Jacor Communications was a media corporation, existing between 1987 and 1999, which owned many

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radi ...

s in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. In 1998, Jacor was purchased by Clear Channel Communications, now

iHeartMedia iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly 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 fou ...

, for $2.8 billion. Jacor Communications began with three religious stations and went on to acquire dozens of radio stations between 1992 and its sale to Clear Channel in 1999. It also owned a few television stations, including WKRC-TV in Cincinnati.

History

Jacor Communications was founded by Terry Jacobs. Jacobs incorporated Jacor Communications in 1979 and purchased three religious stations in 1981. In June 1989, Jacor purchased Telesat Cable, a Northern Kentucky cable provider, for $5 million, which it later sold in May 1994. In 1993, an investor named Sam Zell paid $80 million from the

Zell Chillmark Zell may refer to: Places Austria * Zell am See, in Salzburg state * Zell am Ziller, in Tyrol * Zell, Carinthia, in Carinthia * in Upper Austria: ** Bad Zell ** Zell am Moos ** Zell an der Pram ** Zell am Pettenfirst Germany * Zell im Fichtel ...

fund to purchase controlling interest in Jacor. In 1992, the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisd ...

increased the number of radio stations a single company could own in one city to 3AMs and 3FMs. After this change, Jacor began purchasing stations, including WKRC (AM) in Cincinnati in 1993. On February 6, 1996, Jacor announced plans to acquire Noble Broadcast Group Inc for $152 million. After the passing of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, Jacor began buying more radio stations. On February 13, 1996, Jacor announced it would buy

Citicasters The Taft Broadcasting Company (also known as Taft Television and Radio Company, Incorporated) was an American media conglomerate based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The company was rooted in the Taft family, family of William Howard Taft, the 27th Presid ...

for $770 million. As part of the merger, Jacor acquired WKRC-TV, a Cincinnati CBS-affiliate television station, and WTSP, a television station in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city'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 the seat of Hillsborough C ...

. In September, Jacor announced WTSP would be sold to Gannett Co. in exchange for three radio stations. In May 1993, founder and CEO Terry Jacobs left Jacor. The VP of programming and COO, Randy Michaels, was named president of the company that year, and in 1996, he was promoted to CEO. Jacor's corporate headquarters were in downtown Cincinnati from the mid-1980s through 1996 when they moved across the Ohio River to

Covington, Kentucky Covington is a home rule-class city in Kenton County, Kentucky, United States, located at the confluence of the Ohio and Licking Rivers. Cincinnati, Ohio, lies to its immediate north across the Ohio and Newport, to its east across the Licki ...

. In 1997, Jacor acquired the assets of Nationwide Communications. In 1999, Jacor was sold to

Clear Channel Communications iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly 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 fou ...

for $3.4 billion in stock. Clear Channel also assumed approximately $1.2 billion of Jacor's debt. At the time of its acquisition, Jacor was the third-largest provider of syndicated radio programming, owning 230 radio stations and Premiere Radio networks (a radio syndication company), as well as disseminating '' The Rush Limbaugh Show'' and the Dr. Laura Schlessinger show. Clear Channel named Randy Michaels CEO and chairman of Clear Channel Radio in 2000. In 2008, private equity firms Thomas H. Lee and Bain Capital Partners completed a buyout of Clear Channel Communications.

References

External links

Clear Channel Overview
{{Clear Channel IHeartMedia Defunct radio broadcasting companies of the United States Mass media companies established in 1987 Mass media companies disestablished in 1999 Defunct companies based in Ohio Defunct companies based in Cincinnati 1987 establishments in Ohio 1999 disestablishments in Ohio