FORMERLY PE OWNED
iHeartMedia
Includes iHeart, iHeartRadio, Clear Channel, Clear Channel Communications, IHRT
radio & podcasts · San Antonio, TX
- Year Acquired
- 2008
Two PE firms bought America's radio stations, loaded them with $20 billion in debt, and killed local programming.
What Happened
- Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners bought Clear Channel in July 2008 for $17.9 billion plus $8 billion in existing debt — one of the largest debt-fueled PE deals in history
- The PE firms loaded $10+ billion in new debt onto the company to fund its own acquisition — debt ballooned from $8 billion to over $20 billion while revenue declined
- Filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 2018 with $20 billion in debt, emerged in May 2019 after wiping out $10 billion — Bain and Thomas H. Lee reportedly broke roughly even thanks to management fees
- Clear Channel grew from 40 stations in 1995 to 1,100+ by 2003, then the PE owners gutted local staff and homogenized programming to cut costs
The Damage Done
- Mass layoffs gutted local radio — small and medium market stations lost most or all of their on-air staff, replaced by syndicated national programming
- 850 stations nationwide now run homogenized playlists decided by national teams — your 'local' morning show may be voiced from a studio 1,000 miles away
- Local news, community events, and minority voices were systematically squeezed out as consolidation prioritized cost-cutting over community service
- Resources shifted from local programming to national iHeartRadio Music Festivals — the company that destroyed local radio now sells nostalgia for the era it killed