. In 1995, Clear Channel purchased its first
Big Three network From the 1950s to the 1980s, during the network era of American television, there were three commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast television networks – NBC (the National Broadcasting Company, "the Peacock Network"), CBS (the Columbi ...
affiliate,
WHP-TV WHP-TV (channel 21) is a television station licensed to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States, serving the Susquehanna Valley region as an affiliate of CBS, MyNetworkTV, and The CW. Owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group, the station has studios ...
in
Harrisburg Harrisburg ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat, seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50, ...
, for $30 million. It was subsequently followed it up when Gateway Communications, owners of WLYH-TV entered into a LMA with Clear Channel's
WHP-TV WHP-TV (channel 21) is a television station licensed to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States, serving the Susquehanna Valley region as an affiliate of CBS, MyNetworkTV, and The CW. Owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group, the station has studios ...
. Later on that year, J. Dan Sullivan left Clear Channel Television to start out Sullivan Broadcasting to acquire the
Act III Broadcasting Act III Broadcasting was a company that owned several television stations that started as independents, and later became Fox affiliates. The stations were located in medium-sized DMA's (markets) and were primarily UHF stations. Act III Broadcastin ...
stations. He was then succeeded by Rip Rioridan as president. In 1996, it bought out
WPRI-TV WPRI-TV (channel 12) is a television station in Providence, Rhode Island, United States, affiliated with CBS and MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which provides certain services to dual Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox/The CW, CW a ...
in
Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in some religions * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...
from
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
, which
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
did not keep due to slight signal overlap with
WBZ-TV WBZ-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, serving as the market's CBS outlet. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside independent WSBK-TV (channel 38). Bo ...
in
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
. Also that year, Argyle Television Holdings II, who owned
WNAC-TV WNAC-TV (channel 64), branded Fox Providence, is a television station in Providence, Rhode Island, United States, affiliated with Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox and The CW. It is owned by Mission Broadcasting, which maintains a local marketing ...
entered into a LMA with Clear Channel's
WPRI WPRI-TV (channel 12) is a television station in Providence, Rhode Island, United States, affiliated with CBS and MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which provides certain services to dual Fox/ CW affiliate WNAC-TV (channel 64) und ...
. As part of the radio-TV strategy, Clear Channel acquired
Jacor Communications Jacor Communications was a media corporation, existing between 1987 and 1999, which owned many radio stations in the United States. In 1998, Jacor was purchased by Clear Channel Communications, now iHeartMedia, for $2.8 billion. Jacor Communicat ...
, which incorporated
WKRC-TV WKRC-TV (channel 12) is a television station in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, affiliated with CBS and The CW. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, which provides certain services to MyNetworkTV affiliate WSTR-TV (channel 64) under a loc ...
in
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
into the Clear Channel Television branch. Once FCC relaxed its duopoly rules, Clear Channel acquired stations that were originally LMA markets outright, including
WLMT WLMT (channel 30) is a television station in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, affiliated with The CW and MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside ABC affiliate WATN-TV (channel 24). The two stations share studios at the Shelby Oaks C ...
in
Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Mem ...
, KTFO in
Tulsa Tulsa ( ) is the second-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tul ...
,
WTEV WJAX-TV (channel 47) is a television station in Jacksonville, Florida, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Hoffman Communications, which maintains a joint sales agreement (JSA) with Cox Media Group, owner of Fox/MyNetworkTV/Telem ...
in
Jacksonville Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...
,
KASN KASN (channel 38) is a television station licensed to Pine Bluff, Arkansas, United States, serving the Little Rock area as a ''de facto'' owned-and-operated station of The CW. It is owned by Mission Broadcasting alongside Fox affiliate KLRT-TV ...
in
Little Rock Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...
and
WJTC WJTC (channel 44) is an independent station, independent television station licensed to Pensacola, Florida, United States, serving northwest Florida and southwest Alabama. It is owned by Deerfield Media alongside Mobile, Alabama–licensed NBC a ...
in Mobile. Also in 2000, Clear Channel sold
WPRI WPRI-TV (channel 12) is a television station in Providence, Rhode Island, United States, affiliated with CBS and MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which provides certain services to dual Fox/ CW affiliate WNAC-TV (channel 64) und ...
to Sunrise Television for $50 million. Later on in 2001, William Moll become the president of Clear Channel Television, replacing Rioridan. In 2001, after acquiring the stations of
Chris-Craft Industries Chris-Craft Industries, Inc., formerly National Automotive Fibers, Inc., was a publicly held American corporation that was traded on the New York and Pacific Stock Exchanges. In 1962, the company adopted the name of one of its acquisitions, Chris ...
,
Fox Television Stations Fox Television Stations, LLC (stylized as FOX TV STATIONS; also known as FTS) is a group of television stations in the United States owned-and-operated by Fox Corporation. It owns LiveNOW from Fox, Fox Local, and Fox Soul. It also oversees ...
traded
WFTC WFTC (channel 9.2) is a television station licensed to Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, broadcasting the MyNetworkTV programming service to the Twin Cities area. It is owned and operated by Fox Television Stations alongside Fox outlet ...
to Clear Channel Television for Fox's own TV stations KMOL-TV in
San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
and
KTVX KTVX (channel 4) is a television station in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Ogden-licensed KUCW (channel 30), an owned-and-operated station of The CW. The two stations sh ...
in
Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...
. In 2002, Clear Channel acquired
Ackerley Group The Ackerley Group was an American media company founded by businessman Barry Ackerley that owned and operated several radio stations in Seattle, Seattle, Washington, as well as television stations across the United States (primarily in New York ...
, which incorporated its television holdings into the Clear Channel Television portfolio. Also that year, Clear Channel sold KTTU in
Tucson Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...
to Belo outright. In 2003, Clear Channel announced that they would sell
WUTR WUTR (channel 20) is a television station in Utica, New York, United States, serving as the ABC affiliate for the Mohawk Valley. It is owned by Mission Broadcasting, which maintains joint sales and shared services agreements (JSA/SSA) with Nex ...
to
Mission Broadcasting Mission Broadcasting, Inc. is a television station group that owns 29 full-power television stations in 26 markets in the United States. The group's chair is Nancie Smith, the widow of David S. Smith, who founded the company in 1996 and died in 2 ...
. In 2004, Clear Channel bought
WETM WETM-TV (channel 18) is a television station in Elmira, New York, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Nexstar Media Group. The station's studios are located on East Water Street in downtown Elmira, and its transmitter is located on H ...
outright after the death of Robert Smith, the founder of Smith Broadcasting. In 2005, Clear Channel acquired another Salt Lake City television station
KUWB KUCW (channel 30) is a television station licensed to Ogden, Utah, United States, serving as the CW network outlet for Salt Lake City and the state of Utah. It is owned and operated by network majority owner Nexstar Media Group alongside ABC af ...
from
Acme Communications ACME Communications Inc. was a U.S.-based broadcasting company that was involved in operations of television stations and programming from the late 1990s to 2013. History ACME Communications was co-founded by chairman and original CEO Jamie Ke ...
for $18.5 million in cash. In 2006, Don Perry was then named president and CEO of Clear Channel Television. Ever that, in the 2000s, Clear Channel began the trend of using legacy callsigns for former radio sisters as new call designated signs for existing Clear Channel TV properties, since it already owned radio stations, although
WKRC-TV WKRC-TV (channel 12) is a television station in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, affiliated with CBS and The CW. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, which provides certain services to MyNetworkTV affiliate WSTR-TV (channel 64) under a loc ...
already used the moniker when it was under Clear Channel ownership. In 2002, San Antonio's Clear Channel station KMOL-TV was rebranded to
WOAI-TV WOAI-TV (channel 4) is a television station in San Antonio, Texas, United States, affiliated with NBC and The CW. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside Fox affiliate KABB (channel 29); Sinclair also provides certain services to ...
, the original call letters that station is using from 1948 to 1974, matching up with radio sister WOAI-AM. In 2005, WOKR, the Rochester Clear Channel affiliate was rebranded to
WHAM-TV WHAM-TV (channel 13) is a television station in Rochester, New York, United States, affiliated with ABC and The CW. It is owned by Deerfield Media, which maintains a local marketing agreement (LMA) with Sinclair Broadcast Group, owner of Fox ...
, the original call letters for an unrelated Rochester station
WROC-TV WROC-TV (channel 8) is a television station in Rochester, New York, United States, affiliated with CBS and owned by Nexstar Media Group. The station's studios are located on Humboldt Street in downtown Rochester, and its transmitter is located ...
from 1948 to 1956, matching up for radio sister WHAM-AM. Also that year, sister station in Syracuse, WIXT was rebranded to
WSYR-TV WSYR-TV (channel 9) is a television station in Syracuse, New York, United States, affiliated with ABC. Owned by Nexstar Media Group, the station maintains studios on Bridge Street (off NY 290) in East Syracuse (a village of DeWitt), and it ...
, the original call letters for
WSTM-TV WSTM-TV (channel 3) is a television station in Syracuse, New York, United States, affiliated with NBC and The CW. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, which provides certain services to CBS affiliate WTVH (channel 5) through a local marke ...
from 1950 to 1980, matching up for radio sister WSYR-AM. In 2007, the company entered into an agreement to sell all its television stations to
Providence Equity Partners Providence Equity Partners L.L.C. is a specialist private equity investment firm focused on media, communications, education, and technology investments across North America and Europe. The firm specializes in growth-oriented private equity inves ...
for $1.2 billion, a deal that eventually closed in March 2008. Earlier that year, Don Perry left as president and CEO of Clear Channel Television. All former Clear Channel television stations were owned by
Newport Television Newport Television, LLC was a television station holding company founded by Providence Equity Partners and Sandy DiPasquale in 2007 to acquire the television stations owned by Clear Channel Communications. History In September 2007, Newport a ...
, while the other six were flipped to other buyers by Newport. In 2012 to mid-2013, Newport sold off all of its holdings to several other television groups, including
Cox Media Group CMG Media Corporation (doing business as Cox Media Group) is an American media conglomerate principally owned by Apollo Global Management in conjunction with Cox Enterprises, which maintains a 29% minority stake in the company. The company p ...
,
Nexstar Media Group Nexstar Media Group, Inc. is an American publicly traded media company with headquarters in Irving, Texas, Midtown Manhattan, and Chicago. The company is the largest television station owner in the United States, owning 197 television station ...
, and
Sinclair Broadcast Group Sinclair, Inc., doing business as Sinclair Broadcast Group, is a publicly traded American telecommunications conglomerate that is controlled by the descendants of company founder Julian Sinclair Smith. Headquartered in the Baltimore suburb o ...
.


Former Clear Channel-owned stations

Stations are arranged alphabetically by state and by
city of license In U.S., Canadian, and Mexican broadcasting, a city of license or community of license is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator. In North American broadcast ...
.


Music charts

iHeartMedia owns
Mediabase Mediabase is a music industry service that monitors radio station airplay in 180 US and Canadian markets. Mediabase publishes music charts and data based on the most played songs on terrestrial and satellite radio, and provides in-depth analytic ...
, which provide music charts based on songs and tracks receiving the most spins played on radio stations in the United States and
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
. A majority of stations that report to Mediabase are iHeartMedia outlets but other companies also report to the Mediabase charts. In addition, countdown shows produced by Premiere will utilize Mediabase charts for the basis of their programs.


