iHeartMedia podcast growth drives Q2 revenue increase amid radio decline

iHeartMedia Inc. reported consolidated revenue of $933.7 million for the second quarter ended June 30, 2025, representing a 0.5% increase from $929.1 million in the prior year period. According to the earnings announcement on August 11, 2025, the company's Digital Audio Group revenue increased $38.2 million, or 13.4%, driven primarily by continuing increases in demand for digital advertising, including podcast advertising.

The earnings results demonstrate a clear divergence between iHeartMedia's traditional radio business and its growing digital audio operations. Digital Audio Group revenue increased 13.4% year-over-year, while Multiplatform Group revenue decreased $31.3 million, or 5.4%, primarily resulting from a decrease in broadcast advertising in connection with continued uncertain market conditions.

Podcast revenue specifically reached $134.3 million during the quarter, representing a 28.5% increase compared to $104.5 million in the second quarter of 2024. According to CEO Bob Pittman during the earnings call, "Podcasting is just roaring." The company maintains its position as the number one podcast publisher in America by downloads and unique listeners.

Technical details reveal automation and local sales growth

The podcast business growth extends beyond simple revenue increases to include significant operational improvements. According to Pittman, "In Q2, about 50% of our podcasting revenue was generated by our local sales force, up from about 14% in 2020. Our unparalleled local sales organization gives us an important and unique advantage for both our current and future revenue growth." This represents a fundamental shift in how podcast advertising is sold and distributed.

According to the investor presentation, iHeartMedia's podcast revenue was $134.3 million, which grew 28.5% year over year and was "well above the guidance we provided above low 20s." The growth was driven by what Pittman described as "the growing flywheel effect of our strong leadership in podcast publishing and the benefit of our unique complementary assets that help to build podcasting."

iHeartMedia's technical infrastructure supports this growth through advanced advertising insertion capabilities. The company processes billions of advertising impressions monthly across its digital audio platforms, enabling sophisticated targeting and optimization capabilities that traditional radio cannot match.

The company announced the appointment of Lisa Coffey as Chief Business Officer to drive programmatic advertising efforts. According to Pittman, "We continue to make progress on our ad tech platform, specifically building the capabilities to allow our broadcast radio inventory to be bought and sold like digital advertising, and to be a part of the key integrated buying systems. And today, we announced that Lisa Coffey is joining the company in the newly-created role of Chief Business Officer to drive those efforts. Lisa has a long history in ad tech, and digital and mobile advertising, including leading the team that introduced Amazon Advertising to the U.S. Agency Marketplace."

Financial performance shows mixed operational results

iHeartMedia reported adjusted EBITDA of $156.1 million for the quarter, compared to $150.2 million in the prior year period, representing a 3.9% increase. According to Chairman and CEO Bob Pittman, "Our second quarter performance was solid and slightly ahead of our initial expectations, with our Q2 adjusted EBITDA of $156 million at the upper end of our previously provided guidance range and 4% above prior year and our consolidated revenue for the quarter was above our guidance range, up 0.5% above prior year."

The company's GAAP Operating income was $35.4 million compared to $909.7 million GAAP Operating loss in the second quarter of 2024. The dramatic year-over-year improvement reflects the absence of significant impairment charges that affected 2024 results.

The Digital Audio Group achieved particularly strong profitability metrics. Segment Adjusted EBITDA increased 17.1% year-over-year to $107.6 million, with Digital Audio Group Adjusted EBITDA margin reaching 33.2%. According to Bressler, "In the second quarter, the Digital Audio Group's revenues were $324 million, up 13.4% year over year, slightly above our guidance, and the Digital Audio Group's Adjusted EBITDA was $108 million, up 17.1% year over year." This margin expansion demonstrates the scalability advantages of digital advertising platforms compared to traditional broadcast operations.

Free cash flow for the quarter was negative $13.2 million, compared to positive $5.6 million in the prior year period. Cash provided by operating activities was $6.8 million, compared to $26.7 million in the prior year period primarily due to the timing of receivable collections, partially offset by the timing of interest payments.

Cost reduction initiatives deliver targeted savings

iHeartMedia continues executing modernization initiatives designed to generate $150 million in net savings during 2025. According to CFO Rich Bressler during the earnings call, "We are still on track to our previously announced modernization initiatives, which will generate net savings of $150 million in 2025 when compared to 2024." Bressler emphasized the company's commitment, stating, "We are on track 100% to achieve the $150 million net core savings."

The modernization program details show 65% of headcount reductions occurring in the Multiplatform Group, with Corporate accounting for 15%, Audio & Media Services for 10%, and Digital Audio Group for 10%. These reductions primarily target sales, marketing, and support functions rather than content creation or technology development roles.

