Salem Media may have closed out fiscal year 2025 with a $34.6 million net loss, but the conservative Christian broadcaster appears very well-positioned for the future after spending the year shedding considerable debt and with another big asset sale on the way.
Total net revenue for the year came in at $212.7 million, down $24.9 million or 10.5% from the prior year’s $237.6 million. Management noted that roughly $24 million of that decline was directly attributable to asset sales. Stripping those out, organic revenue fell 0.4%.
Spot advertising was the weakest-performing segment. National spot revenue collapsed from $11.9 million to $4.9 million, a 59% decline, while local fell from $33.2 million to $17.8 million. Management cited reduced time spent listening to AM radio, the non-election year cycle, and ongoing advertiser skepticism about broadcast radio’s effectiveness.
The headline transaction of the year was the April 4 close of the sale of Salem’s final seven CCM stations to Educational Media Foundation for $80 million, generating an $11.1 million pre-tax gain and allowing the company to retire the $72 million secured promissory note issued at signing. That sale also triggered $4 million in restructuring costs that hit the 2025 income statement in full.
As for many radio operators, the counterweight was digital. Salem’s digital segment grew revenue to $88.4 million from $83.8 million, up 5.5%, driven by a $7 million surge in digital advertising revenue, primarily from the Salem Podcast Network. Digital now represents 41.6% of total company revenue, up from 35.3% in 2024.
The largest financial drag was a $25.2 million impairment charge against broadcast licenses in eleven market clusters. Salem attributed the write-downs to declining revenue growth forecasts driven by industry-wide trends like reduced AM listenership and continued audience fragmentation.
While the 2025 loss marks a sharp reversal from the $16.2 million profit posted in 2024, Salem’s balance sheet tells a different story. The broadcaster entered the year with roughly $101.9 million in debt-related obligations, including a $72.0 million secured promissory note tied to its station sale, and exited with just $10.6 million drawn on its ABL revolving credit facility with Siena Lending Group, a decline of more than $91 million in twelve months.
However, the cost of that remaining debt also moved sharply higher. Salem reported a weighted average interest rate of 1.76% at the end of 2024, versus 7.98% in 2025.
One final revelation bears watching: on January 19, Salem entered an agreement to sell and leaseback its Irving, TX, office building for $6 million, with close expected in Q2, as the company continues restructuring its real estate footprint. The broadcaster sold its Camarillo, CA, headquarters in a similar leaseback deal for $5.5m in 2024. The Irving office hosts the Salem Radio Network, Salem Surround, the Salem Podcast Network, SalemNOW, and SalemSí.
