iHeartMedia brought in $69 million in podcast revenue in the first quarter while total revenue came in at about $843.5 million, beating Wall Street expectations.
The company’s digital audio group, which includes podcasts, accounted for about 25% of iHeart’s total revenue for the quarter, though broadcast remains one of the strongest revenue drivers, bringing in total plus $416.5 million for the quarter. However, iHeart posted a net loss of $48.7 million for the quarter.
The company has continued to expand its presence in the podcast space and in February, led a Series A investment round in podcast platform Sounder. The investment comes almost a year after iHeart acquired Triton Digital, an audio ad technology company, for $230 million.
Bob Pittman, President and CEO of iHeartMedia, said: “We are delighted to report a strong quarter and believe our performance is further evidence of successful execution of the campaign. our digital and cross-platform transformation strategy,” said Bob Pittman, President and CEO of iHeartMedia, in announcing the results. “We remain committed to building on iHeart’s transformation into a digital-centric, data-led business; invest in areas with high growth potential; and continued focus on innovation and leadership in new technologies and digital platforms that create increased growth opportunities for audio. “
