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DATE

Monday, March 2, 2026 at 4:30 p.m. ET

CALL PARTICIPANTS

  • Chairman and Chief Executive Officer — Robert W. Pittman
  • President, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Financial Officer — Richard J. Bressler

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TAKEAWAYS

  • Consolidated Revenue -- $1.1 billion, up 0.8%, exceeding guidance of down low single digits; excluding political, up 7.7% with political advertising accounting for $80 million in the prior year.
  • Adjusted EBITDA -- $220 million, at the midpoint of the $200 million to $240 million guidance range, compared to $246 million in the prior year, which included political revenue benefits.
  • Digital Audio Group Revenue -- $387 million, up 14.1%, above the previously provided guidance of high single digits.
  • Digital Audio Group Adjusted EBITDA -- $132 million, up 10.7%, with Q4 EBITDA margins at 34.1% and annual margins at 34.4%, an increase from 32.5% in the prior year.
  • Podcast Revenue -- $174 million, up 24.5%, surpassing guidance of mid-teens growth; local sales force generated about 47% of podcast revenue, up from 13% in Q4 2020.
  • Non-Podcast Digital Revenue -- $213 million, up 6.8%.
  • Multiplatform Group Revenue -- $665 million, down 2.8%, matching guidance; excluding political advertising, revenue was up 2.3%.
  • Multiplatform Group Adjusted EBITDA -- $129 million, down 14.2% from $150 million in the prior year; prior year benefited from $40 million of political advertising revenue.
  • Multiplatform Group EBITDA Margins -- 19.4%, compared to 21.9% in the prior year, reflecting the prior year’s political boost.
  • Audio and Media Services Group Revenue -- $79 million, down 19.3%; excluding political, up 21.8% — Q4 of the prior year included $35 million political advertising.
  • Audio and Media Services Group Adjusted EBITDA -- $31 million, down 35.7%, attributed almost entirely to political advertising impact.
  • Free Cash Flow -- $138 million, or $158 million including real estate sales; compared to negative $24 million in the prior year quarter.
  • GAAP Operating Income -- $86 million, compared to $105 million in the prior year quarter.
  • Net Debt and Liquidity -- Year-end net debt at approximately $4.5 billion, total liquidity of $640 million, $271 million cash balance (including $50 million under ABL facility), and year-end net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio of 6.6x.
  • Cost Savings Initiatives -- $50 million new in-year cost savings to begin in Q2, in addition to previous $50 million, targeting $100 million in in-year cost savings for 2026; $150 million net cost savings achieved in 2025.
  • Advertising Revenue Diversification -- No single advertiser represented more than 2% of total advertising revenue; largest advertising categories were healthcare, homebuilding improvement, financial services, retail, and entertainment.
  • Programmatic Revenue Guidance -- Company expects to generate approximately $200 million in 2026, up 50% from $135 million in 2025.
  • Full-Year Guidance for 2026 -- Adjusted EBITDA is expected to reach $800 million, free cash flow approximately $200 million; Multiplatform Group expected to return to EBITDA growth, political advertising expected to be a material contributor.
  • First Quarter 2026 Guidance -- Expected adjusted EBITDA of approximately $100 million; consolidated revenue guided to increase high single digits; Digital Audio Group revenue up mid-teens, podcast revenue up low 20s, Multiplatform revenue up mid-single digits, and Audio and Media Services Group up high single digits.
  • Operating Expenses -- Direct operating expenses increased 2.4%, primarily due to higher digital content costs, partially offset by reduced employee and operating costs.
  • SG&A Expenses -- Increased 4.6%, mainly due to non-cash co-marketing partnerships, partially offset by workforce and operational savings.
  • Cash Flow Guidance Inputs -- Interest expense expected at $440 million, cash taxes at 5% of adjusted EBITDA, $90 million of capital expenditures, $50 million of cash restructuring, and net leverage expected in the mid-5s by end of 2026.
  • Podcasting Industry Position -- Management claims "number one audience in podcast" and "most profitable podcasting business in the United States" based on Podtrac and Triton measurements and company assertions.
  • Programmatic Initiatives -- Partnership agreements with Amazon DSP and Yahoo DSP for broadcast radio inventory inclusion, with Amazon integration expected in the second half of 2026.
  • Political Advertising Context -- Richard J. Bressler expects a "strong non-presidential cycle political year" for 2026, contributing significant political revenue.

