IHRT · CIK 0001400891
What iHeartMedia, Inc. told the SEC could break it.
iHeartMedia's register centers on a leveraged balance sheet meeting a declining core business. Its revenue leans heavily on cyclical advertising — broadcast radio was $1.63 billion in 2025, down 5.4% on weaker spot and (post-election) political revenue — even as the industry shifts away from broadcast, and in 2024 it wrote down $922.7 million of FCC licenses and goodwill against that backdrop. Servicing its substantial high-yield debt (including $750 million of 2027 notes and $500 million of 2028 secured notes) is a core financial risk, while its 868 stations operate under FCC rules — license renewals, a 25% foreign-ownership cap and DOJ/FTC antitrust scrutiny — and, like any modern operator, it depends on third-party cloud and IT providers exposed to escalating cyberattacks.
4 self-disclosed vulnerabilities, pulled from its own filings, each in the company’s words, with the source. This is the risk register almost nobody reads.
In its own words
What could break it.
Cybersecurity
- reliance on third-party IT/cloud providers and exposure to accelerating cyberattacks on IT Systems and confidential datamedium
iHeartMedia relies on third-party providers for various IT Systems — including cloud computing services — across internal and external operations, and faces numerous evolving cybersecurity risks; it warns that cyberattacks are expected to accelerate globally in frequency and magnitude and that it may be unable to anticipate, remediate or recover from future incidents.
“Cyberattacks are expected to accelerate on a global basis in frequency and magnitude and, as a result, we may be unable to anticipate, investigate, remediate, or recover from future cyberattacks and other security incidents”
SEC filing →As of 2026
Liquidity & debt
- highly leveraged capital structure (e.g. $750M 2027 Senior Notes 5.25%, $500M 2028 Secured Notes 4.75%) plus large goodwill/FCC-license impairmentsmedium
iHeartMedia carries substantial high-yield debt — including $750.0M of 2027 Senior Notes (5.25%) and $500.0M of 2028 Secured Notes (4.75%) among other tranches — and recorded $922.7M of non-cash impairment charges in 2024 to write down indefinite-lived FCC licenses and goodwill; its leverage and refinancing needs are a core financial risk amid declining broadcast revenue.
“During the year ended December 31, 2024, we recorded non-cash impairment charges of $922.7 million, to primarily reduce the carrying values of our indefinite-lived FCC licenses and our goodwill to their estimated fai”
SEC filing →As of 2026
Other disclosures
- dependence on cyclical advertising revenue (broadcast spot + political); secular decline in broadcast radiomedium
iHeartMedia's revenue depends heavily on advertising demand — broadcast (radio) revenue was $1.63B of consolidated revenue in 2025 — which is cyclical and economically sensitive; broadcast revenue fell 5.4% year-over-year on lower spot and political revenue (2024 was a presidential election year), exposing it to ad-market downturns and the secular shift away from broadcast radio.
“Broadcast revenue decreased $93.5 million, or 5.4%, year-over-year driven by lower spot and political revenues.”
SEC filing →As of 2026
Regulatory & policy
- FCC broadcast-license/media-ownership regulation, 25% foreign-ownership cap, and DOJ/FTC antitrust scrutinymedium
iHeartMedia's 868 U.S. radio stations operate under FCC jurisdiction — the FCC can issue, renew, revoke or modify broadcast licenses, set technical parameters and impose sanctions; FCC rules and the Communications Act cap foreign ownership at 25%, and station/business acquisitions face additional DOJ/FTC antitrust scrutiny, constraining strategic flexibility.
“The Communications Act and FCC regulations prohibit foreign entities or individuals from indirectly (i.e., through a parent company) owning or voting more than 25 percent of t”
SEC filing →As of 2026
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