If they are in that much debt, Apple isn't going to do anything close to taking control of that mess. They might float them $50M or so, but nothing more.
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Apple in Talks to Buy Stake in U.S. Radio Group iHeartMedia
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Neither ClearChannel/iShart nor Sirius has any variety. And the worst part is that Sirius has convinced people to pay for their garbage.
At least with CC/iShart, they broadcast the local sports teams as well. Sirius is everything that's wrong with the terrestrial radio monopoly, except that the format is even shorter (something like 45 minutes long instead of an hour+), the audio quality is awful, you lose signal if there's a cloud within 5 miles of your antenna, and you have to pay for it.
They've kept sending me emails and letters ever since my free trial was up, which go right into the recycling bin.
The article is missing the most important angle here. Yes, it would be beneficial to broadcast Beats 1 on the airwaves to gain a wider audience but the absolute gold strike would be getting all of iHeartRadio’s stations available within AppleMusic. I think the speculators have this one backwards. Integrating 850 local US radio stations and thousands abroad inside of AppleMusic is the real play here.
I think that's a pretty good observation. It would be an easy way to get people back into listening to radio again and if they offered it as a free tier of Apple Music, it might get more people to sign up.
Another thing I haven't seen mentioned is Clear Channel's advertising arm. They own billboards all across the US. Apple has been wanting to bring more of their advertising in house.
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I'm curious why you would think that?
Radio Paradise is all you really need..
https://new.radioparadise.com/player
https://new.radioparadise.com/player
Versus the majority of newspapers, cable and network news shows, Hollywood and the other rut-gut which is liberal lunacy? (If I may engage you in kind.) I have never reconsidered my subscriptions despite having the opposite view as you.
Your political rant aside, I think this is a TREMENDOUS move for Apple. With the bankruptcy, Apple can purchase a huge stake of iHeart for pennies on the dollar, expand their digital reach in the US, and bring LOCAL stations in to their global/nationwide fold. I hope this happens.
EDIT: Scrolling through the posts here, it appears that most of you have never turned an AM radio station on, and think this move is all about Top 40 FM. Far from it. If Apple can grab talk/sports/news, especially for local markets, all the better.
Terrestrial radio stations are generally ad-supported or listener-supported. If a new player with tons of money comes into the game and financially backs a completely ad-free service, that puts pressure on existing services, which are already struggling.
Of course, since it's all speculation anyway, it could be a modified Beats 1 type station run by iHeart, augmented by ads and local news/traffic. (Broadcasting from a radio tower ain't cheap.)
Figures. I've always found iheart radio's proprietary behavior to be annoying and inconvenient, keeping streaming of their certain radio stations to only their app (vs. say, accessible via TuneIn Radio app). Would work well within Apple's often annoying proprietary behavior (coming from an Apple/Mac fan).
Clear Channel was renamed, possibly to escape the bad press linked to its name. (Perhaps for contract/accounting reasons as well; I’m sure the execs were fine.)
“On September 16, 2014, CC Media Holdings, Inc. was rebranded iHeartMedia, Inc.; and Clear Channel Communications, Inc., became iHeartCommunications, Inc”
“On March 14, 2018, the company filed to operate under chapter 11 bankruptcy dealing with a debt load in excess of $20 billion.”
Clear Channel, Corus, Bell Media, not a fan.
“On September 16, 2014, CC Media Holdings, Inc. was rebranded iHeartMedia, Inc.; and Clear Channel Communications, Inc., became iHeartCommunications, Inc”
“On March 14, 2018, the company filed to operate under chapter 11 bankruptcy dealing with a debt load in excess of $20 billion.”
Clear Channel, Corus, Bell Media, not a fan.
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I would like to see another Beats 1 station. One for each genre. I do like the countdown
Apple has held talks with iHeartMedia to buy a stake in the U.S. radio company, according to a new Financial Times report citing people familiar with the matter.
iHeartMedia is currently $20 billion in debt, with audiences gradually turning away from radio in favor of digital music services like Spotify, Apple Music, and Pandora. The radio group filed for bankruptcy in March, and has been in contact with several potential investors ahead of a deadline later this month to file a reorganization plan with the bankruptcy court.
iHeartMedia is hoping Apple will take an equity stake worth millions of dollars, according to FT sources, although discussions between the two companies are still in the early stages and no deal has been agreed. Apple declined to comment, while iHeartMedia did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
The report suggests Apple is angling for a deal in order to gain a platform for wider distribution of its Beats 1 radio station and increase awareness of Apple Music:
Despite being billions of dollars in debt, iHeartMedia remains the largest radio broadcaster in the United States, with more than 850 stations operating across the country. One music industry executive who spoke to FT described the potential deal as a "power move" by Apple, as it aims to persuade more artists and labels to strike exclusive or early releases for its streaming service instead of its biggest rival, Spotify.
