Posted on 03/15/2018 9:23:40 AM PDT by Enlightened1
fter months of delays, discussions and last-minute attempts to avoid an unfortunate financial necessity, the inevitable has finally happened to one of America’s biggest entertainment companies: iHeartRadio has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
The radio titan officially filed for protection late on Wednesday, ending speculation that has been swirling for months. The company has been suffering due to more than $20 billion in debt. That load, which has been crippling the entertainment giant for a decade now, is a result of a 2008 leveraged buyout that also saw the company rebrand into the conglomerate the world knows now.
iHeart announced the filing on its press page, stating that the company has “reached an agreement in principle with holders of more than $10 billion of its outstanding debt and its financial sponsors,” and that agreement will reduce its crippling debt by more than $10 billion, effectively cutting it in half. That could be a game-changer for the company, though it still has a long road ahead as the bankruptcy protection proceedings have only just started.
There have been rumors for months that bankruptcy was on its way, and lately, it seemed as if every week some new sign appeared that signaled it was coming sooner than later. The company missed its first interest payment just last month, which seemed to herald that bankruptcy was imminent, though there were plenty of reports about other companies stepping in to offer up cash, either in the form of some kind of loan or for a share of the iHeart empire.
iHeartRadio owns 850 radio stations across the U.S., including many of the most popular outlets in top-tier markets. In addition to ruling traditional radio, the company also runs one of the most popular streaming music platforms in the world...
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
Nobody paying attention is surprised, except surprised it took this long. Basically, payments on its huge debt equals its operating revenue. The math hasn’t added up for ten years.
I personally like iHeart. Only a short time ago Rush was not real time here in Alaska so it gave me an option to listen live. Now however, we do get it live. I’m an international airline pilot, it allows me to listen to my local radio when I’m on the road so I really don’t have any negatives.
Radio certainly has changed in recent years. I hear total listenership is way down. I note on weekends ,many AM stations have program length infomercial programs, selling vitamins, financial planning services, legal advice, or other products.
And FM music channels tend to play the same songs over and over. Oldies type stations play the same few hundred oldies over and over, rather than most of the thousands of top 40 hits from the past few decades. I personally would listen more to the music stations if they had some more variety.
I would miss it. I listen everyday. Better reception than the local air stations. Matter of fact it’s the most used app on my phone/ipad.
Heh. I wasn’t paying attention. :)
I use youtube for my background music. I can create a playlist (from music others posted) and listen all day. The best part it is the exact music I want to listen to since I put it in my playlist.
I get into the page source and get the direct connect to the station I want so I don’t have to use their app.
The local NPR station here is fantastic. I hardly hear the same song twice. Never any “classic” anything. It’s all what was long ago called “underground” stuff.
Obscure to mainstream but very successful within their genre musicians. Some of it is crap but for the most part it’s original and enjoyable.
“WZAZ in Chicago...where disco lives forever..”
I hated their buggy apps for my phone and for Roku so I switched to TuneIn and never looked back.
That’s how I listen too....bummer
YouTube has so many streaming music options now, that going to a specialty site is just too much work for me.
I’m listening to a 24/7 jazz stream right now, in fact.
I am listening to Rush right now on that big Louisville station...on iHeartRadio. (I live on the “sunny side of the ‘ville.).
:)
I have a kick a$$ disco playlist on youtube.... 1217chic is my channel.....
I’m on the Mexican whooah oh radio.
Excellent song.
Yes, another example of the Bain model in action. Borrow money to take a company private, borrow more money to operate it while awarding management contract and bonus to yourself. Default on the debt and walk away with the profits.
Maybe this will force the liquidation of some of their terrestrial radio monopoly. Not that any other programmers would open up playlists.
And I don’t understand why non-ClearChannel syndicated programs pushed their content on the CC-iHeartRadio app.
I listen to Rush and WQXR on iheart radio. I was just starting to enjoy it. The only thing I don’t like about it is it keeps cutting out for buffering.
I use tunein (website) to search for website streams of conservative talkers.
I use it as my radio at home. They run a lot of ads including before the station starts streaming. Don’t know their ad income. Is it owned by Clear Channel?
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