SUMMARY

Fourth quarter results reflected outperformance in the Digital Audio Group, with podcast revenue exceeding internal guidance and local sales driving a greater share of growth. Strategic focus is on further expansion of programmatic sales channels, with established partnerships and a targeted increase in programmatic revenues in 2026. Full-year guidance projects robust gains in adjusted EBITDA and cash flow, with political advertising and continued cost savings set to boost performance. Management confirmed a diversified ad base and no outsized reliance on any single advertiser or category.

  • Non-cash marketing partnerships drove notable SG&A expense increases while supporting technology initiatives.
  • Co-marketing partnerships supporting programmatic initiatives resulted in temporary quarterly mismatches in revenue and expenses.
  • Guidance embeds expectations for working capital as a significant cash source driven by upfront political revenue in 2026.
  • Management highlighted the use of AI-powered tools and efficiency measures as part of ongoing structural cost reductions.
  • Video podcasting was described as an emerging revenue opportunity, with Netflix and YouTube cited as major video platforms involved in the space.
  • Digital Audio Group margins expanded on an annual basis, with management expressing intent to "trying to improve those and take advantage of technology" to drive efficiency.
  • Programmatic platform access for broadcast radio is positioned as a differentiated capability to capture incremental ad budgets.

INDUSTRY GLOSSARY

  • DAG (Digital Audio Group): iHeartMedia, Inc.'s operating segment focused on digital services including podcasting, digital sites, and streaming offerings.
  • Programmatic Revenue: Revenue generated by automated sales of ad inventory through technology platforms, allowing buyers to purchase media in real-time via demand-side platforms (DSPs).
  • ABL Facility: Asset-based lending line of credit secured by company assets, providing liquidity as part of the company’s debt capital structure.
  • SG&A: Selling, General, and Administrative expenses; includes indirect expenses such as marketing, sales, and administrative costs.
  • EBITDA Margin: Adjusted EBITDA expressed as a percentage of segment or total revenue, used to assess operational profitability.
  • Podcasting EBITDA Margin: Profitability metric of the podcasting line, calculated as segment EBITDA divided by podcast segment revenue.
  • Political Advertising Revenue: Revenue derived from political client advertising, which is cyclical and can significantly impact quarterly and annual results, especially in election years.
  • Co-Marketing Partnerships: Arrangements with third parties involving joint marketing efforts, often structured as non-cash transactions to build strategic platform capabilities.

Full Conference Call Transcript

Robert W. Pittman: Thanks, Andre. Good afternoon, everyone. We are pleased with our overall performance in 2025, especially given it was a non-political year. In the fourth quarter, we generated adjusted EBITDA of $220 million, at the midpoint of our previously provided guidance range of $200 million to $240 million, compared to $246 million in the prior year, which, as a reminder, benefited from approximately $80 million of political revenue. Consolidated revenue for the quarter was $1.1 billion, up 0.8% compared to the prior year quarter and above our guidance of down low single digits. Excluding the impact of political, our consolidated revenue was up 7.7%. Turning to our individual operating segments now.

The Digital Audio Group generated fourth quarter revenue of $387 million, up 14.1% versus prior year and above our previously provided guidance of up high single digits. The Digital Audio Group generated fourth quarter adjusted EBITDA of $132 million, up 10.7% versus prior year. The Digital Audio Group's adjusted EBITDA margins were 34.1%, and we finished the full year at 34.4%, up from 32.5% in the prior year, which is consistent with our stated goal of achieving full year adjusted EBITDA margins in the mid-30s, and we see further upside from here. Within the Digital Audio Group, our podcast revenue momentum continues.

It grew to $174 million, up 24.5% compared to prior year, which was above our guidance of up in the mid-teens. And in Q4, approximately 47% of our podcasting revenue was generated by our local sales force, up from about 13% in Q4 of 2020, demonstrating the unique advantage of having what we believe is the largest local sales force in media, with a presence across 160 markets in addition to our strong national sales force.

And not only do we have the number one audience in podcast, as measured by both Podtrac and Triton, the podcast industry's primary measurement services that measure actual downloads and users, we believe we also have the most profitable podcasting business in the United States. Our podcasting EBITDA margins remain accretive to our total company EBITDA margins, and we achieved this by continuing to apply rigorous financial discipline to building, partnering, and even renewing our podcast relationships. And one more thing to note, a key to our success in building our podcast business has been that podcasting is, in essence, radio on demand. For us, it is a truly adjacent and complementary business.