The cost savings program emphasizes technology and artificial intelligence implementation to automate manual processes. According to Pittman, "Cost management remains a major focus. We are still on track to generate 150,000,000 net savings in 2025 and we continue to look for additional cost savings opportunities in both our structure and our operations using the power of AI and our unique scale." According to the program breakdown, 65% of net savings come from headcount reductions, 20% from cost of sales optimization, 10% from vendor reductions, and 5% from occupancy cost reductions.

Advertising market conditions create mixed revenue trends

Traditional radio advertising continues facing headwinds from macroeconomic uncertainty. Broadcast revenue decreased $29.7 million, or 7.0% year-over-year, driven by lower spot revenue. However, certain indicators suggest potential stabilization in advertiser spending patterns.

According to Bressler during the earnings call, "Our top 50 multiplatform group advertisers for Q2 were up in revenue by 4% year over year. And second, the four largest advertising agency groups were up in revenue by 7% year over year in multi platform group advertising. These results give us added confidence that our plan to return to multi platform group to revenue growth is on the right track."

Digital advertising categories showed strong performance during the quarter. The top advertising categories in terms of absolute dollar gains were financial services, telecom, professional services, and healthcare, while the categories that declined most in absolute dollars were restaurants, political, media publishing, and entertainment.

The political advertising cycle affected comparisons, as 2024 was a presidential election year. Audio & Media Services revenue decreased $2.3 million, or 3.3%, primarily as a result of lower political revenues at Katz Media, as 2024 was a presidential election year, partially offset by an increase in digital advertising.

Industry context reveals broader audio advertising opportunities

The earnings results occur within a rapidly evolving audio advertising landscape. According to recent AdsWizz research, consumers dedicate 31% of their media time to audio content, yet advertisers allocate only 9% of their budgets to audio platforms, creating a 22% engagement gap. This gap represents significant growth potential for companies positioned to capture audio advertising investment.

Programmatic podcast advertising continues expanding, with major platforms increasing automated buying capabilities. Spotify announced expanded access to 170 million monthly podcast listeners through its Ad Exchange and Ads Manager platforms, demonstrating how major platforms are democratizing access to audio inventory through programmatic channels.

Video integration in podcast consumption patterns affects measurement methodologies and advertising valuations. Edison Research revealed that podcast rankings began incorporating data from individuals whose sole podcast consumption occurred through video platforms in 2025, reflecting broader industry trends toward multi-platform consumption.

Forward guidance reflects cautious optimism

iHeartMedia provided third quarter guidance expecting consolidated revenue to decline in low-single digits, though revenue excluding political impact is projected to increase in low-single digits. Q3 Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be approximately $180 million to $220 million.

The guidance range reflects ongoing market uncertainty. According to Pittman, "Given the uncertainty in the marketplace, we are providing a slightly wider range of adjusted EBITDA guidance than we normally do." The company expects Digital Audio Group revenue to continue growing in high single digits during the third quarter.

Management emphasized the importance of macroeconomic conditions for full-year performance. According to Bressler, "As we look ahead to the full year, as we discussed on our Q1 earnings call, our full year 2025 guidance didn't contemplate the current macro volatility we all continue to see. Therefore, to achieve our full year guidance, we still need to see some positive movement in the macro and an easing of the advertising market's uncertainty."

Timeline

• August 11, 2025: iHeartMedia announces Q2 2025 earnings results
• July 17, 2025: Audioboom acquired UK podcast leader Adelicious, creating Britain's largest homegrown network
• August 2, 2025: Morbid podcast signed exclusive SiriusXM deal with advertising rights
• August 5, 2025: NPR News Now claimed top position in July podcast rankings
• August 6, 2025: Nielsen partners with Edison Research to integrate podcast data into media planning tool
• August 7, 2025: Edison Research released The UK Podcast Consumer 2025 report

Summary

Who: iHeartMedia Inc., America's largest audio company and number one podcast publisher, led by Chairman and CEO Bob Pittman and President, COO and CFO Rich Bressler.

What: The company reported Q2 2025 consolidated revenue of $933.7 million, up 0.5% year-over-year, with Digital Audio Group revenue growing 13.4% and podcast revenue surging 28.5% to $134.3 million. Adjusted EBITDA increased 3.9% to $156.1 million despite a 5.4% decline in traditional Multiplatform Group revenue.

When: Results were announced on August 11, 2025, covering the quarter ended June 30, 2025, with Q3 guidance projecting continued challenges for traditional radio offset by digital audio growth.

Where: The audio advertising market spans multiple platforms including broadcast radio, digital streaming, and podcast networks, with iHeartMedia operating across more than 860 live broadcast stations in over 160 markets nationwide and digital platforms reaching quarter of a billion monthly listeners.

Why: The results reflect a fundamental shift in audio consumption patterns, with podcast advertising growing rapidly while traditional radio faces macroeconomic headwinds, creating opportunities for companies positioned in both segments to capture expanding audio advertising investment despite the 22% gap between consumer engagement and advertiser spending in audio platforms.