iHeartMedia’s $483.5 million in Q3 radio advertising revenue (up 19.5%) helped the company edge closer to 2019 revenue levels, a goal every radio company is trying to reach as the country gets back to normal, following an economy-crippling world-wide pandemic.
Network revenue was up 7.5% to $128 million, with Premiere increasing 2% and TTWN up 14%. With events starting to return, iHeart’s sponsorship and events division increased 47.6% from $29 million last year to $42.6 million in Q3 this year.
Podcasting revenue was up 183.7% from $22.6 million in Q3 of 2020 to $64.2 million this year. Digital revenue excluding podcasting increased from $93.6 million in Q3 of 2020 to $141.6 million this year.
CEO Bob Pittman said, “We feel great about being able to deliver a quarter like this.” He expects a full recovery from pandemic lows by the end of 2021. When compared to 2019, October finished up 1%.
The company threw off $45 million in free cash flow in the quarter with consolidated revenue (revenue from every division) at $928 million, a 25% increase over 2020.