News and information

* 24/7 News Source * Operates iHeartRadio News Network and local news networks in
Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
,
West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...
,
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
,
Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
,
Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
,
Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
,
Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
,
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
, and
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
. *
Premiere Networks Premiere Networks, Inc. (formerly Premiere Radio Networks, shortened as PRN) is an American media company, a subsidiary of iHeartMedia, for which it currently serves as its main original radio content distribution and production arm. It is th ...
* Acquired and later sold the
Agri Broadcast Network The Ohio Ag Net is a radio news network in the U.S. state of Ohio. Ohio Ag Net programming is heard on more than 70 radio stations statewide, including the major markets of Canton, Toledo, and Columbus. It is the direct successor to the origi ...
(ABN), a farm programming provider in Ohio. * Publishes ''Inside Radio'' magazine * Total Traffic & Weather Network reports: on-road and traffic conditions across the United States, and in
Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...
,
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
. These are used by many
GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based hyperbolic navigation system owned by the United States Space Force and operated by Mission Delta 31. It is one of the global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) that provide geol ...
navigation system A navigation system is a computing system that aids in navigation. Navigation systems may be entirely on board the vehicle or vessel that the system is controlling (for example, on the ship's bridge) or located elsewhere, making use of radio or oth ...
s. Total Traffic & Weather also produce and distributes 24/7 News channel on iHeartRadio (from 2016 to 2024, iHeart/TTWN and NBC News formed a content/licensing agreement for
NBC News Radio NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Media Group, a division of NBCUniversal, which is itself a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's various operations r ...
). * Fan Radio Network: a sports radio network that serves Minnesota, South Dakota, and North Dakota. The flagship station is
KFXN-FM KFXN-FM (100.3 Hertz, MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Minneapolis, Minnesota, broadcasting a sports talk radio format, format. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, and serves the Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Twin Cities market. KF ...
in
Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
, MN. * Your Smooth Jazz: 24-hour
smooth jazz Smooth jazz is commercially oriented crossover jazz music. Although often described as a "genre", it is a debatable and highly controversial subject in jazz music circles. As a radio format, however, smooth jazz radio became the successor to e ...
network provided under the company's "Broadcast Architecture" division.


Worldwide

* Owns outdoor advertising companies in Brazil, Chile, Finland, France, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Poland, Romania, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Belgium and
Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...
. * Owns L & C Outdoor Comunicação Visual Ltda., of Brazil *
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
** Large numbers of billboards (through a takeover of Adshel) ** See
Clear Channel UK Bauer Media Outdoor UK, formerly Clear Channel UK, is the British division of Bauer Media Outdoor, an Out of Home media owner, operating over 40,000 advertising sites across the UK. Formerly part of iHeartMedia, and Clear Channel Outdoor, the co ...


Bicycle rental systems

Operates urban bicycle sharing systems in several European cities:


Vertical Real Estate

In 2003, Clear Channel created the Vertical Real Estate division and hired Scott Quitadamo to promote its tower portfolio. iHeartMedia owns and operates approximately 1,500 broadcast transmission towers across the U.S., many of which are available for co-location by third parties such as cellular and PCS companies, wireless internet,
fixed wireless Fixed wireless is the operation of wireless communication devices or systems used to connect two fixed locations (e.g., building to building or tower to building) with a radio or other wireless link, such as laser bridge. Usually, fixed wireless ...
, and other broadcasters.


Programming

iHeartMedia operates the country's largest syndication service,
Premiere Networks Premiere Networks, Inc. (formerly Premiere Radio Networks, shortened as PRN) is an American media company, a subsidiary of iHeartMedia, for which it currently serves as its main original radio content distribution and production arm. It is th ...
. In addition, iHeartMedia syndicates a number of its homegrown talk and music shows without the aid of Premiere. While Premiere actively sells its shows to stations, the non-Premiere syndicated shows are often used as a cost-cutting measure and do not have a large sales staff. Those shows also do not carry network-wide advertising (unless distributed by a third party), and allow the affiliates to keep all local spots, which increases their appeal. These networks carry many program hosts of various political ideologies and distribute a variety of programs to both iHeartMedia-owned and non-iHeartMedia-owned stations. In addition to its own syndication network, iHeartMedia offers studio space and other services to the WestStar TalkRadio Network, which is based at iHeartMedia's studios in
Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...
. As a result, many WestStar programs are heard on iHeartMedia stations. Not all programming heard on iHeartMedia's radio stations are produced in house; however, most of iHeartMedia's stations share many similarities to each other in branding and programming.


iHeartRadio

iHeartRadio is a free broadcast,
podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...
and
streaming radio Internet radio, also known as online radio, web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio and IP radio, is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not ...
platform Platform may refer to: Arts * Platform, an arts centre at The Bridge, Easterhouse, Glasgow * ''Platform'' (1993 film), a 1993 Bollywood action film * ''Platform'' (2000 film), a 2000 film by Jia Zhangke * '' The Platform'' (2019 film) * Pla ...
. It is also the national umbrella brand for iHeartMedia's radio network aggregating its over 860 local iHeartMedia radio stations across the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, as well as hundreds of other stations from various other media.


Alternative stations

iHeartMedia Alternative Stations usually are branded as "Radio" (such as Radio 94.5 (KMYT) in Temecula, CA) or "ALT" ( Alt 98.7 (KYSR) in Los Angeles). Others include: The Edge, The Buzz, The Project, Star, or X. ''The Woody Show'', which originates from KYSR, serves as the anchor morning show for the iHeartMedia Alternative outlets.


Hip-hop, Rap, R&B and rhythmic stations

Stations that carry programming catering to black Americans are a big part of many iHeartMedia clusters, particularly Philadelphia, Chicago, and Detroit. In many clusters iHeartMedia has two or more such stations. About half of these stations focus on Rap and
Hip Hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...
along with younger
rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...
sounds. The other half blend some younger rhythm and blues along with some Soul from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s along with some current product. In a cluster with multiple hip-hop, rap, R&B, and rhythmic stations owned by iHeartMedia, one is focused on Rap while the other is focused on Soul. Examples include Philadelphia, with
WUSL WUSL (98.9 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It carries a mainstream urban radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia The studios and offices are on Presidential Boulevard in Bala Cynwyd. WUSL is a ...
's focus on hip hop while WDAS-FM focuses on Soul (in addition, the company also owns
WGCI-FM WGCI-FM (107.5 Hertz, MHz) is an urban contemporary radio station that is city of license, licensed to Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, serving the Chicago metropolitan area and Northwest Indiana. It is owned and operated by iHeartMedia (formerly k ...
in Chicago, which focuses on rap, while
WVAZ WVAZ (102.7 FM, "V103") is an urban adult contemporary radio station serving the Chicago metropolitan area and Northwest Indiana. Licensed to Oak Park, Illinois, WVAZ is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc., alongside sister stations WCHI-FM, WGCI-F ...
is focused on Soul. iHeartMedia hip hop, rap, R&B, and rhythmic stations are branded as "Real" (
KRRL KRRL (92.3 FM) – branded ''Real 92.3'' – is a commercial urban contemporary radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, serving much of the Greater Los Angeles area. Owned by iHeartMedia, KRRL serves as the flagship for ''Big Boy's ...
Los Angeles), "Beat" (
KQBT KQBT (93.7 FM) is an urban contemporary radio station in Houston, Texas. It is owned by iHeartMedia. The station's studios are located along the West Loop Freeway in the city's Uptown district, and the transmitter site is near Missouri City, ...
/Houston, WBTP
Tampa Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...
) or "Power" (
WWPR-FM WWPR-FM (105.1 FM) is an urban contemporary music radio station licensed to New York, New York. The station is owned by iHeartMedia and broadcasts from studios located at 125 West 55th Street in Midtown Manhattan, while its transmitter is loc ...
New York City,
WUSL WUSL (98.9 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It carries a mainstream urban radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia The studios and offices are on Presidential Boulevard in Bala Cynwyd. WUSL is a ...
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
and WHEN
Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...
). In San Francisco, iHeartMedia owned more hip hop, rap, R&B, and rhythmic stations such as Rhythmic Top 40 KYLD, rhythmic oldies
KISQ KISQ (98.1  FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to San Francisco. It broadcasts a soft adult contemporary radio format, known as "The Breeze", and is owned by iHeartMedia. The radio studios and offices are in the SoMa district o ...
, and rhythmic contemporary
KMEL KMEL (106.1 FM) is an urban contemporary radio station that is licensed to San Francisco, California, serving the San Francisco Bay Area. It is owned and operated by iHeartMedia. KMEL has studios located in the SoMa district, and broadcasts ...
in that area (KYLD shifted to Top 40/CHR in 2015, KISQ flipped to AC in 2016), and the same happened in
Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
, where the company also owns rhythmic AC
WMXD WMXD (92.3 FM ''Mix 92.3'') is a commercial radio station in Detroit, Michigan, owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The station operates with 45,000 watts of power from an antenna located on the Cadillac Tower building in downtown Detroit. The stud ...
,
rhythmic contemporary Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 20, Rhythmic Top 30, Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and upbeat R&B hit ...
WJLB WJLB (97.9 FM broadcasting, FM) is a commercial radio station in Detroit, Michigan. Owned by iHeartMedia, it broadcasts an urban contemporary radio format. Its studios are on Halsted Road in Farmington Hills. In morning drive time, WJLB carries ...
and former Rhythmic AC WDTW-FM (now WLLZ). iHeart also have hip hop, rap, R&B, and rhythmic outlets with heritage and familiarity based on the markets they serve, like
WHRK WHRK (97.1 FM broadcasting, FM "K97") is a commercial radio, commercial radio station city of license, licensed to Memphis, Tennessee. The station is owned by iHeartMedia and it airs an urban contemporary radio format. The station carries the ...
and
WDIA WDIA (1070 AM) is a radio station based in Memphis, Tennessee. Active since 1947, it soon became the first radio station in the United States that was programmed entirely for African Americans. It featured black radio personalities; its success ...
in Memphis, and
WKKV-FM WKKV-FM (100.7 MHz), also known as ''V-100.7'', is an urban contemporary radio station owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. serving the Milwaukee area. The station broadcasts with an ERP of 50 kW and is licensed to Racine, Wisconsin. Its studios are ...
in Milwaukee. Another growing format, Classic Hip-Hop/Throwback/Old School (consisting of R&B/Hip-Hop, Rap, and Rhythmic songs from the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s), can be heard full-time on iHeartRadio, as well as
KATZ-FM KATZ-FM (100.3 Hertz, MHz, "The Beat") is a commercial radio, commercial radio station city of license, licensed to Bridgeton, Missouri, and serving Greater St. Louis. It broadcasts a mainstream urban radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, I ...
/St. Louis and KUBT-HD2 in Honolulu. Previously, this format was originated as Rhythmic Oldies, which was launched at KCMG/Los Angeles and later spread to more markets before the former Clear Channel flipped several stations out of the format by the mid-2000s. For the Rhythmic Top 40 format, similar brandings include "The Beat" (
KUBT KUBT (93.9 FM "93.9 The Beat") is a rhythmic contemporary radio station based in Honolulu, Hawaii. The station operates at 100 kW, is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications until September 2014). It is also tra ...
/Honolulu and
WBTT WBTT (105.5 FM) is an urban-leaning rhythmic contemporary radio station licensed to Naples Park, Florida, and serving Lee and Collier counties in Southwest Florida. It is owned by iHeartMedia and its slogan is "Southwest Florida's Party Stat ...
/Ft. Myers), Power 102/El Paso, 104.5 Kiss FM/
Beaumont, Texas Beaumont is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, Jefferson County, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area, located in Southeast Texas on the Neches River about east of Houston (city ...
, "Jam'n" (
KXJM KXJM (107.5 FM, "Jam'n 107.5") is a commercial radio station licensed to Banks, Oregon and serving the Portland metropolitan area. KXJM's studios and offices are in Tigard and the transmitter is located in Portland's West Hills. The stati ...
/Portland Oregon,
KSSX KSSX (95.7 FM) is a commercial radio station located in San Diego, California, although the station is legally licensed to serve Carlsbad, in nearby North County. The station airs a rhythmic contemporary format, and is one of seven station ...
/San Diego, and WJMN/Boston; a similar "Jammin'" is used at
WSTV WSTV (104.9 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Roanoke, Virginia, serving Metro Roanoke and the New River Valley. WSTV has an adult hits format WSTV is owned and operated by iHeartMedia. WSTV previously broadcast an alternativ ...
/Roanoke &
WJJX WJJX (102.7 hertz, MHz) is a commercial radio, commercial FM broadcasting, FM Radio broadcasting, radio station city of license, licensed to Appomattox, Virginia, and serving the Lynchburg metropolitan area and the Southside (Virginia), Southsid ...
/Lynchburg). A "B" has been used at
KBOS-FM KBOS-FM (94.9 MHz, "B95") is a commercial radio station licensed to Tulare and broadcasting to Fresno, Visalia and the Central Valley of California. It airs an urban-leaning rhythmic contemporary format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. ...
/Fresno since the 1980s. Other Rhythmics, such as
KUBE KUBE or Kube may refer to: Broadcasting * KJR-FM, a radio station (93.3 FM) licensed to serve Seattle, Washington, which held the call sign KUBE-FM from 1982 to 2016 and from 2018 to 2022 * KPWK (AM), a radio station (1350 AM) licensed to serve S ...
/Seattle,
KDON-FM KDON-FM (102.5 MHz "K-Don") is a commercial radio station licensed to Salinas, California, and serving the Monterey–Salinas– Santa Cruz radio market and the Central California Coast. It broadcasts a rhythmic contemporary radio format and i ...
/Salinas-Monterey and
KGGI KGGI (99.1 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Riverside, California, and broadcasting to the Inland Empire. The station airs a rhythmic contemporary radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. Its studios are on Iowa Avenue in Ri ...
/Riverside-San Bernardino, simply use the call letters and/or frequency. Most of these stations target a multicultural audience and play Rhythmic Pop, R&B/Hip-Hop, and Dance tracks. For rhythmic AC stations, they used to have the "Party" branding (particularly during the time when most used ''
Wake Up with Whoopi ''Wake Up with Whoopi'' was a morning radio show that aired on various stations in the United States from July 31, 2006 until March 28, 2008. Whoopi Goldberg was the host of the program. The show was syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks out of N ...
'' out of
WKTU WKTU (103.5 FM broadcasting, FM) is a rhythmic adult contemporary formatted radio station city of license, licensed to Lake Success, New York, a suburb of New York City. WKTU is owned by iHeartMedia and broadcasts from studios at 125 West 55th ...
as their morning show), but the two "Party" stations in
Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
( KDHT) and
Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
(
KYMT KYMT (93.1 FM, ''93-1 The Mountain'') is a commercial radio station in Las Vegas, Nevada. It airs a mainstream rock radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. KYMT's studios and offices are on Meade Avenue in Las Vegas, a mile west of th ...
, the former KPLV) have since exited the Rhythmic AC format. KDHT and KYMT moved to top 40, but continue to use the "Party" branding (KYMT is currently mainstream rock). ''
The Breakfast Club ''The Breakfast Club'' is a 1985 American independent teen coming-of-age comedy-drama film written, produced, and directed by John Hughes. The ensemble cast includes Emilio Estevez, Paul Gleason, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ring ...
Morning Show'' out of
WWPR-FM WWPR-FM (105.1 FM) is an urban contemporary music radio station licensed to New York, New York. The station is owned by iHeartMedia and broadcasts from studios located at 125 West 55th Street in Midtown Manhattan, while its transmitter is loc ...
in New York and "Big Boy's Neighborhood" out of KRRL in Los Angeles are iHeartMedia's syndicated urban morning shows. In 2017, for IHM's 3rd season they produced rhythmic AC programming.