Apple Music surpassed 50 million subscribers and free trial users earlier this year, giving it a bigger share of listeners in the U.S. than Spotify, although Spotify is still the global leader with more than 80 million paying users around the world. Earlier this year, Apple acquired music recognition app Shazam for $400 million in order to improve Apple Music's listening recommendations.
Article Link: Apple in Talks to Buy Stake in U.S. Radio Group iHeartMedia
“Float them $50M” LOL Apple farts $50M in stocks in a matter of hours (so what would be their incentive toward iHeart), and Apple is not a corporate Checksmart.
I use iHeart to listen to KFI (Los Angeles). There is no other option to receive KFI but through iHeart Radio since I receive the station via internet radio. Bill Handel's program on KFI has many listeners as do many other KFI personalities. However, I've been listening to KFI less and less lately. I don't know if it's KFI or iHeart Radio that has chosen to broadcast commercials every six minutes in blocks several different sponsors chained together. They then proceed to broadcast the same commercials over-and-over again throughout the day. I find myself frequently turning to other stations rather than be subjected to their greedy stupidity.
Lol, people expect free and no commercials and expect that model to last.
They are 20 billion in debt.
What are you trying to say? $50M in stocks?
All I said was they might throw $50M in if they want some kind of asset from iHeart that suits their objectives. $50M is a rounding error for Apple, but my point was Apple won't touch iHeart in terms of acquiring the company or anything that exposes them to the massive debt.
Apple doesn't make any move that isn't profitable.
iHeart = McRadio McMusic.
It's like the American Cheese of the vast music world, and it's as plastic as American Cheese. Bubble wrap is more interesting.
Personally, I would love to see iHeart sell off everything and their terrestrial stations go "mom and pop", and diversify formats once more ... but I live in this bizarre fantasy because reality is a nightmare.
It's like the American Cheese of the vast music world, and it's as plastic as American Cheese. Bubble wrap is more interesting.
Personally, I would love to see iHeart sell off everything and their terrestrial stations go "mom and pop", and diversify formats once more ... but I live in this bizarre fantasy because reality is a nightmare.
Still not happy about them silently knifing Live105 (KITS San Francisco) in the back and rebranding its shambling corpse as Alt 105.
Why exactly would you think Apple would just “float” 1/40 the amount of DEBT to a company, and somehow that will keep it afloat? (1) Apple wouldn’t invest anything unless it yields a decent ROI; (2) if iHeart felt they had something so proprietary that Apple would want it, they themselves would balk at $50M; (3) iHeart is seeking bankruptcy protection because they can’t pay back their CREDITORS, so why would they want to take on another? And (4) if Apple only “floated” $50M to iHeart, and iHeart closes a majority of their 850 stations, of what use then is iHeart to Apple?
I don’t care if you come back with, “well, $100M or $500M then.” IHeart owes money to a hell of a lot of hedge fund managers and venture capitalists, os if Apple can convince iHearts investors to take back their investments and live short on the interest they are charging, a win-win for everyone.
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You sounds like a very compassionate person. So let me get this straight. YOU don’t like iHeart offerings. So, because of that, you’d like to see another American company fail, thousands and thousands of people go out of work, nearly a thousand office buildings shuttered which hurts landholders and landlords, and local radio stations that you’ve listened to since Marconi invented the damn radio should go silent. Oh... and the “mom and pop” model would CLEARLY work so EASILY in your world because these “mom and pop” stations (which are just SITTING on a boatload of cash) can compete for contracts from the major record studios to play music and negotiate with sports/news/etc conglomerates for air time, which you don’t pay one friggin’ dime for.
All because some FM station in your town plays too much Taylor Swift for YOUR liking.
Yeah. Makes a lot of sense. ::rollseyes::
A local morning radio station they own is 30 mins commercials 30 minutes entertainment in the AM. Just awful.
They’re in that much debt because of a leveraged buyout from vulture capitalists.
$50M would actually be 1/400th of $20B, not 1/40....
I don’t know specifics of a deal Apple would propose to iHeart.
The $50M I threw out was simply representative as a guess to how aggressive Apple would be in investing in a failing company. I also said if they did, it would only be if it was a profitable venture.