How Big Is iHeart’s Podcast Business?
About $657 million over the last four reported quarters, by our sum, or roughly one dollar in six that iHeart takes in. iHeart splits its revenue into three groups: Multiplatform (broadcast radio and related businesses), the Digital Audio Group (all of its digital businesses, including podcasting), and Audio and Media Services. Podcasts are the one line inside the Digital Audio Group that iHeart breaks out in every release (iHeartMedia 8-K).
We read the five earnings releases iHeart filed on SEC EDGAR between November 2025 and November 2026, which with their prior-year comparisons cover nine quarters, and lined up the podcast row against total revenue. The table below is our compilation; the percentages are our arithmetic.
| Quarter | Podcast revenue | Total revenue | Podcast share of total | Podcast share of Digital Audio Group | Podcast growth, year on year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q3 2024 | $114.0m | $1,008.1m | 11.3% | 37.9% | n/a |
| Q4 2024 | $139.6m | $1,118.3m | 12.5% | 41.2% | n/a |
| Q1 2025 | $116.0m | $807.1m | 14.4% | 41.8% | n/a |
| Q2 2025 | $134.3m | $933.7m | 14.4% | 41.5% | n/a |
| Q3 2025 | $139.7m | $997.0m | 14.0% | 40.9% | 22.5% |
| Q4 2025 | $173.7m | $1,127.2m | 15.4% | 44.9% | 24.5% |
| Q1 2026 | $147.2m | $884.2m | 16.6% | 45.0% | 26.9% |
| Q2 2026 | $162.1m | $977.2m | 16.6% | 44.5% | 20.7% |
| Q3 2026 | $173.7m | $1,029.8m | 16.9% | 44.7% | 24.4% |
Two things stand out. Growth has stayed between 20.7% and 26.9% for five straight quarters, while iHeart’s total revenue grew 3.3% in the latest one. And the third quarter of 2026, at $173,700,000, came within $19,000 of the fourth quarter of 2025, normally the year’s strongest advertising quarter (Q4 2025 release).
$ millions, as reported in iHeartMedia’s quarterly earnings releases
Source: iHeartMedia, Inc., quarterly earnings releases filed on Form 8-K (March 2, May 11, August 10 and November 9, 2026). Read November 12, 2026.
Shown in time order, not sorted, because the order is the point. Q4 is the seasonal high in both years; Q3 2026 matched Q4 2025 to within $19,000.
The chart shows the seasonal pattern clearly: each fourth quarter is the peak, and the third quarter of 2026 has already reached the level of the fourth quarter of 2025.
Is Podcasting Carrying the Rest of iHeart?
In revenue terms, yes: in the third quarter, podcasts grew by more dollars than the whole company did. Podcast revenue rose $34.0 million year on year. Total revenue rose $32.8 million, to $1,029.8 million. The difference came from the Multiplatform Group, whose revenue fell 4.9% to $562.4 million, and 7% excluding political advertising in a midterm-election year, while Audio and Media Services rose 22.6% to $81.6 million (iHeartMedia 8-K).
Profit is harder to read. iHeart reports adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, with adjustments) by group, not by product line. The Digital Audio Group earned $127.4 million of segment adjusted EBITDA in the quarter, against $68.0 million for Multiplatform. How much of the digital figure comes from podcasts, and how much from streaming and display ads, is not in the filings. That is the number a separate podcast segment would reveal.
What Would a Separate Podcast Segment Show?
At minimum, podcast revenue and podcast profit side by side, which investors and buyers cannot see today. In the November 9 release, Rich Bressler, iHeart’s president and chief operating officer, said “beginning in 2027, we expect to establish podcasting as a separate reporting segment” (iHeartMedia 8-K). Chairman and chief executive Bob Pittman described “Our Digital Audio Group, led by podcasting,” as one of the businesses that “continued to deliver strong results and profitability.”
Under US segment-reporting rules (ASC 280), each reportable segment comes with its own measure of segment profit or loss, so splitting podcasting out would force iHeart to publish what the unit earns. The 10-Q for the quarter, filed the same day, still describes the Digital Audio Group as including “all of the Company’s Digital businesses, including Podcasting” (iHeartMedia 10-Q). It contains no language on a sale process, an investment bank or strategic alternatives in the sections we read.
What Did Bloomberg Report, and What Did iHeart Say?
Bloomberg reported a possible sale; iHeart denied any plan to sell. On November 11, Bloomberg published a report headlined “iHeart Explores Sale of ‘Crown Jewel’ Podcast Unit With Stock Down,” which Podnews summarized as iHeart “exploring the sale of part - or potentially all - of its podcast business,” citing talks with an investment bank (Bloomberg; Podnews). We could not read the Bloomberg article, which is paywalled, so we rely on Podnews’s summary for its content. iHeart responded that it has “no plan to sell our podcasting business,” Podnews reported. The two statements are not strictly incompatible: exploring interest and having a plan are different things, and neither side has published more.