Smooth jazz

IHeartMedia syndicates the Smooth Jazz Network (aka Your Smooth Jazz), which is programmed by Broadcast Architecture. Unless otherwise noted, all Smooth Jazz Network stations will carry the following schedule:
Kenny G Kenneth Bruce Gorelick (born June 5, 1956) is an American smooth jazz saxophonist, composer, and record producer. His 1986 album ''Duotones'' brought him commercial success. Kenny G is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selli ...
and Sandy Kovach in morning drive time, Miranda Wilson in midday, Allen Kepler in afternoon drive time, and Maria Lopez in evenings, with no disc jockeys overnight. Weekend programming consists of the ''Smooth Jazz Top 20'' with Allen Kepler, as well as the ''
Dave Koz David Stephen Koz (born March 27, 1963) is an American saxophonist, composer, record producer, and radio personality based in Los Angeles, California. Early life Dave Koz was born in Encino, California, to Jewish parents: Norman, a dermatologis ...
Radio Show''.


Dance and EDM

The first radio programs included Electric Sound Stage,
Club Phusion Club Phusion was a radio station on Clear Channel HD2's across the country that played commercial free dance music 24/7 from 2006 to 2013. History Club Phusion was launched on March 31, 2006, over the subcarrier channel of Top 40 Mainstream KZCH/W ...
, Trancid,
Pride Radio Pride Radio (United States) is an LGBTQ+ electronic dance music and top 40 radio network launched by Clear Channel Communications Format Lab under the direction of Michael Albl, who conceived the format, on terrestrial HD2 & HD3 stations and on ...
, PrototypeRadio, The Spin*Cycle and Classic Dance. Although they have no full-powered stations programming a Dance or EDM (Electronic Dance Music) format, iHeartMedia has FM translators and HD2 platforms broadcasting the EDM-intensive
Evolution Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...
platform (KZZP/Phoenix is the flagship station, serving as a reporter on ''Billboard’s''
Dance/Mix Show Airplay Dance/Mix Show Airplay (formerly Hot Dance Airplay) is a monitored electronic dance music radio chart that is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The chart came about as a result of the small but influential impact of electronic dance musi ...
panel), while the LGBT community is served by the more broader-based
Pride Radio Pride Radio (United States) is an LGBTQ+ electronic dance music and top 40 radio network launched by Clear Channel Communications Format Lab under the direction of Michael Albl, who conceived the format, on terrestrial HD2 & HD3 stations and on ...
(with WFLZ/Tampa serving as the flagship station as well as a Dance/Mix Show Airplay reporter). However, iHeartMedia's Top 40/CHR and Rhythmic Top 40 outlets incorporate a majority of Dance songs onto its playlist and set aside airtime blocks for mix shows. A weekly countdown program, ''America’s Dance 30'', airs on Evolution and selected iHeart Top 40 and Rhythmic stations.


