iHeartMedia Layoffs Hit Radio Hosts and Staff

iHeartMedia is eliminating dozens of on-air jobs and other positions as part of a restructuring of its programming division that will leverage tech and up-and-coming talent, according to an internal memo viewed Thursday (June 25) by Billboard and various media reports.

Since emerging from bankruptcy in 2019, iHeartMedia has faced lingering financial challenges stemming from changes in listener behavior and the ad market. Despite its dominant ownership of Top 40 radio and fast-growing audio and video podcast distribution business, the company said in May it anticipated an additional $50 million in cost savings this year. The layoffs rolled out this week follow cuts the company made in April to management and sales jobs, according to a report at Barrett Media.

“We’ve built new tech capabilities over the last several years that have enabled us to both deepen our relationships with the listeners and communities who depend on us and improve the support we provide to our sellers,” according to the internal memo, which was penned by the company’s multiplatform group CEO Ann Marie Licata and chief programming officer & president Tom Poleman.

“We’re now moving to scale this approach,” the memo continues. “While we will be creating new roles to support our future needs, we also recognize that some colleagues and existing positions will be impacted as part of these changes. We have given this a great deal of thought and do not take this step lightly; we are deeply grateful for the contributions of those affected, and we’re committed to supporting them through this transition.”

The company did not elaborate on how technology would supplement operations, but iHeartMedia has taken a firm public stance that it prioritizes human talent and does not use AI in its programming.

On-air and staff positions were reportedly eliminated this week at stations in markets across the country, including Florida, Pennsylvania and Iowa, where the Des Moines-based iHeartMedia sports radio station KXnO reportedly laid off a large portion of its on‑air talent and staff.

With more than 860 stations in 160 markets, iHeartMedia controlled 21.5% of the U.S. radio market — encompassing music and non-music stations — and 22.5% of the music radio market in 2024, according to an analysis by Citrin Cooperman of the most recent data available from broadcast research firm BIA.

“They’re widespread in every major market,” Elon Altman, a partner in Citrin Cooperman’s music & entertainment valuation services, told Billboard in an interview in May. “In the top 50 markets, iHeart has stations in 44 of them, and in those markets, it averages 6.3 stations per market. It’s all over the largest markets in high volume.”

That dominance, particularly in Top 40 music radio, translates to a profitable business. Over the past five years, iHeart’s multiplatform group, which derives 70% of its revenue from radio, has averaged a nearly 24% adjusted EBITDA margin, higher than the 20.3% adjusted EBITDA the company has averaged over the past five years overall, Altman says.

iHeart has leveraged that radio dominance to diversify, building a podcast business, an app, a music festival and an awards show. Podcasting at the company has grown, generating $50 million five years ago to more than $550 million in 2025. The company forecast that podcasting will grow by mid-20 percentage points this year, thanks to the popularity of video podcasts like The Breakfast Club with Charlamagne, which the hosts of that series frequently mention during their nationally syndicated iHeart broadcast radio show aired on Power 105.1 in New York.

Despite that core profitability, iHeart reported negative $114 million in free cash flow in the first quarter, worse than the negative $81 million in free cash flow it reported a year ago, primarily due to a $40 million increase in interest expenses related to a debt refinancing in late 2024. The company anticipates spending $377 million more this year to service its debt, which iHeart COO and president Rich Bressler said they’re confident they can cover and still meet their target of $200 million in free cash flow this year.

IHeartMedia said ad softness beginning in March, around the start of the Iran war, negatively impacted its revenue, although it expects robust spending on political ads leading up to the midterm elections in November will help it rebound.