We operate broadcast radio stations across the country 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with almost 90% of the U.S. population listening every month, and we have the unique assets and expertise, including programming, production, and distribution at scale, which power our strong podcast momentum in an expanding podcast marketplace. In the fourth quarter, our non-podcast digital revenue grew 0.8% compared to prior year. Turning now to the Multiplatform Group, which includes our broadcast radio, networks, and events businesses. Fourth quarter revenue was $665 million, down 2.8% versus prior year and in line with our previously provided guidance range of down low single digits. Excluding the impact of political advertising, Multiplatform Group revenue was up 2.3%.

The Multiplatform Group's adjusted EBITDA was $129 million, and as a reminder, the prior year benefited from approximately $40 million of political advertising revenue. We remain confident we can return the Multiplatform Group to EBITDA growth. And to reach that goal, in addition to our continuing efforts on cost, we are focused on four major drivers. Number one, programmatic. We are the first radio company whose broadcast inventory is available through the existing programmatic buying platforms, enabling our broadcast radio inventory to participate in the growing programmatic TAM.

And as a reminder of the progress we have already made in this effort, we have partnership agreements with Amazon DSP, Yahoo DSP, and others to include our broadcast radio inventory in their programmatic platforms. In the case of Amazon, we expect our broadcast radio inventory to be included in their programmatic platform in the second half of the year. Second, integrated sales. We serve as a true marketing partner for our broadcast radio clients and agencies.

This marketing approach, which focuses on bringing all of our advertising assets to bear and not treating each campaign as a stand-alone transaction, increasingly allows us to develop complex media and marketing plans utilizing the unique power of radio to drive the results our partners are looking for, including enhancements of the non-broadcast components of their other media. Third, our broadcast outperformance. In 2025, we outperformed the radio industry revenue performance by 500 basis points according to Miller Kaplan, and given the unique scale of our audience, our ad tech platforms, and the fact that we have the largest local sales force in audio, we expect to continue to increase our share of the radio TAM moving forward.

Fourth, a resilient radio audience. There are more broadcast radio listeners today than there were 20 years ago, and one constant in advertising is that the revenue always follows consumer usage, even if it sometimes takes a while. As the percentage of broadcast radio usage among consumers is far greater than the share of the advertising revenue that broadcast radio enjoys, we remain encouraged about this upside potential. We also see some important partnership announcements as validation of the power of broadcast radio, with important companies like Netflix and TikTok coming to partner with us and our broadcast radio assets.

We are now premiering new music with TikTok and radio, including last week's preview of Bruno Mars' new album, which set a new bar for the largest album preview. It demonstrates the unique power of iHeartMedia, Inc. and TikTok working together to help artists achieve their goals. And it is also interesting to note that if you look at our video podcasts that are on Netflix today, some of the most popular ones are actually derived directly from our radio shows, including The Breakfast Club and Bobby Bones, more evidence of the unique power of our radio personalities and assets. And finally, before I turn it over to Rich, let me give you our view of the current advertising marketplace.

Last year, we successfully navigated an uncertain ad market, and although there was definitely some disruption to the advertising marketplace in this quarter due to major weather events, and there still remains some macro uncertainty as well, as clearly evidenced by the events in the Middle East over the weekend, we view the advertising marketplace as reasonably healthy. And we still expect a year of meaningful EBITDA and free cash flow growth for iHeartMedia, Inc., and Rich will provide you with those details. I will now turn the call over to Richard J. Bressler.

Richard J. Bressler: Thank you, Bob, and good afternoon. Our Q4 2025 consolidated revenue was above our guidance of down low single digits and was up 0.8% compared to the prior year quarter. Excluding the impact of political, our consolidated revenue was up 7.7%. Let me provide you with some additional detail on our advertising revenue performance this quarter. As a reminder, one of our strengths is our diversified advertising revenues. There is no advertising category greater than about 5% of our total advertising revenue, and no individual advertiser that is more than 2% of our total advertising revenue. In the fourth quarter, the largest category gainers in terms of absolute dollars were financial services, retail, entertainment, and beauty and fitness.