Talk radio


News/Talk stations

News/talk stations owned by iHeartMedia often have a standard slate of hosts. The morning show is usually local, with other time slots filled by local and syndicated hosts. Talk shows heard on many iHeartMedia talk stations include ''
The Glenn Beck Radio Program ''The Glenn Beck Radio Program'' is an American conservative talk radio show, hosted by commentator Glenn Beck on over 400 radio stations across America, his company's own TheBlaze Radio Network, with a live television simulcast weekdays on The ...
'' (Beck having gotten his talk show start at iHeartMedia-owned WFLA in
Tampa Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...
, which serves as its home station), ''
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show ''The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show'' is an American radio program hosted by former Fox Sports Radio personality Clay Travis and former '' America Now/The Buck Sexton Show'' host Buck Sexton. It is broadcast on over 400 talk radio stations ...
'' (does not have a home station but is based in Nashville), ''
The Sean Hannity Show ''The Sean Hannity Show'' is a conservative talk radio show hosted by Sean Hannity. The program is broadcast live every weekday, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET. The show is produced in the New York City studios of radio station WOR and is transmitt ...
'' (based at WOR in New York), ''
The Jesse Kelly Show ''The Jesse Kelly Show'' (formerly known as ''America Now'' and ''The Buck Sexton Show'') is a three-hour early evening conservative talk radio show hosted by Jesse Kelly, and carried by Premiere Networks, a subsidiary of iHeartMedia, Inc. It ...
'' (based at KPRC
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
) and ''
Coast to Coast AM ''Coast to Coast AM'' is an American late-night radio talk show that deals with a variety of topics. Most frequently the topics relate to either the paranormal or conspiracy theories. It was hosted by creator Art Bell from its inception in 198 ...
with
George Noory George Ralph Noory (born June 4, 1950) is an American talk radio, radio talk show host. Since January 2003, Noory has been the weekday host of the late-night radio talk show ''Coast to Coast AM''. The program is radio syndication, syndicated to ...
'', all of which are syndicated by
Premiere Networks Premiere Networks, Inc. (formerly Premiere Radio Networks, shortened as PRN) is an American media company, a subsidiary of iHeartMedia, for which it currently serves as its main original radio content distribution and production arm. It is th ...
. ''The
Mark Levin Mark Reed Levin (; born September 21, 1957) is an American broadcast news analyst, columnist, lawyer, political commentator, radio personality, and writer. He is the host of syndicated radio show '' The Mark Levin Show'', as well as '' Life, ...
Show'' (based at WABC in New York and
WMAL-FM WMAL-FM (105.9 MHz) – branded ''105.9 FM WMAL'' – is a radio station licensed to Woodbridge, Virginia, serving the Washington, D.C. Metro area. WMAL-FM airs a conservative talk radio format and is owned and operated by Cumulus Media ...
in Washington, syndicated from
Westwood One Westwood One, Inc. is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming. The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1976. The co ...
) and '' The Dave Ramsey Show'' (based in
Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
and independently syndicated) are non-Premiere shows which air on several iHeartMedia stations. Before his death in 2021, ''
The Rush Limbaugh Show ''The Rush Limbaugh Show'' was an American conservative talk radio show hosted by Rush Limbaugh. Since its nationally syndicated premiere in 1988, ''The Rush Limbaugh Show'' became the highest-rated talk radio show in the United States. At i ...
'' was almost universally carried on iHeartMedia stations in markets where the company has a news/talk station, including New York City: WOR was acquired in 2013 by Clear Channel and began carrying Limbaugh's program in 2014 following a long relationship with now-Red Apple Media-owned WABC. In markets where iHeartMedia-owned news/talk stations are not highly-rated (such as
Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
and
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
), iHeartMedia has chosen to sell popular syndicated shows such as ''Coast to Coast AM'' and ''Sean Hannity'' to rival talk stations. Syndicated morning news programs like ''
America in The Morning ''America in The Morning'' is a news program airing on numerous talk radio stations, syndicated by Westwood One, a subsidiary of Cumulus Media. The one-hour live program airs weekdays at 5:00 a.m. Eastern Time and is hosted by John Tro ...
'' (from Westwood One) and ''
This Morning, America's First News with Gordon Deal ''This Morning: America's First News'' (formerly ''The Wall Street Journal This Morning'') is a two-hour radio news/talk program hosted by Gordon Deal and Jennifer Kushinka, who replaced long-serving co-host Gina Cervetti on January 2, 2015. I ...
'' (from
Compass Media Networks Compass Media Networks is an American radio network. The company launched in January 2009. It is owned by former Westwood One CEO and former COO of Connoisseur Media, Peter Kosann. The company focuses on radio and offers representation and m ...
) are also heard on a few iHeartMedia-owned stations. In markets where the local iHeartMedia news/talk station does not have its own local morning show, ''
Armstrong & Getty ''Armstrong & Getty'' are the hosts of ''The Armstrong & Getty Show,'' a nationally syndicated morning drive radio show hosted by Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty. The talk show format is a mixture of libertarian and conservative political commentary, ...
'' from
KSTE KSTE (650 AM) is a commercial radio station broadcasting a talk radio format. Licensed to Rancho Cordova, California, the station serves the Sacramento metropolitan area. The station is owned by iHeartMedia. Its lineup features shows from W ...
Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...
and '' The Michael DelGiorno Show'' from
KLAC KLAC (570 AM) is a commercial sports radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, serving Greater Los Angeles. Owned by a joint venture between iHeartMedia, Inc. and the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball club, KLAC serves as the Los Angeles ...
Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
are often heard instead. While most of iHeartMedia's news/talk stations carry some combination of Beck, Hannity and Noory (of ''
Coast to Coast AM ''Coast to Coast AM'' is an American late-night radio talk show that deals with a variety of topics. Most frequently the topics relate to either the paranormal or conspiracy theories. It was hosted by creator Art Bell from its inception in 198 ...
''), this is not always the case. Some stations, particularly in the larger markets, fill their schedules with local hosts. In some cities, iHeartMedia owns two or three talk stations. The dominant station, such as
KFI KFI (640 AM) is a radio station in Los Angeles, California, owned and operated by iHeartMedia, Inc. It began operations in 1922 and became one of the first high-powered, clear-channel Class A stations. It was the first U.S. station west of ...
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
,
KOA KOA (short for Kampgrounds of America) is an American franchise of privately owned campgrounds. Having more than 500 locations across the United States and Canada, it is the world's largest system of privately owned campgrounds. It was founded ...
Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
,
WLW WLW (700 AM broadcasting, AM) is a commercial radio, commercial news/talk radio station city of license, licensed to Cincinnati, Ohio. Owned by iHeartMedia, WLW is a clear-channel station, often identifying itself as "The Big One". Its studios ...
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
and WHAS
Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...
, broadcast a mostly local lineup. Secondary talk stations (
KEIB KEIB (1150 AM broadcasting, AM) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. Owned by iHeartMedia, the station brands itself as ''The Patriot'', and broadcasts a Conservative talk radio, conservative t ...
Los Angeles,
KDFD KDFD (760 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Thornton, Colorado, and serving the Denver-Boulder metropolitan area. Owned by iHeartMedia, it broadcasts a conservative talk radio format. Its studios and offices are in Southeast Den ...
and
KHOW KHOW (630 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Denver, Colorado, and serving the Denver metropolitan area. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. KHOW is one of three iHeart-owned stations in Denver with a news/talk radio format. ...
Denver, WKRC Cincinnati and
WKJK WKJK (1080 AM) is a commercial radio station broadcasting a talk radio format in Louisville, Kentucky. It is owned by iHeartMedia and serves North-Central Kentucky and South-Central Indiana. It features programming from iHeart subsidiary Premie ...
Louisville) carry most of the syndicated offerings from Premiere Networks. Weekend programs heard on some iHeart-owned stations and syndicated by Premiere Networks to other talk stations include ''
At Home with Gary Sullivan ''At Home with Gary Sullivan'' is a weekly home improvement talk radio program hosted by Gary Sullivan. The program is distributed by Premiere Networks Premiere Networks, Inc. (formerly Premiere Radio Networks, shortened as PRN) is an Amer ...
'', '' Handel on the Law with Bill Handel'', '' The Weekend with Michael Brown'', ''
In the Garden with Ron Wilson Ron Wilson is the host of the American nationally syndicated gardening tips and call-in program "''In the Garden with Ron Wilson''" which airs Saturdays from 6 to 9 a.m., Eastern Time, on many talk radio stations owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The ...
'', '' Rich on Tech with Rich DeMuro'', '' The Ben Ferguson Show'', '' Sunday Nights with Bill Cunningham'', '' Somewhere in Time with Art Bell'' and '' The Jesus Christ Show with Neil Saavedra''. Most are pre-recorded and offered to stations to air anytime on weekends they choose, although Ferguson and Cunningham do their shows live on Sunday evenings. Bell's show is made up of recorded ''Coast to Coast AM'' programs from the late 1990s and early 2000s. He died in 2018. iHeartMedia has been active in the national trend of
simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of "simultaneous broadcast") is the broadcasting of programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously) ...
ing its AM news/talk outlets on full-power FM stations, hoping to preserve their long-term viability while AM radio declines. Examples include
Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...
where KGBY 92.5 became
KFBK-FM KFBK-FM (93.1 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Pollock Pines, California and serving the Sacramento metropolitan area. It simulcasts KFBK (1530 AM). KFBK-AM-FM air a news- talk radio format and are owned by iHeartMedia. The s ...
, simulcasting KFBK 1530 AM. In
Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...
, 105.7 KTMY became
KNRS-FM KNRS-FM (105.9 Hertz, MHz) is a commercial radio station, city of license, licensed to Centerville, Utah, and broadcasting to Salt Lake City metropolitan area, using the branding "Talk Radio 105.9." KNRS-FM simulcasts a talk radio radio forma ...
, simulcasting KNRS 570 AM. In the Albany-
Schenectady Schenectady ( ) is a City (New York), city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-most populo ...
-
Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...
market, WHRL 103.1 became
WGY-FM WGY-FM (103.1 Hertz, MHz) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station city of license, licensed to Albany, New York. It simulcasts a talk radio, news/talk radio format with sister station WGY (AM), WGY 810 AM. They are owned by iHeartMedia ...
, simulcasting WGY 810 AM. In
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
, WVVB 105.5 became
WERC-FM WERC-FM (105.5 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Hoover, Alabama, and serving Greater Birmingham. It is owned by iHeartMedia and simulcasts a talk radio format with sister station WERC 960 AM. The station's studios and offices ar ...
, simulcasting WERC 960 AM. In
Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...
, WPHR 106.9 became
WSYR-FM WSYR-FM (106.9 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Solvay, New York, and serving the Syracuse metropolitan area and Central New York. Owned and operated by iHeartMedia, it broadcasts a talk radio format, simulcast with WSYR 570 AM ...
, simulcasting WSYR 570 AM. Some iHeartMedia news/talk stations on the AM dial are also heard on low-power
FM translator A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater ( two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tr ...
stations. Even though they are powered at only a few hundred watts, the translators allow some listeners to hear WLAC Nashville, KOA Denver and WFLA Tampa on the FM dial. In Washington D.C., iHeartMedia has a translator-only news/talk station, known as "Freedom 104.7 FM". It is heard on an
HD Radio HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. HD radio generally simulcast, simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD R ...
subchannel In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a method of transmitting more than one independent program stream simultaneously from the same digital radio or television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compressi ...
of
WMZQ-FM WMZQ-FM (98.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station in Washington, D.C. owned by iHeartMedia, it has had a country music radio format since 1977. The station's studios and offices are on Rockville Pike in Rockville, Maryland, and its transmitte ...
98.7. That feeds translator station W284CQ which broadcasts on 104.7 MHz.


Progressive talk

Progressive talk Progressive talk radio is a talk radio format devoted to expressing left-leaning viewpoints of news and issues as opposed to conservative talk radio. In the United States, the format has included syndicated and independent personalities such as ...
shows had been heard on a few of iHeartMedia's stations, primarily secondary to its main news/talk stations. These liberal-leaning stations usually featured at least one local host with some syndicated shows, mainly from
Westwood One Westwood One, Inc. is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming. The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1976. The co ...
, making up the balance of the broadcast day.
Air America Radio Air America (formerly Air America Radio and Air America Media) was an American radio network specializing in progressive talk radio. It was on the air from March 2004 to January 2010. The network was founded as a left–wing alternative to coun ...
also aired on some of these stations. iHeartMedia has shown a tendency to drop liberal talk affiliations due to lack of ratings or advertiser support and replace it with sports talk or other formats. For instance, WCKY Cincinnati,
KLSD KLSD (1360 AM) is a commercial radio station in San Diego, California, United States, broadcasting a conservative talk radio format branded as "The Patriot." It is owned by iHeartMedia with studios on Granite Ridge Drive. Programming is also ...
San Diego, WXKS Boston,
KPOJ KPOJ (620 AM broadcasting, AM) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station in Portland, Oregon. It airs a sports radio radio format, format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. KPOJ airs two local sports shows on weekdays, ''Rip City Mornin ...
Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...
and WINZ
Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
had progressive talk formats that were switched to sports. In one case this caused a listener protest when iHeartMedia (then Clear Channel) wanted to change
WXXM WXXM (92.1 FM broadcasting, FM) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station city of license, licensed to Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, and serving the Madison, Wisconsin, metropolitan statistical area, Madison metropolitan area. The station is ...
in
Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...
, to a sports format. The outcry worked temporarily. WXXM was allowed to keep its liberal-leaning talk format for a few more years. But in November 2016, due to a general lack of syndicated progressive talk programming, WXXM flipped to classic hits.


All-News

In the
all-news radio All-news radio is a radio format devoted entirely to the discussion and broadcast of news. All-news radio is available in both local and radio syndication, syndicated forms, and is carried on both major US satellite radio networks. All-news sta ...
format, iHeartMedia owns one station that airs continuous locally-anchored news around the clock, except for a few hours of talk in the evening, WBZ
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
. A few iHeartMedia stations carry all-news in
drive time Drive time is the daypart in which radio broadcasters can reach the most people who listen to car radios while driving, usually to and from work, or on public transportation. Drive-time periods are when the number of radio listeners in this c ...
, such as KFBK
Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...
,
KOA KOA (short for Kampgrounds of America) is an American franchise of privately owned campgrounds. Having more than 500 locations across the United States and Canada, it is the world's largest system of privately owned campgrounds. It was founded ...
Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
and KOGO
San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
. For syndication and on the iHeart app, the company operates the "24/7 News" channel through its Total Traffic and Weather Network division. From 2016 to 2024, the service was branded as NBC News Radio after iHeart/TTWN and NBC News formed a brand licensing and content agreement.