Why Did iHeart’s Shares Fall 65% in a Day?
The filings do not say, but the outlook changed sharply. In August, iHeart guided to full-year 2026 adjusted EBITDA of “approximately $800 million” and free cash flow of about $200 million (Q2 2026 release). On November 9 the outlook became about $550 million to $600 million of adjusted EBITDA and about $50 million of free cash flow. Third-quarter adjusted EBITDA of $170.5 million also came in below the $180 million to $220 million iHeart had guided. The fourth-quarter guide, iHeart said, “includes approximately $100 million of net negative impact of non-cash marketing,” its trade and barter advertising (iHeartMedia 8-K).
iHeart’s Class A shares closed at $1.77 on November 9 and at $0.619 on November 10, a one-day fall of 65.0%, then recovered to $0.70 on November 11 (Yahoo Finance). Using the 133.7 million Class A and 21.1 million Class B shares the 10-Q lists as outstanding on November 4, the company’s equity was valued at about $274 million before the drop and about $108 million after November 11, by our arithmetic. That excludes special warrants and treats both classes at the Class A price. Set against $656.7 million of podcast revenue in the last four quarters, the whole company’s equity is now worth less than one-sixth of a year of podcast sales. The reason is the balance sheet: total debt was $5,024.3 million at September 30, and net debt $4,680.1 million (iHeartMedia 8-K).
What Does This Mean for Podcasters, Advertisers and Guests?
For now, nothing changes on air, but the incentives are clear. iHeart runs one of the largest podcast networks in the United States. Its iHeart Audience Network ranked first in Podtrac’s October 2026 US publisher ranking at 64.3 million monthly listeners, as our Podtrac listeners-per-show report shows. A company whose podcast line is growing at more than 20% while its stock trades at a fraction of revenue has reasons to show that line off, whether to lenders, investors or a buyer.
Our recommendation, not a rule: advertisers with multi-quarter iHeart podcast commitments should check the assignment clauses in their insertion orders, and talent and producers should know who their contract counterparty is. iHeart’s numbers also sit in line with the wider ad market: Acast grew revenue 25% (18% organic) in the same quarter, as our Acast Q3 2026 analysis found, and our explainer on what a podcast network is covers how networks earn this money.
Methodology and Limitations
Four limits apply. First, iHeart defines podcast revenue itself, and the definition is not audited separately; it may include video and live revenue tied to podcast brands. Second, our market-value figure is an approximation that ignores iHeart’s special warrants and any price difference between share classes. Third, we did not read the Bloomberg article and rely on Podnews for its content. Fourth, our share and growth figures are our arithmetic from reported thousands, rounded. The next dates to watch are iHeart’s fourth-quarter release, due around early March 2027 on last year’s timing, and the first 2027 filing that shows podcasting as its own segment.
Sources and Methodology
This explainer is built from iHeartMedia’s quarterly earnings releases and its third-quarter 2026 Form 10-Q on SEC EDGAR, read November 12, 2026; daily closing prices from Yahoo Finance; and Podnews’s November 12 summary of Bloomberg’s November 11 report. The nine-quarter table, shares of revenue, growth rates and market-value figures are our arithmetic. Advice to advertisers and talent is our recommendation, not a rule. We did not contact iHeartMedia.
- official iHeartMedia, Inc., Third quarter 2026 earnings release (Form 8-K exhibit, November 9, 2026). Podcast and segment revenue, adjusted EBITDA, guidance, Bressler and Pittman quotes, debt. Read November 12, 2026.
- official iHeartMedia, Inc., Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2026. Shares outstanding on November 4, segment description, podcast revenue row. Read November 12, 2026.
- official iHeartMedia, Inc., Second quarter 2026 earnings release (August 10, 2026). Q2 podcast revenue and the “approximately $800 million” full-year guide. Read November 12, 2026.
- official iHeartMedia, Inc., First quarter 2026 earnings release (May 11, 2026). Q1 2026 and Q1 2025 figures. Read November 12, 2026.
- official iHeartMedia, Inc., Fourth quarter and full year 2025 earnings release (March 2, 2026). Q4 2025 and Q4 2024 figures. Read November 12, 2026.
- official iHeartMedia, Inc., Third quarter 2025 earnings release (November 10, 2025). Q3 2024 figures. Read November 12, 2026.
- live read Yahoo Finance, iHeartMedia (IHRT) historical prices. Closing prices November 9 to 11, 2026. Read November 12, 2026.
- trade press Podnews, Podnews daily, November 12, 2026. Summary of the Bloomberg report and iHeart’s response. Read November 12, 2026.
- trade press Bloomberg, iHeart Explores Sale of ‘Crown Jewel’ Podcast Unit With Stock Down (November 11, 2026). Headline only; paywalled, not read. Read November 12, 2026.