And the four categories that declined the most in terms of absolute dollars were political, government, restaurants, and food and beverage. And in the fourth quarter, our five largest advertising categories in terms of absolute dollars were healthcare, homebuilding improvement, financial services, retail, and entertainment. Our consolidated direct operating expenses increased 2.4% for the quarter. This increase was primarily driven by higher variable content costs associated with the revenue growth of our digital businesses, partially offset by a decrease in costs incurred in connection with our cost savings initiatives, as well as decreased employee compensation costs. Our consolidated SG&A expenses increased 4.6% for the quarter.

This increase was primarily driven by expenses related to our non-cash co-marketing partnerships, partially offset by a decrease in costs incurred in connection with our cost savings initiatives, as well as decreased employee compensation costs. We generated fourth quarter GAAP operating income of $86 million compared to operating income of $105 million in the prior year quarter. We generated adjusted EBITDA of $220 million, at the midpoint of our previously provided guidance range of $200 million to $240 million, and compared to $246 million in the prior year. As a reminder, 2024 benefited from approximately $80 million of political advertising revenue. Before I turn to our segment performances, I want to give you an update on our cost savings initiatives.

We are currently implementing $50 million of new in-year cost savings, which we will start to benefit from beginning in Q2. This is in addition to the $50 million of cost reductions we announced on last quarter's call, which will bring our 2026 in-year cost savings to a total of $100 million. And as a reminder, we achieved a previously announced $150 million of net cost savings in 2025. We continue to work on the efficiency of our operating structure, including using technologies like AI-powered tools and services. Turning now to the performance of our operating segments.

In the fourth quarter, the Digital Audio Group's revenue was $387 million, up 14.1% year over year and above our guidance of up high single digits. The Digital Audio Group's adjusted EBITDA was $132 million, up 10.7% year over year, and our Q4 adjusted EBITDA margins were 34.1% compared to 35.1% in the prior year. Within the Digital Audio Group, our podcasting revenue was $174 million, which grew 24.5% year over year and above the guidance we provided of mid-teens. Our fourth quarter non-podcasting digital revenue grew 6.8% year over year to $213 million. Turning now to the Multiplatform Group, revenue was $665 million, down 2.8% compared to prior year, in line with our previously provided guidance range.

Excluding the impact of political revenue, our Multiplatform Group revenue was up 2.3%. Adjusted EBITDA was $129 million, down 14.2% from $150 million in the prior year quarter. As a reminder, the Multiplatform Group's prior year Q4 adjusted EBITDA benefited from approximately $40 million of political advertising revenue. The Multiplatform Group's adjusted EBITDA margins were 19.4% compared to 21.9% in the prior year quarter, which, as a reminder, was a political year quarter. As we have previously discussed, some of the investment in our proprietary audience database, which is the foundation of our broadcast programmatic offerings, takes the form of co-marketing partnerships to drive engagement with the iHeartRadio digital services.

These relationships again drove an increase in non-cash partner marketing revenues and expenses in Q4. We will continue to experience some quarterly mismatching of these non-cash marketing campaigns in both directions in subsequent periods, and we believe that obtaining these critical marketing resources for our broadcast programmatic initiative on a non-cash basis is a prudent way to optimize capital and to achieve our goals. Turning to the Audio and Media Services Group. Revenue was $79 million, down 19.3% year over year. Q4 of the prior year benefited from approximately $35 million of political advertising. Excluding the impact of political revenue, the Audio and Media Services Group revenue was up 21.8%.

Adjusted EBITDA was $31 million, down 35.7% compared to the prior year, again, due almost entirely to the impact of political advertising in the prior year quarter. In the fourth quarter, our free cash flow was $138 million, or $158 million when including the proceeds from certain real estate asset sales, compared to negative $24 million in the prior year quarter. Our Q4 2025 EBITDA-to-free cash flow conversion was approximately 70% and demonstrates the company's high free cash flow conversion characteristics and gives us confidence in our ability to generate meaningful free cash flow in 2026 and thereafter. At year-end, our net debt was approximately $4.5 billion.

Our total liquidity was $640 million, and our cash balance was $271 million, which includes $50 million borrowed under the ABL facility. Our year-end net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio was 6.6x. Let me now turn to our guidance for the first quarter and the full year within the context that Bob discussed regarding the health of the current advertising marketplace. For the first quarter, we expect to generate adjusted EBITDA of approximately $100 million. We expect our consolidated revenue to be up high single digits compared to prior year. Our January revenue was up approximately 1% year over year, and as a reminder, January 2025 was a strong comp of 5.5%. Turning to the individual segments.