Black Information Network

On June 30, 2020, iHeartMedia announced a new all-news radio brand, the
Black Information Network Black Information Network (BIN) is a Broadcast network, radio network and content brand owned by iHeartMedia. Launched on June 30, 2020, it is an all-news radio network of stations targeting African American communities, carrying mostly important ...
(BIN), which is targeted towards
African Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...
. BIN is heard on iHeartMedia stations in dozens of cities. WBIN
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
is considered the flagship station.


Sports talk stations

Nearly all sports talk stations owned by iHeartMedia are affiliated with
Fox Sports Radio Fox Sports Radio is an Radio in the United States, American Sports radio, sports radio network. Based in Los Angeles, California, the network is operated and managed by Premiere Networks in a content partnership with Fox Corporation's Fox Sports ...
. A few sports talk stations owned by iHeartMedia run programming from rival
ESPN Radio ESPN Radio, which is alternatively branded platform-agnostically as ESPN Audio, is an American sports radio network and extension of the ESPN television network. It was launched on January 1, 1992, under the banner "SportsRadio ESPN". The netw ...
. In Cincinnati, iHeart owns two sports stations with
WSAI WSAI (1360 AM broadcasting, AM) is a radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio. Owned and operated by iHeartMedia, its studios, as well as those of iHeartMedia's other Cincinnati stations, are in the Towers of Kenwood building next to I-71 in the Kenwo ...
running Fox Sports and WCKY carrying ESPN. In 2020, iHeartMedia launched the iHeartSports Network.


Adult standards

Most of iHeartMedia's
adult standards Adult standards (also sometimes known as the nostalgia or Big Band format) is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations. Adult standards started in the 1950s and is aimed at "mature" adults, meaning mainly tho ...
stations were turnkey operations, running a direct feed of a satellite format such as
Westwood One Westwood One, Inc. is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming. The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1976. The co ...
's
America's Best Music America's Best Music is the on-air branding of a soft oldies and adult standards 24-hour radio network, formerly known as AM Only. The service is syndicated by Westwood One, a subsidiary of Cumulus Media. It was one of the original Transtar Ra ...
or
Music of Your Life Music of Your Life is an American syndicated music radio format featuring adult standards music. First created by recording executive Al Ham in 1978, the format achieved popularity in the 1980s among AM radio stations in the United States and Ca ...
, with no local DJs. The company sold off many of these stations or flipped them to sports or talk formats.


Adult contemporary

iHeartMedia's
Adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...
stations are often branded as "Lite FM" (e.g.
WLTW WLTW (106.7 MHz) is an adult contemporary radio station licensed to New York, New York and serving the New York metropolitan area. WLTW is owned by iHeartMedia and broadcasts from studios located at 125 West 55th Street in Midtown Manhattan, ...
New York and
WLIT-FM WLIT-FM (93.9 MHz, "93.9 Lite FM") is a radio station in Chicago, Illinois. Owned by iHeartMedia, it broadcasts an Adult contemporary music, adult contemporary format. Its studios are located at the Illinois Center complex in the Chicago Loop, ...
Chicago) or "Sunny" (
KODA KODA (99.1 FM, "Sunny 99.1") is an American commercial adult contemporary-formatted radio station in Houston, Texas. The station is owned by iHeartMedia. Its studios and offices are located along the West Loop Freeway in Uptown Houston. KOD ...
Houston and
KTSM-FM KTSM-FM (99.9 MHz, "Sunny 99.9") is a commercial radio station in El Paso, Texas. It airs an adult contemporary radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The studios and offices are on North Mesa Street (Texas State Highway 20) in West Ce ...
El Paso El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...
). A handful of stations use "Magic", "B" or something else similar as their identifiers. As of 2018, "The Breeze" brought a resurgence in
Soft AC Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, ...
, targeted towards millennial listeners. In the evening, many iHeartMedia AC stations carry ''
Delilah Delilah ( ; , meaning "delicate";Gesenius's ''Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon'' ; ) is a woman mentioned in the sixteenth chapter of the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible. She is loved by Samson, a Nazirite who possesses great strength and serves as t ...
'', a call-in and request show syndicated by Premiere Networks and hosted by Delilah Rene. In some markets, another station has the rights to ''Delilah'', in which case ''
The John Tesh Radio Show John Frank Tesh Jr. (born July 9, 1952) is an American musician and radio and television presenter. He wrote the ''NBA on NBC'' basketball theme "Roundball Rock", and hosts the ''Intelligence for Your Life'' radio show. In addition, since 2014 ...
'' is often carried in the evening. '' Your Weekend with Jim Brickman'' and '' The Ellen K Weekend Show'' are popular weekend syndicated programs on iHeartMedia adult contemporary stations. Nearly all iHeartMedia AC stations switch to all-
Christmas music Christmas music comprises a variety of Music genre, genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas and holiday season, Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or in the case of Christmas ...
for much of November and December. Some AC stations are known for playing holiday songs as early as November 1 such as
WLIT-FM WLIT-FM (93.9 MHz, "93.9 Lite FM") is a radio station in Chicago, Illinois. Owned by iHeartMedia, it broadcasts an Adult contemporary music, adult contemporary format. Its studios are located at the Illinois Center complex in the Chicago Loop, ...
Chicago. Other iHeartMedia AC stations make the switch each year in early November while WLTW New York waits until the Friday before
Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in October and November in the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Germany. It is also observed in the Australian territory ...
.
Hot adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...
stations are usually branded as "Mix" (
WMMX WMMX (107.7 FM "Mix 107.7") is a commercial radio station broadcasting a hot adult contemporary format. It is licensed to Dayton, Ohio, and is owned by iHeartMedia with the license held by as iHM Licenses, LLC. Weeknights, it carries the ...
Dayton Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...
), "Star" (
KMYI KMYI (94.1 FM) is a commercial radio station in San Diego, California, airing a hot adult contemporary music format. It is owned by iHeartMedia. Its studios are located in San Diego's Kearny Mesa neighborhood on the northeast side, and the ...
San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
) or "MYfm" (
KBIG KBIG (104.3 FM, ''104.3 MYfm'') is a commercial radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, and serving the Greater Los Angeles area. The station is owned by iHeartMedia and broadcasts a hot adult contemporary radio format focusing on ...
Los Angeles). Some Hot AC stations lean toward
modern rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college and commercial rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. ...
while others lean toward adult hits.


