Pittman says radio will remain ‘growth engine’ for iHeart, as digital climbs

With iHeartMedia posting its biggest increase in earnings during the fourth quarter in three years, Chairman and CEO Bob Pittman had an optimistic message for analysts Thursday. He said not only will digital — especially podcasting — continue to lead iHeart’s revenue gains this year, but the company is also preparing to jump into programmatic sales in an even bigger way. That should help as he sees some uneasiness about the coming year among some ad buyers.

Revenue totaled $1.1 billion as political revenue pushed iHeart to a 4.8% increase in revenue during the fourth quarter compared to a year earlier. Without it, revenue would have been down 1.8% year-to-year. Earnings totaled $105 million. For all of last year, revenue totaled $3.9 billion, up 3% from 2023 — although it would have been flat without the influx of political advertising.

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