iHeartMedia brought in $69 million in podcast revenue during the first quarter while total revenue reached roughly $843.5 million, surpassing Wall Street expectations.
The company’s digital audio group, which includes podcasts, accounted for roughly 25 percent of iHeart’s total revenue for the quarter, though broadcast radio remained one of the strongest drivers of revenue bringing in a total of $416.5 million during the quarter. Still, iHeart swung to a $48.7 million net loss 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 the podcast platform Sounder. The investment came roughly a year after iHeart acquired Triton Digital, an audio ad tech firm, for $230 million.
“We’re pleased to report another quarter of strong results, and believe our performance is further evidence of the successful execution of our digital transformation and multiplatform strategy,” Bob Pittman, the chairman and CEO of iHeartMedia, said in announcing the results. “We remain committed to building on iHeart’s transformation into a data-led, digitally-focused business; to investing in areas with high growth potential; and to continuing our focus on innovation and being at the forefront of new technologies and digital platforms which create incremental growth opportunities for audio.”