Contemporary hit radio

iHeartMedia's CHR stations share a number of common brands, including "
KISS-FM KISS-FM (99.5 MHz) is a commercial radio station in San Antonio, Texas. It airs a mainstream rock format and is owned by Cox Media Group. The studios and offices are located on Datapoint Drive in Northwest San Antonio near the South Texas M ...
" (e.g.,
KIIS-FM KIIS-FM (102.7 FM broadcasting, FM, "102.7 KIIS FM") is a commercial radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, United States, and broadcasts to the Greater Los Angeles area. The station airs a contemporary hit radio format. Owned by i ...
Los Angeles,
WKSC-FM WKSC-FM (103.5 MHz) – branded "103.5 Kiss FM" – is a commercial contemporary hit radio station licensed to Chicago, Illinois. Owned by iHeartMedia, its studios are located at the Illinois Center complex on Michigan Avenue in Downtown Ch ...
Chicago,
WAKS WAKS (96.5 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Akron, Ohio, known as "96.5 KISS-FM" and featuring a contemporary hit radio format. Owned by iHeartMedia, WAKS's studios are located at the Six Six Eight Building in downtown Cleveland ...
Cleveland,
WKFS WKFS (107.1 FM, "Kiss 107.1") is a radio station in the Cincinnati, Ohio, market, licensed to nearby Milford. It broadcasts a gold-based Top 40 format and is owned by iHeartMedia. The WKFS studios are located in Kenwood Towne Centre, and th ...
Cincinnati,
WXKS-FM WXKS-FM (107.9 MHz), branded ''Kiss 108'', is a commercial contemporary hit radio station licensed to serve Medford, Massachusetts, and covering Greater Boston. Owned by iHeartMedia, the WXKS-FM studios are in Medford and the station transmits f ...
Boston), "Z" (e.g.,
WHTZ WHTZ (100.3 FM) is a commercial contemporary hit radio station licensed to Newark, New Jersey, and broadcasting to the New York metropolitan area. It is owned by iHeartMedia. WHTZ is the flagship station for ''Elvis Duran and the Morning Show' ...
New York,
KKRZ KKRZ (100.3 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station in Portland, Oregon, known as Z100. It is owned by iHeartMedia and airs a Top 40 (CHR) radio format. The studios and offices are on SW 68th Parkway in Tigard. Z100 carries 2 syndicated sho ...
Portland,
WZFT WZFT (104.3 FM), branded "Z104.3", is a gold-leaning contemporary hit radio station located in Baltimore, Maryland. It is currently owned and operated by iHeartMedia. WZFT's studios are located at The Rotunda shopping center in Baltimore, and ...
Baltimore,
KSLZ KSLZ (107.7 MHz ''Z107-7'') is a Commercial radio station in St. Louis, Missouri. It airs a contemporary hit radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. Z107-7 carries two syndicated programs on weekdays, ''The Jubal Show'' from KBKS Seat ...
St. Louis), "Wild" (e.g.,
WLDI WLDI (95.5 FM) is a radio station licensed to Juno Beach, Florida and broadcasting in the Treasure Coast and West Palm Beach, Florida markets. The station airs a contemporary hit radio format. It is owned by iHeartMedia, and broadcasts at 95.5 ...
West Palm Beach,
KYLD KYLD (94.9 FM) is a commercial radio station in San Francisco, California, serving the San Francisco Bay Area and owned by San Antonio–based iHeartMedia. The station airs a contemporary hit radio format on its analog primary signal. The s ...
San Francisco), "Power" (
WWPW WWPW (105.3 FM, "Power 105-3") is an Atlanta contemporary hit radio station. The station's transmitter is located in Newnan, Georgia and targets metro Atlanta, also covering its city of license of Bowdon, Georgia. It is owned by iHeartMedia ...
Atlanta,
WGEX WGEX (97.3 FM broadcasting, FM, "Power 97.3") is a Contemporary hit radio, Top 40 (CHR) formatted radio station licensed to Bainbridge, Georgia and serving the Albany, Georgia, Tallahassee, Florida and Dothan, Alabama markets. The station is owne ...
Albany, Georgia), Channel (e.g.,
WKQI WKQI (95.5 FM broadcasting, FM) is a commercial Radio broadcasting, radio station licensed to Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, featuring a Contemporary hit radio, top 40 (CHR) format known as "Channel 955", pronounced "nine-five-five". Owned by iHear ...
Detroit,
KHTS-FM KHTS-FM (93.3 MHz) is a contemporary hit radio station that is licensed to El Cajon, California, and serves the San Diego market. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, through licensee iHM Licenses, LLC, and is branded as "Channel 9-3-3". The ...
San Diego,
WCHD WCHD (99.9 FM broadcasting, FM, "Channel 999") is a commercial radio station community of license, licensed to Kettering, Ohio, and serving the Dayton metropolitan area. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. and airs a contemporary hit radio ...
Dayton-Springfield), or "Hot" (e.g.,
WIHT WIHT (99.5 FM broadcasting, FM) is a contemporary hit radio formatted radio station that serves the greater Washington, D.C. Washington metropolitan area, metropolitan area. Located on the fourth floor of 1801 Maryland Route 355, Rockville Pike ...
in Washington, D.C.,
WWHT WWHT (107.9 FM, "Hot 107-9") is a radio station that is licensed to Syracuse, New York. The station is owned by iHeartMedia and broadcasts a contemporary hit radio (CHR) format. The studios and offices are located on Plum Street in Syracuse ...
in Syracuse, NY). Other brands, less commonly used, includes "Radio Now" (previously used at
WNRW WNRW (98.9 FM) - branded as 98.9 Kiss FM - is a Top 40 (CHR) radio station licensed to Prospect, Kentucky, and serving the Louisville metropolitan area. It is owned by iHeartMedia, with studios on South 4th Street in the Louisville neighbo ...
Louisville, now rebranded as "98.9 Kiss FM"), "Q" (
WIOQ WIOQ (102.1 FM broadcasting, FM) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The station broadcasts a contemporary hit radio radio format, format and is owned by iHeartMedia. The radio studio, studios and off ...
Philadelphia-102.1 FM-Q102,
WQGA WQGA (103.3 FM, "103Q") is a commercial radio station licensed to Waycross, Georgia, and serving the Brunswick, Georgia, and Jacksonville, Florida, area. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc., through licensee iHM Licenses, LLC, and airs ...
Waycross-Brunswick, Georgia-103.3 FM-103Q), "B" (
WAEB-FM WAEB-FM (104.1 MHz, "B104") is a commercial radio station licensed to Allentown, Pennsylvania, and serving the Lehigh Valley. The station airs a contemporary hit radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The studios and offices are on A ...
B 104 Allentown-Reading PA 104.1 FM), "FM" (
WLAN-FM WLAN-FM (96.9 MHz, "FM 97 WLAN") is a commercial radio station licensed to serve Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. through licensee iHM Licenses, LLC. WLAN-FM broadcasts a contemporary hit radio music format. St ...
FM 97 96.9 FM Lancaster-Reading), "V" (
WVRT WVRT (97.7 FM broadcasting, FM) is an American radio station licensed to Mill Hall, Pennsylvania with an output power of 6,000 watts. "V97" is owned by iHeartMedia and plays Contemporary hit radio, Top 40 (CHR) music. History WVRT signed on ...
&
WVRZ WVRZ (99.7 FM) is a radio station located in Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania. It is a simulcast of Top 40 (CHR) formatted WVRT WVRT (97.7 FM broadcasting, FM) is an American radio station licensed to Mill Hall, Pennsylvania with an output pow ...
V-97 Williamsport-Lock Haven, Pennsylvania), "Max" (
WHCY WHCY (106.3 Hertz, MHz), known as 106.3 The Bear, is a commercial radio, commercial FM radio, FM radio station city of license, licensed to Blairstown, New Jersey, Blairstown, New Jersey and serving the Sussex County, New Jersey, Sussex, Warren ...
Max 106.3 Sussex), "K.C." (
WKCI-FM WKCI-FM (101.3 MHz) is a commercial radio station broadcasting a contemporary hit radio format. Licensed to the suburb of Hamden, Connecticut, it serves New Haven and Hartford. The station is owned by iHeartMedia. The studios are in Radio Tow ...
KC 101, 101.3 FM,
Hamden, Connecticut Hamden is a New England town, town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The town's nickname is "The Land of the Sleeping Giant (Connecticut), Sleeping Giant". The town is part of the South Central Connecticut Planning Region, Connecti ...
) and "X" (
WJMX-FM WJMX-FM (103.3 MHz), also known as "103X", is a top 40 (CHR) station located in the Florence, South Carolina, radio market. The station is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to the town of Cheraw, South Carolina, and broadc ...
103X, 103.3 FM
Cheraw, South Carolina Cheraw ( , ) is a town on the Pee Dee River in Chesterfield County, South Carolina, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 5,040 at the 2020 census. The greater Cheraw area in the zip code 29520 has a populatio ...
). Although a majority of these stations features a broad-based, mass appeal music presentation, several stations like
KPRR KPRR (102.1 FM "Power 102.1"), is a commercial radio station in El Paso, Texas. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. and airs a rhythmic contemporary radio format. It offers a more broad-based direction in its playlist than most other ...
El Paso El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...
and
WKTU WKTU (103.5 FM broadcasting, FM) is a rhythmic adult contemporary formatted radio station city of license, licensed to Lake Success, New York, a suburb of New York City. WKTU is owned by iHeartMedia and broadcasts from studios at 125 West 55th ...
New York program more
rhythmic Rhythmic may refer to: * Related to rhythm * Rhythmic contemporary, a radio format * Rhythmic adult contemporary, a radio format * Rhythmic gymnastics Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform individually or in groups on a floor ...
material. WKTU has a sister station in
WHTZ WHTZ (100.3 FM) is a commercial contemporary hit radio station licensed to Newark, New Jersey, and broadcasting to the New York metropolitan area. It is owned by iHeartMedia. WHTZ is the flagship station for ''Elvis Duran and the Morning Show' ...
, so WKTU's
playlist A playlist is a list of video or audio files that can be played back on a media player, either sequentially or in a shuffled order. In its most general form, an audio playlist is simply a list of songs that can be played once or in a loop. ...
includes more rhythmic hits to differentiate itself from Z100.


Country music

Country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...
stations owned by iHeartMedia often call themselves "The Bull" (
WUBL WUBL (94.9 FM) is a commercial radio station known as 94-9 The Bull. It is owned by iHeartMedia and it plays a country music radio format. The studios and offices are located at the Peachtree Palisades Building in the Brookwood Hills district ...
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
and
KSD-FM KSD (93.7 MHz, "93.7 The Bull") is a country music radio station in St. Louis, Missouri. It is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc., with studios on Highlands Plaza Drive in St. Louis, south of Forest Park. KSD carries two nationally syndicated iHea ...
St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
) and "Big" (
WSIX-FM WSIX-FM (97.9 FM, "The Big 98") is a commercial radio station licensed to serve Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Owned by iHeartMedia, the station broadcasts a country music format. WSIX's studios are located in Nashville's Music Row dist ...
Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
) as national brandings. They almost universally carry '' After Midnite with Granger Smith'', a syndicated overnight program. Many also carry ''
The Bobby Bones Show ''The Bobby Bones Show'' is an American, nationally syndicated country music radio show aired during the morning hours. The Bobby Bones Show, which originally aired from Austin, Texas, now broadcasts from studios at WSIX-FM in Nashville. Premie ...
'' in morning
drive time Drive time is the daypart in which radio broadcasters can reach the most people who listen to car radios while driving, usually to and from work, or on public transportation. Drive-time periods are when the number of radio listeners in this c ...
], based at WSIX-FM Nashville. (Some iHeartMedia country stations with popular local morning shows run Bobby Bones in the evening or weekends.) In 2015, iHeartMedia launched the iHeartCountry franchise, including the
iHeartRadio Country Festival The iHeartCountry Festival is an annual music event by iHeartRadio that celebrates country music with performances by the genre's biggest superstars at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas. The inaugural event in 2014 was not broadcast on nat ...
. The Festival is a popular live music concert held each year and recorded for television.


Classic Hits/Oldies

iHeartMedia's Classic Hits stations consists largely of FM stations with some AM stations. iHeartMedia uses brands such as "Big" and "Kool" on many of its stations. Nearly all of the FM stations play classic hits spanning from the late 1970s to the 1990s with a primary focus on the 1980s, with a 500-song active playlist. These stations generally have a few local live announcers; much of the time these stations are voicetracked either locally or from another market. Many air the in house syndicated 'The 80s Show' with Jeff Stevens on Saturday evenings and many air
Casey Kasem Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem (April 27, 1932 – June 15, 2014) was an American disc jockey, actor, and radio presenter who created and hosted several radio countdown programs, notably ''American Top 40'', as well as the weekly syndicated televi ...
's
American Top 40 ''American Top 40'' (abbreviated to ''AT40'') is an internationally radio syndication, syndicated, independent song countdown radio programming, radio program created by Casey Kasem, Don Bustany, Tom Rounds, and Ron Jacobs (broadcaster), Ron Jaco ...
from the 1970s and 1980s. The AM oldies stations' playlists skew somewhat older and span from 1955 to about 1975. About 60 percent of the time they play 1964 to 1969 oldies, 20 percent pre 1964 oldies, and 20 percent music from the 1970s. Some of the AM stations also run adult standards several hours on the weekend as well as limited specialized programming focusing on the pre 1964 era. Most of the AM stations are in smaller markets.


Rock

iHeartMedia stations programming a rock format tend to play a blend of new rock and harder classic rock. Some carry '' Nights with Alice Cooper'' (out of
KSLX-FM KSLX-FM is a classic rock radio station serving the Phoenix, Arizona, area. The Hubbard Broadcasting, Inc. outlet broadcasts at 100.7 MHz with an ERP of 100 kW and is licensed to Scottsdale, Arizona. KSLX simulcasts in digital HD Radi ...
in Phoenix) in the evenings while some others aired '' Sixx Sense with Nikki Sixx'' until the show ended at the end of 2015. These stations tend to be live during the day and voicetracked at night. Some stations run ''
Rockline ''Rockline'' was a nationally syndicated radio interview program hosted by Bob Coburn that was broadcast live via satellite every Monday and Wednesday night from 8:30pm-10pm PT to radio stations in the United States and Canada. Founded in 1981, ...
'' with Bob Coburn and/or ''
Little Steven's Underground Garage ''Underground Garage'' is the name of two different related radio outlets that present rock 'n' roll and garage rock on radio: a syndicated show and a satellite radio station. Steven Van Zandt, best known as a guitarist in Bruce Springsteen & ...
'' as well. While iHeartMedia classic rock stations operate under a wide variety of monikers, many are branded as "The Fox" or "The Brew". Often, these stations will carry ''
Bob and Tom Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: People, fictional characters, and named animals *Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Bob (surname) *Bob (dog), a dog that received the Dickin Medal for bravery in World War II *Bob the ...
'' (out of
WFBQ WFBQ (94.7 FM, "Q95") is a radio station in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, owned by iHeartMedia. The studios are located at 6161 Fall Creek Road on the northeast side of Indianapolis. The transmitter and antenna are located on the north ...
in Indianapolis) in morning drive. In the
Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...
, ''
John Boy and Billy John Isley (born August 15, 1956) and Billy James (born August 31, 1957), known as John Boy & Billy, are American radio personality, radio hosts based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Their comedic morning program ''The John Boy & Billy Big Show'' b ...
'' (out of
WRFX WRFX (99.7 FM broadcasting, FM) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station City of license, licensed to Kannapolis, North Carolina and serving the Charlotte metropolitan area. Owned by iHeartMedia, it airs a classic rock radio format, and ...
in Charlotte) is carried instead in most cases. (Both of the aforementioned shows are syndicated by Premiere.) Other shows include ''
Rover's Morning Glory ''Rover's Morning Glory'' is a nationally syndicated hot talk morning drive time radio show originating from Cleveland rock station WMMS (100.7  FM). Hosted by radio personality Rover (Shane French), the show first began at cross-tow ...
'' out of
WMMS WMMS (100.7 FM broadcasting, FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, serving Greater Cleveland and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio, commonly identified as "The Buzzard". Widely regarded as one of the most influen ...
in Cleveland. Starting with WQBW Milwaukee (now the sports formatted
WRNW WRNW (97.3 FM) is a commercial radio station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, known as "97.3 The Game". It airs a sports radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The studios are on West Howard Avenue in Greenfield. WRNW is a Class B FM s ...
) and WBWR Columbus (now
WXZX WXZX (105.7 FM broadcasting, FM) is a commercial radio station that is licensed to serve Hilliard, Ohio and serves the Columbus, Ohio metropolitan area, Columbus metropolitan area. Owned by iHeartMedia, the station broadcasts an alternative roc ...
), several iHeartMedia stations have adopted a 1980s-centered classic rock approach called "The Brew". The company's
alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
stations use a standardized branding under the brand "Alt".