We expect the Digital Audio Group's revenue to be up mid-teens year over year, with podcast revenue expected to grow in the low 20s. We expect the Multiplatform Group's revenue to be up mid-single digits year over year. We expect the Audio and Media Services Group revenue to be up high single digits year over year. We are continuing to invest in our important broadcast programmatic efforts that Bob discussed, and our guidance includes the impact of those incremental expenses, and the good news is that the majority of this asset-building expense is non-cash. And for the full year, we expect adjusted EBITDA to be $800 million and our free cash flow to be approximately $200 million.

Embedded in our adjusted EBITDA guidance are the following. We expect the Multiplatform Group to get back to adjusted EBITDA growth during 2026. We expect to generate approximately $200 million of overall programmatic revenue in 2026, up approximately 50% from $135 million in 2025. And as a reminder, we expect our broadcast programmatic revenue trajectory to be similar to that of the growth we experienced in podcasting revenue. We expect podcasting revenue to continue its strong momentum. We expect this to be a robust midterm election year in terms of generating political revenue.

And as mentioned before, 2026 will benefit from $100 million of in-year cost reductions, which will help to offset investments we are making to build out our future technological capabilities. Let me provide some additional inputs embedded in our free cash flow guidance. Interest expense will be approximately $440 million. Cash taxes will be approximately 5% of adjusted EBITDA. Capital expenditures are expected to be approximately $90 million. Cash restructuring expenses will be approximately $50 million. Working capital is expected to be a source of cash this year, driven by political revenue, which is paid upfront.

We expect our net leverage ratio at the end of 2026 to be in the mid-5s, which would be more than a full-turn improvement year over year. We are looking forward to 2026 being a year of significant adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow generation for iHeartMedia, Inc., driven by the return of the Multiplatform Group to EBITDA growth, the continued strong momentum of our podcasting revenue and audience, our growing programmatic revenues, and our continued focus on efficiencies as evidenced by our cost savings initiatives. We will now open for questions. Now we will turn it over to the operator to take your questions. Thank you.

Operator: A reminder to ask a question, please press star followed by the number 1 on your telephone. To withdraw any question, press star 1 again. Our first question comes from Aaron Watts from Deutsche Bank. Please go ahead. Your line is open.

Aaron Watts: Hey, everyone. Thanks for having me on. I have got a couple of questions, if I may. It is encouraging to see the growth in core MPG revenues in Q4 and continued strength on the digital side. I thought it was interesting to see digital EBITDA larger than MPG in the quarter as well. But as I look ahead, I would appreciate if you could help me understand why you are seeing high single-digit revenue growth in the first quarter but a small decline in year-over-year EBITDA despite all the costs you are taking out and perhaps how to think about those same factors impacting first quarter as we think more about the full year performance, too.

Richard J. Bressler: Sure. It is Rich. So let me start. First of all, again, I do not think you see that same dynamic as you go through the full year. I think, as you can look at our overall guidance for the full year. The second thing is, just as a reminder, our first quarter numbers are so small compared to the rest of the year. Again, if you look historically in 2025, 2024, you look at 2020 and 2026, what we got for Q1 and what we are guiding for the full year.

And also, because, again, with the land of small numbers coming out of Q4, which is the land of much larger numbers, and our continuing to build up on our total critical programmatic offerings that we have. You know, we continue to do co-partner and non-cash in Q4 as a way to support that and ramp up. And I think we talked about that in Q3, so it was kind of a natural build. And then some of that comes about prepaid marketing that is in Q4 and that built up throughout the year is getting deployed in Q1. So it comes back as expected.

So just a lot of moving pieces, but it just gets really accentuated because of the land of small numbers in Q1. But as you go throughout the year, you will not see that same kind of effect.

Aaron Watts: Okay. Great. That is helpful. Thanks, Rich. And then thinking about your costs, and I apologize if I missed this, but how should we think about the cadence of the now $100 million of cost savings that you are targeting as we move through the year across, like, first quarter, second quarter, third quarter, fourth quarter? And then are there cash costs we should model in to achieve those that you could help us with?

