The Radio industry may be on the verge of a massive shakeup. In fact, it could change the very medium as we know it in the United States. On Thursday, iHeartMedia officially filed for Bankruptcy. The move came as the radio company attempted to figure out ways to restructure their massive debt. The company did begin to find ways to lower some of their debt through these proceedings. With the non-stop rise of streaming outlets, however, the company may be in trouble permanently.
To bankruptcy they go
Prior to declaring bankruptcy, iHeartMedia held a debt in excess of $20 billion.
This movie immediately eliminates over half of that debt. With more than $10 billion in debt restructured, the company will be able to operate normally as they go through this process. They report enough operating revenue and cash on hand to conduct business as usual, despite the proceedings being anything but normal for them.
An offer recently came to purchase the company. Liberty Media asked for 40 percent of the company in late February. iHeartMedia needs to be restructured for that deal to happen, though. The offer is for $1.16 billion. That, in turn, would create one of the largest radio companies ever; Liberty Media already has a large percentage of Sirius XM satellite radio.
A missed payment led iHeartMedia down this road.
They owed a $106 million interest payment on February 1, but couldn't pay it off, beginning a mandatory 30-day period of negotiations with bondholders. No agreement has come. Meanwhile, the stock of iHeartMedia has been plummeting on the market for years; it closed at 48 cents as recently as Monday.
History of iHeartMedia
iHeartMedia was founded in 1972.
As the company grew, it purchased more and more radio stations to join their network. By 1998, they expanded outside of the United States. A decade later, however, things began to fall apart for the company. In 2010, they neared bankruptcy for the first time in their history.
Since then, its been a bit of a roller coaster ride for the company.
The owners of a massive amount of communication companies -- including Fox News Radio -- struggled to adjust to the changing digital landscape. Companies like Pandora, Spotify, and Apple Music have successfully invaded the space once owned by iHeartMedia.
As iHeartMedia enters bankruptcy, the future of the company -- and the tens of thousands of employees that work there -- is at stake.