Spanish

In a few markets, iHeartMedia has an FM station carrying Hispanic programming full-time. In some markets the format is a Contemporary Tropical format while in others the format carried is more of a Mexican format. In a few markets an iHeartMedia FM station carries a rap based Spanish format known as
Hurban Hurban is a radio programming format from radio chain giant iHeartMedia and Senior VP Alfredo Alonso. Hurban radio stations target young Hispanics in the United States, primarily consisting of reggaeton, Latin trap, Latin rap, and Latin dance. ...
, which blends Spanish dance music with rhythm and blues hits as well as some Hip Hop. The division was run by Spanish radio executive Alfredo Alonso, who joined the company in September 2004 as senior vice president of Hispanic Radio. In September 2016, iHeartMedia brought hired Enrique Santos as chairman and chief creative officer of the newly formed iHeartLatino division. iHeartMedia launched an annual event franchise called
iHeartRadio Fiesta Latina The iHeartRadio Fiesta Latina is a music festival sponsored by iHeartRadio. The inaugural 2014 edition was held on November 22 at The Forum in Inglewood, California, near Los Angeles.GERRICK D. KENNEDY, October 17, 2014, Los Angeles TimesPitbul ...
.


Religious

In a few markets, iHeartMedia has a religious station on the AM band. Some of these sell blocks of time to outside organizations and have no local shows at all except where local churches buy time. These are formatted similarly to
Salem Media Salem Media Group, Inc. (formerly Salem Communications Corporation) is an American radio broadcaster, internet content provider, and magazine and book publisher based in Irving, Texas, targeting audiences interested in Christian values and what ...
stations. The other type of religious format iHeartMedia uses in a few markets is a
Gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music vary according to culture and social context. Gospel music is compo ...
based format. On these stations, Gospel Music appealing to black Americans airs most of the time, along with some block programming sold to religious groups. These stations are often programmed as urban stations that happen to be religious.


Specialties

IHeartMedia has one station in
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
,
KDNN KDNN (98.5 FM broadcasting, FM, "Island 98.5") is an commercial Hawaiian music, Hawaiian contemporary hit radio formatted radio station based in Honolulu, Hawaii. The iHeartMedia outlet broadcasts with an ERP of 51 kW. It also transmits o ...
/
Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...
, programming a Contemporary Hawaiian Hits/Reggae format, along with an accompanying HD2 sub channel that features traditional Hawaiian music. Multicultural programming can also be heard on AM stations that iHeartMedia owns or has LMAs with. In March 2019, its
Allentown Allentown may refer to: Places * Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California * Allentown, Georgia, a city in four counties in Georgia * Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Tazewell County * Allentown, New Jersey, a boroug ...
,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
outlet,
WSAN WSAN (1470 AM, "Real Oldies 1470") is a commercial radio station licensed to Allentown, Pennsylvania. It is owned by iHeartMedia and serves the Lehigh Valley radio market. It broadcasts an oldies radio format, with its studios and offices in ...
, launched an all-podcast format. In November 2019,
K256AS K256AS (99.1 FM broadcasting, FM, "Star 99.1") is a broadcast relay station, relay transmitter in Honolulu, Honolulu, Hawaii. Owned by iHeartMedia, the station serves as an analog simulcast of KUCD, KUCD-HD2, KUCD's HD Radio subchannel, carrying ...
/
KUCD KUCD (101.9 FM "Pop! 101.9") is a commercial radio station licensed to Pearl City, Hawaii and serving the Honolulu metropolitan area. It broadcasts an Asian Top 40-CHR radio format, playing hits from K-pop and other countries in Asia. It i ...
-HD2 in Honolulu launched a variant Top 40 format with a focus on
K-pop K-pop (; an abbreviation of "Korean popular music") is a form of popular music originating in South Korea. It emerged in the 1990s as a form of youth subculture, with Korean musicians taking influence from Western Electronic dance music, danc ...
and other international pop hits.


Criticism


Market share

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the company became an object of persistent criticism.Foege, Alec. ''Right of the Dial: The Rise of Clear Channel and the Fall of Commercial Radio''. Faber and Faber, 2008 FCC regulations were relaxed following the
Telecommunications Act of 1996 The Telecommunications Act of 1996 is a United States federal law enacted by the 104th United States Congress on January 3, 1996, and signed into law on February 8, 1996, by President Bill Clinton. It primarily amended Chapter 5 of Title 47 of ...
, allowing companies to own far more radio stations than before. After spending about $30 billion, Clear Channel owned over 1,200 stations nationwide, including as many as eight stations in certain markets. Although "media reform" social movement organizations like
Future of Music Coalition Future of Music Coalition (FMC) is a U.S. 501(c)(3) national non-profit organization specializing in education, research and advocacy for musicians with a focus on issues at the intersection of music technology, policy and law. Background Fut ...
mobilized against Clear Channel, so far the company has been able to hold on to all of its stations after divesting a few following the acquisition of AMFM, although over 500 stations have since been sold or are in the process of being sold since the company announced plans to become privately held.


September 11, 2001

Following the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
on New York and
The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As ...
, radio stations circulated a list of songs that were deemed inappropriate for broadcast during the time of national mourning following the attacks. A small list was initially generated by the Clear Channel office on Thursday, September 13, 2001, though individual
program director In service industries, such as education, a program manager or program director researches, plans, develops and implements one or more of the firm's professional services. For example, in education, a program director is responsible for developing ...
s added many of their own songs. A list containing about 150 songs was soon published on the
Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...
. Some critics suggested that Clear Channel's political preferences played a part in the list. A number of songs were apparently placed on the list because they had specific words such as "plane", "fly", "burn", and "falling" in their titles. Clear Channel denies that this was a list of banned songs, claiming it was a list of titles that should be played only after great thought. Also WOFX, Cincinnati, owned by Clear Channel at the time continued to play songs that were on the alleged list, even though radio headquarters was in Cincinnati at the time. Songs on the list included
Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the leader and frontman of the Rock music, rock bands Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Mudcrutch and a member of the late 1980s sup ...
's "
Free Fallin' "Free Fallin" is the opening track from American musician Tom Petty's debut solo album, '' Full Moon Fever'' (1989). The song was written by Petty and his writing partner for the album, Jeff Lynne, and features Lynne on backing vocals and bass g ...
",
Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...
's "
What a Wonderful World "What a Wonderful World" is a song written by Bob Thiele (as "George Douglas") and George David Weiss. It was first recorded by Louis Armstrong on August 16, 1967. In April 1968, it topped the pop chart in the United Kingdom, but performed p ...
" and the entire Rage Against the Machine discography.


Live music recordings

In 2004, Clear Channel acquired a key patent in the process of producing Instant Live recordings, in which a live performance is recorded directly from the sound engineer's console during the show, and then rapidly burned on CD so that audience members can buy copies of the show as they are leaving the venue. This had been intended to provide additional revenue to the artist, venue, and promoter, as well as stifle the demand for unauthorized bootleg concert recordings made by audience members. However, some media critics, as well as smaller business rivals, believed that Clear Channel was using the patent (on the process of adding cues to the beginning and ending of tracks ''during recording'', so that the concert is not burned as a single enormous track) to drive competitors out of business or force them to pay licensing fees, even if they do not use precisely the same process. The patent was transferred to
Live Nation Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. is an American multinational Entertainment industry, entertainment company that was founded in 2010 following the Mergers and acquisitions, merger of Live Nation (events promoter), Live Nation and Ticketmaster. It ...
when
Clear Channel Entertainment Live Nation is an American events promoter and venue operator based in Beverly Hills, California. Founded in 1996 by Robert F. X. Sillerman as SFX Entertainment, the company's business was built around consolidating concert promoters into a n ...
was spun off, but the patent was revoked on March 13, 2007, after it was found that this patent infringed on a prior patent granted for
Telex Telex is a telecommunication Telecommunication, often used in its plural form or abbreviated as telecom, is the transmission of information over a distance using electronic means, typically through cables, radio waves, or other communica ...
.


Indecency zero tolerance

During the nationwide crackdown on indecent material following the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show in 2004, Clear Channel launched a "self-policing" effort, and declared that there would be no "indecent" material allowed on the air. This led to the company's dismissal of several of their own employees, including popular and high-profile hosts in a number of cities. There were protests from free-speech advocates. During the same period,
Howard Stern Howard Allan Stern (born January 12, 1954) is an American broadcaster and media personality. He is best known for his radio show, ''The Howard Stern Show'', which gained popularity when it was nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from 1 ...
was dropped from six Clear Channel-owned stations in Florida, California, Pennsylvania, New York and Kentucky. By mid-year, rival
Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to: * Viacom (1952–2005), a former American media conglomerate * Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom * Viacom18, a joint venture between Pa ...
(through radio division
Infinity Broadcasting Infinity Broadcasting Corporation was a radio company that existed from 1972 until 2005. It was founded by Michael A. Wiener and Gerald Carrus. It became associated with popular radio personalities like Howard Stern, Opie and Anthony, Don Im ...
, and the original Viacom, not the second one) brought Stern's show back to those six markets. In June 2004, Viacom/Infinity Broadcasting Inc./One Twelve Inc. filed a $10 million lawsuit against Clear Channel for breaking of contracts and non-payment of licensing fees due to the dropping of Stern's show. (Viacom was Howard Stern's employer at the time, though he has since moved to
Sirius XM Satellite Radio Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting corporation headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. The company was formed by the 2008 merger ...
.) The following July, Clear Channel filed a countersuit of $3 million.


Concerts

In the early 2000s, Clear Channel settled a lawsuit with a
Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
,
Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
concert promoter, Nobody In Particular Presents (NIPP). In the lawsuit, NIPP alleged that Clear Channel halted airplay on its local stations for (NIPP) clients, and that Clear Channel would not allow NIPP to publicize its concerts on the air. The lawsuit was settled in 2004 when Clear Channel agreed to pay NIPP a confidential sum. However, a systematic analysis of concert ticket prices found no evidence that Clear Channel was cross-leveraging its radio interests with its (now divested) concert promotion interests.


