IHeartMedia

iHeartMedia, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc. ) is a U.S. media company based in San Antonio, Texas.

iHeartMedia, founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and its subsidiaries, has a major influence in the field of radio and television broadcasting, concert performance and promotion, and outdoor advertising in the United States. Clear Channel owns over 858 radio stations and over 30 television stations in the United States among other media companies in other states. The company is led by founder Lowry Mays and his two sons Mark and Randall. Clear Channel is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CCU.

The term clear channel is an old term from radio broadcasting and refers to some early medium wave stations that were allowed to broadcast around the clock at higher power levels. Radio station WOAI in San Antonio was one of them. This allowed clear channel stations to be heard nationwide.

History

iHeartMedia acquired its first FM station in San Antonio, Texas in 1972, followed by clear channel medium wave station WOAI in 1975.

In 1986, Clear Channel acquired its first stations outside of San Antonio. In 1992, the U.S. Congress relaxed the rules on radio station ownership slightly, allowing companies to acquire more than two stations per market. By 1995, Clear Channel owned 43 radio stations and 16 television stations. In 1996, the Telecommunications Act again relaxed the laws. Clear Channel took the opportunity to acquire 70 other media companies and individual stations.

Old Clear Channel Communications Logo

Market Share

Since the 1990s, iHeartMedia has faced constant criticism. Critics accuse iHeart of exploiting its market share. After the Telecommunications Act relaxations, the company spent nearly US$30 billion and to date has acquired nearly 858 stations nationwide, including up to 7 stations within a market. Despite complaints from listeners and competitors, iHeartMedia has been able to retain nearly all of its stations.

In 2017, iHeartMedia announced it would acquire some of its stations with Entercom Communications. Entercom acquired CBS Radio, giving it dominant market power in some radio markets, which has been criticized by the FCC.

After iHeart Media, Cumulus Media, Salem Media Group and Entercom, all much smaller companies, are competitors in the radio station market. iHeart Media is present in 150 radio markets.

Known radio stations

iHeart Media now owns, mostly through sub-companies, quite a few strong medium wave stations, many legacy US radio stations and countless FM stations. These include:

• WGY, New York
• WLW, Cincinnati, Ohio
• WLAC, Nashville, Tennessee
• WLIT-FM, Chicago, Illinois
• WSIX Nashville, Tennessee
• KWTX, Waco, Texas
• KFAB, Omaha, Nebraska
• KOA, Denver, Colorado
• KEX, Portland, Oregon

KFAB studio building in Omaha, Nebraska