ARN bet big on iHeart. Now iHeart’s US parent is fielding sale rumours

Every Australian radio executive looks at the share price of the company they borrow their name from now and then. ARN’s executives may be looking more often this week.

iHeartMedia is exploring the sale of part, or possibly all, of its podcast business to raise cash and lift its battered share price, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the matter.

According to the publication, the largest radio station owner in the US has been talking with investment bank Moelis & Co. and potential investors about a sale. The talks are preliminary, and a deal may not happen.

iHeart has denied it.

But, let's face it, if there's anything any of us have learned, it's that where there's smoke, there's fire.

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‘No plan to sell’

The Hollywood Reporter took the story to iHeart, who responded that: “While we don’t generally comment on rumours or speculation, I can tell you that we have no plan to sell our podcasting business."

“iHeart has built the number one podcast publisher in America, with unmatched scale, premium talent and strong financial performance. Podcasting is a core strategic growth engine for our company, and we continue to invest in expanding its reach and potential, including through video podcasting.”

Moelis declined to comment when pressed by Bloomberg.

Why would iHeart sell its best performer?

Because it is the best performer. Podcasting was one of the few bright spots in iHeart’s third-quarter results, released on 10 November. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation fell 17% year on year and missed Wall Street forecasts. The fourth-quarter outlook also came in well below analysts' expectations. Bloomberg reported the shares sank 67% after the miss.

The podcast division brought in A$255 million in the quarter, up 24%. That is 17% of total revenue. iHeart has 35.3 million monthly podcast listeners in the US alone. 

There are seven million in Australia on that same monthly basis.

From next year, podcasting will be reported as a separate segment. iHeart president Rich Bressler said this “will provide greater insight into its financial performance and make it easier to fully value all four of our segments and our entire company.”

A fast-growing unit that reports on its own is easier to price, whether or not anyone plans to sell it.

Debt is the background to all of this. iHeart filed for bankruptcy in 2018 and came out largely owned by its creditors. It still carries A$7.2 billion in long-term borrowings, and its shares trade at about 66 US cents. Earlier this year, Bloomberg reported that iHeart had held merger talks with Sirius XM. 

Those talks ended without a deal.

ARN’s iHeart-shaped future

In Australia, iHeart is ARN’s brand to build on, and it has been building hard. ARN runs iHeart locally under licence from iHeartMedia. Much of its pitch to be an entertainment company rather than just a radio network, along with its push for digital revenue, now sits under that name.

At its 2027 Upfront, iHeartLIVE was the centrepiece of that pitch. The events program is growing from more than 20 events in 2026, featuring Margot Robbie, Jacob Elordi, OneRepublic, and Delta Goodrem, to 25 in 2027. One presenting partner will get naming rights across the program, and five more category partnerships are for sale. Chief content officer Kerri Elstub called it “a money can’t buy opportunity for brands.”

iHeart in Australia goes beyond live events. 

ARN is running video ads across the iHeart Podcast Network and has built iHeart Nation on five million registered users. It is launching iHeart on Fetch TV in 2027, reaching more than 600,000 households, and it has signed one of its biggest podcast slates to date.

“Audio becomes video, podcasts become television,” chief digital and technology officer Ben Campbell told the room, “and a successful show becomes a multi-platform entertainment franchise.”

ARN needs that to work. 

It holds about 25% of the metro radio audience but only 18.5% of metro ad revenue, a gap CEO Michael Stephenson has valued at about $38 million. Digital delivers 45% of ARN’s audience but only 11% of its revenue. iHeart is how ARN plans to close both gaps.

A sale of iHeartMedia’s US podcast business would not automatically affect ARN’s Australian licence. But a licensor selling off assets to service AU$7.2billion in debt is less reassuring than one reinvesting.

Mediaweek has contacted ARN for comment.

iHeart says podcasting is core and staying put. ARN will be hoping that’s true, because the “i” in its future is on loan.