Production of local programming

iHeartMedia uses the RCS Nex-Gen automation system throughout their properties. Like most contemporary automation systems, Nex-Gen allows a DJ from anywhere in the country to sound as if he or she is broadcasting from anywhere else in the country, on any other station. A technological outgrowth of earlier, tape-based automation systems dating back to the 1960s, this method—known as
voice-tracking Voice-tracking, also called cyber jocking and referred to sometimes colloquially as a robojock, is a technique employed by some radio stations in radio broadcasting to produce the illusion of a live disc jockey or announcer sitting in the radio stu ...
—allows for smaller market stations to be partially or completely staffed by "cyber-jocks" who may never have visited the town from which they are broadcasting. This practice may also result in local on-air positions being reduced or eliminated. It has been stated that iHeartMedia maintains a majority of its staff in hourly-paid, part-time positions. Beginning in the early 2020s, many of its stations have added a disclaimer with their
station identification Station identification (ident, network ID, channel ID or bumper (broadcasting), bumper) is the practice of radio and television stations and broadcast network, networks identifying themselves on-air, typically by means of a call sign or brand na ...
sequence noting that the voicetracked content is pre-recorded.


Lack of local staff during emergency

Clear Channel was criticized for a situation that occurred in
Minot, North Dakota Minot ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ward County, North Dakota, United States, in the state's north-central region. It is most widely known for the Air Force base approximately north of the city. With a population of 48,377 at the 2 ...
, on the morning of January 18, 2002. At around 2:30 a.m., a
Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...
train derailed and leaked of toxic
anhydrous ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic chemical compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . A stable binary hydride and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinctive pungent smell. It is widely used in fertilizers, ...
, releasing a cloud of caustic, poisonous gas over the city. At the time, Clear Channel owned six commercial radio stations out of nine in the Minot area. City officials attempted to contact the local Clear Channel office by telephone to spread warnings of the danger using its radio stations, but it was several critical hours before the station manager was finally reached at his home. In the meantime,
9-1-1 911, sometimes written , is an emergency telephone number for Argentina, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Fiji, Jordan, Mexico, Pakistan, Maldives, Palau, Panama, Iraq, the Philippines, Sint Maarten, the United States, and Uruguay, as well as ...
operators were advising panicked callers to tune to
KCJB KCJB (910 AM) is a classic country radio station in Minot, North Dakota. KCJB carries the Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (ML ...
for emergency instructions, but the station was not broadcasting any such information. The ammonia spill was the largest of its kind in the United States, with one person killed, and over 1,000 seeking medical attention. Clear Channel claimed no responsibility for its failure to warn residents, maintaining that the city should have used the
Emergency Alert System The Emergency Alert System (EAS) is a Emergency population warning, national warning system in the United States designed to allow authorized officials to broadcast emergency alerts and warning messages to the public via Cable television, cable ...
to trigger automatic equipment in place at all U.S. radio stations. The EAS equipment was later found to be functional at the time, but had not been activated by city, state or regional authorities. Other critical systems throughout Minot were either inoperable or had failed, including the public siren system, electricity in parts of the town, and the 9-1-1 telephone system, which became overloaded.


Rejection of advertising images

In June 2010, Clear Channel Outdoor rejected without comment two
digital billboard A digital billboard is a billboard that displays digital images that are changed by a computer every few seconds. Digital billboards are primarily used for advertising, but they can also serve public service purposes. These are positioned on high ...
images submitted by St. Pete Pride, an
LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...
organization that sponsors
gay pride In the context of LGBTQ culture, pride (also known as LGBTQ pride, LGBTQIA pride, LGBT pride, queer pride, gay pride, or gay and lesbian pride) is the promotion of the rights, self-affirmation, dignity, Social equality, equality, and increas ...
events in the
St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...
,
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
area, leading the group to cancel its contract with Clear Channel. St. Pete Pride has stated that throughout its eight-year history, Clear Channel has edited the organization's advertising material, and questioned whether the rejection of these images were because they displayed same-sex couples in affectionate poses. A Clear Channel spokesperson declined to comment on the specific reasons why the images were rejected but denied that the affection being shown was an issue, saying that such images had been included in previous St. Pete Pride campaigns.


Censorship

iHeartMedia and its subsidiaries have been associated with censorship of state and federal candidates for public office, elected officials and various political viewpoints. iHeartMedia has been criticized in the past for censoring opinions critical of the Republican Party. ''
Magic Magic or magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces ** ''Magick'' (with ''-ck'') can specifically refer to ceremonial magic * Magic (illusion), also known as sta ...
'', the 2007 release from
Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...
which contained songs that were subtly critical of then-president
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
, a Republican, and his administration, was censored from air play on Clear Channel. After
Natalie Maines Natalie Louise Maines (born October 14, 1974) is an American musician. She is the lead vocalist for the country band the Chicks. In 1995, after leaving Berklee College of Music, Maines was recruited by the Dixie Chicks to replace their lead si ...
, the singer of the country band
Dixie Chicks The Chicks (formerly the Dixie Chicks) are an American country music band from Dallas, Texas. The band consists of Natalie Maines (lead vocals, guitar, bass guitar) and sisters Martie Maguire (vocals, fiddle, mandolin, guitar) and Emily Stra ...
, told a London audience that they were "ashamed f the fact thatthe president of the United States is from Texas", the band's radio airplay dropped precipitously. Afterwards, some iHeartMedia (then Clear Channel) stations removed The Dixie Chicks from their playlists without any noted repercussions from the company. Gail Austin, Clear Channel's director of programming said, "Out of respect for our troops, our city and our listeners, ehave taken the Dixie Chicks off our playlists." Clear Channel was accused of orchestrating the radio blacklist by such critics as Paul Krugman; however, others claim some Clear Channel stations continued to play the band longer than some other companies. In 2005, Clear Channel-owned
KTVX KTVX (channel 4) is a television station in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Ogden-licensed KUCW (channel 30), an owned-and-operated station of The CW. The two stations sh ...
was the only local television station in
Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...
that refused to air a paid political message of
Cindy Sheehan Cindy Lee Sheehan ( Miller; born July 10, 1957) is an American anti-war activist,Geraghty, Jim (2011-05-02)Cindy Sheehan: ‘If you believe the newest death of OBL, you’re stupid.’''National Review''. Retrieved May 2, 2011. whose son, U.S. Ar ...
against the
war in Iraq This is a list of wars involving the Republic of Iraq and its predecessor states. , style="background:#F88" , Coalition of Gulf War, Coalition victory * Kuwait, State of Kuwait resumes self-governance over all Kuwaiti sovereign territory * Esta ...
during a visit by President Bush. On May 8, 2014, the FCC was asked to respond to a political programming complaint made against an iHeartMedia owned broadcast licensee, Capstar TX LLC by supporters of
Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...
mayor Tom Barrett, that year's Democratic candidate for
Governor of Wisconsin The governor of Wisconsin is the head of government of Wisconsin and the commander-in-chief of the state's Wisconsin Army National Guard, army and Wisconsin Air National Guard, air forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the ...
. Capstar would not offer free airtime on WISN radio (a station which only features local and national conservative talk shows) to respond to statements supporting Republican Governor Scott Walker. Walker's supporters had received free airtime from WISN for political purposes. Barrett supporters based their complaint on WISN's violation of the
Zapple doctrine The Zapple doctrine pertained to a particular sort of political speech in the United States, for which a candidate or his supporters bought air time but the candidate himself did not actually participate in the broadcast. The content could be suppo ...
. The FCC responded by rescinding the Zapple doctrine as a no longer enforceable component of the Fairness Doctrine.


Use of paid actors posing as callers

iHeartMedia, through its subsidiary,
Premiere Radio Networks Premiere Networks, Inc. (formerly Premiere Radio Networks, shortened as PRN) is an American Mass media, media company, a subsidiary of iHeartMedia, for which it currently serves as its main original Radio broadcasting, radio content distribut ...
, auditions and hires actors to call in to talk radio shows and pose as listeners in order to provide shows, carried by iHeartMedia and other broadcasters, with planned content in the form of stories and opinions. The custom caller service provided by Premiere Radio assures its clients they won't hear the same actor's voice for at least two months in order to appear authentic to listeners who might otherwise catch on.


iHeartMedia and rock radio

iHeartMedia had ended several long-running rock formats in several markets due to the decline of the format and shifts in overall market demographics, to negative listener reception, including: *
KSJO KSJO (92.3 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to San Jose, California, and broadcasts to the San Francisco Bay Area. KSJO airs a Bollywood music radio format branded as Bolly 92.3. It is owned by Silicon Valley Asian Media Group. Th ...
San Jose (formerly an iHeart station) – flipped to Spanish-language oldies on October 28, 2004, after 35 years as a rock station *
KLOL KLOL (101.1 FM, "Mega 101") is a commercial radio station in Houston, Texas. It is owned by Audacy, Inc. and airs a Spanish-language Latin pop format. KLOL serves as the Spanish-language flagship station for the Houston Texans football team. ...
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
– flipped to Spanish-language pop on November 12, 2004, after 34 years as a rock station (the station was sold to CBS Radio a few years later) * WFNX
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
– flipped to adult hits on July 24, 2012, after 29 years as an alternative rock station * WKLS
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
– flipped to mainstream top 40 on August 29, 2012, after 38 years as a rock station *
KZEP-FM KZEP-FM (104.5 FM, "104.5 Latino Hits") is a commercial Spanish CHR American radio station broadcasting in and around San Antonio, Texas, United States. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, (formerly Clear Channel Communications). Its studios ...
San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
– flipped to rhythmic hot AC on August 8, 2014, after 25 years as a classic rock station and 45 years of some form of rock music on the frequency (the classic rock format was moved to low-powered translator
K227BH K227BH (93.3 FM) is a classic country radio station broadcasting in and around San Antonio, Texas, simulcasting KRPT 92.5 FM, in Devine, Texas. The translator facility is owned and licensed to Mary H. Lopez, The station is also operated by i ...
) *
KDGE KDGE () is a commercial radio, commercial radio station dually city of license, licensed to both Fort Worth and Dallas, Texas. Star 102.1 airs an adult contemporary radio format, switching to Christmas music for much of November and December, a ...
Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
Fort Worth Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...
– flipped to Christmas music on November 16, 2016, then Mainstream AC on December 26 after 27 years (11 years on 94.5 before moving to 102.1 in 2000, and 16 years on 102.1) as an alternative rock station.


See also

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iHeartMedia radio stations iHeartMedia, Inc., or CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc., formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc., a company founded by ...
*
Clear Channel UK Bauer Media Outdoor UK, formerly Clear Channel UK, is the British division of Bauer Media Outdoor, an Out of Home media owner, operating over 40,000 advertising sites across the UK. Formerly part of iHeartMedia, and Clear Channel Outdoor, the co ...
*
List of radio stations owned by iHeartMedia The following is a list of radio stations currently owned by iHeartMedia. Of these stations, 448 of the stations which are outside the Top 100 Media market, DMA markets, plus another 91 stations which may or may not be in the top 100 DMAs are for ...
* List of songs deemed inappropriate by Clear Channel following the September 11, 2001 attacks *
TuneIn TuneIn is a global audio streaming service providing news, radio, sports, music, and podcasts to over 75 million monthly active users. TuneIn is operated by the privately held company TuneIn Inc. based in San Francisco, California. The comp ...


References


Further reading

# Eric Boehlert
"Radio's big bully"
salon.com, April 30, 2001 # Eric Boehlert

salon.com, May 30, 2001


Salon.com article on Clear Channel


External links


Official website
{{Authority control, state=expanded American companies established in 1972 Radio broadcasting companies of the United States Mass media companies of the United States Companies based in San Antonio Mass media companies established in 1972 Companies listed on the Nasdaq 1972 establishments in Texas Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2018 Bain Capital companies