The only way they can make cost-neutral revenue improvements is to fix their programming strategies and their ratings and revenue should follow.
I'm sure there are a lot of things to consider depending on contracts and Board makeup.
I think going private would be a good plan, but I'm sure there are a lot of things to consider depending on contracts and Board makeup.
Probably saved Clear Channel back in '07 & '08 along with selling off TV & smaller markets plus spinning off LiveNation, etc.
Yeah that is going to hurt a lot and surprisingly there has been little talk about how this will impact Cumulus. They supposedly invested ~$75 million into Rdio and Rdio was to be their version of "iHeartradio". Now they really have nothing to compete with digital audio services. They will have to build a new platform from the ground up or partner with someone else and the number of viable partners is dwindling. And Cumulus obviously doesn't have much to bring to the partnership. All those promotions for Rdio and Rdio had only ~300k subscribers globally. That's not a good sign.
Now they really have nothing to compete with digital audio services.
The investment in Rdio was reported to be non-cash, consistent of advertising and promotion.
IIRC they're still on iHeart.
But the real question is: What is the value of owning a digital audio service? The biggest, Pandora, isn't profitable. So owning one is just a financial drain.
I'd argue Iheartmedia would be in a lot worse position today if they didn't have Iheartradio.
That is true. But giving $75+ million in air time is still a considerable investment. And Cumulus was supposed to drive Rdio's ad platform. This will be a big hit to Cumulus' digital ad revenue.
It can be. But can the gain be worth it? I'd argue Iheartmedia would be in a lot worse position today if they didn't have Iheartradio.
How could iHeart be in "a lot worse position" than they are? iHeart market cap is $80 million, against a debt load of $22 BILLION
iHeart at 84 cents this morning...
Their plan to buy back some of their debt so that they'd have sufficient cash flow to minimize their negative cash flow has fallen flat, and key lenders are closing in.