Richard J. Bressler: Yes. So on just on the cost, just doing the math, if you take the program we already announced at Q4 for 2026, take the one we are announcing today, which starts to be implemented in Q2, but so full year, $100 million of cost in 2026. Think about it, just the math, $12 million in Q1 and about $28 million per quarter after that.

Aaron Watts: Okay. Perfect. Thank you. And then on the political side, we have heard robust expectations for political spend this year, and it sounds like a few races, including Texas, are off to a really fast start. As we look at your $800 million of EBITDA guidance for the full year, what political assumptions are you baking into that to help us get our mind around kind of what upside there could be from that number?

Richard J. Bressler: Yes. I mean, we have always said and continue to say that we expect 2026 to be a strong non-presidential cycle political year. So, and we are seeing, obviously, all the same signs.

Aaron Watts: Okay. Alright. Great. And if I could ask one last question, and I appreciate the time. From the outside, as we sit, what benchmarks or milestones should we be looking for with regards to your programmatic efforts as well as some of your recently announced partnerships, including Netflix? And are those partnerships adding to strength in your podcast forecast? Thanks.

Robert W. Pittman: Well, I think in terms of the programmatic, programmatic obviously benefits everything we have, podcast, digital streaming, and broadcast radio. Broadcast radio is obviously the harder one to get into programmatic because programmatic systems have really been built for digital inventory. But as we announced, we are going into the Amazon DSP with broadcast. Also the Yahoo DSP, both major DSPs, and continuing to add more to that. So that is encouraging on that front. I think in terms of how we think it all fits together and how it helps us, obviously, there is a piece of the revenue pie out there that is programmatic.

People want to buy programmatically, and if you cannot offer programmatic, you are not going to get any of the money. So having that kind of capabilities for our podcast and broadcast radio in particular is very important to us and certainly is behind why we are investing what we have in it. And why we are seeing the kind of growth we are. I think in terms of the video podcast, talking about Netflix and those opportunities, we have got this, you know, wonderful expansion of the marketplace from just audio to video podcast. Now most people still want to listen to a podcast. The use case is generally in a place where you cannot use your eyeballs.

But there are people who do want to watch it and, or will watch it occasionally. And we are seeing that market beginning to open up. And for us, that is sort of unforeseen revenue opportunities. And I think YouTube probably opened people's eyes to that, and Netflix, I think, has taken it to a whole other level. And we expect that to be a continued expanding market for us as well.

Richard J. Bressler: And, by the way, just one last item to close. You know, as we said, in terms of our guidance, we expect total programmatic revenue to be approximately $200 million for 2026, up 50% from our total revenue in 2025. So I think that is a pretty good benchmark in terms of benchmarking our total programmatic progress.

Aaron Watts: Great. Thanks, Rich. Thanks, Bob.

Operator: Next question comes from Stephen Laszczyk from Goldman Sachs.

Stephen Laszczyk: Bob, Rich, I was curious if you could talk a little bit more about the underlying drivers of growth in the podcasting business, continued strong performance, finished 2025. Just curious if you can unpack a bit more of what you expect to see in 2026 and then also to look further out in 2027 and beyond, just the drivers of adding new content, improving engagement, improving monetization, where you see the most opportunity for growth on that front? And then, I guess, to that, Bob, I think you might have mentioned margins in the mid-30s continuing to have opportunity to move higher. Just curious what you see as the key drivers on that front as well.

Robert W. Pittman: Oh, look. Before Rich jumps in, I just want to say, I think on podcasting, what is great is you have so many vectors of growth. You not only have more people using podcasts, but you have them using more podcasts each year. And, obviously, we are seeing inventory opportunities continue to grow as well. And as we look at getting podcasts, from our standpoint, we have this incredible flywheel effect. Because we are the largest podcast publisher by a pretty good margin, we tend to get first look at everything. So if we do not take it, it is because we could not figure out how the economics work.

And we have pretty strong financial discipline in terms of making sure that we have podcasts that are legitimately good businesses for us. And we also have the ability, because we mentioned in the call, we have this incredible array of assets from our broadcast radio that we can apply to podcasting and allows us to build podcasts from sort of scratch. And if you look at the major podcast players, we are probably the only ones that have built podcasts, as opposed to just buying podcast packages from others.

Richard J. Bressler: Yes, right. And, look, the only thing I would add on the larger front, and you have heard myself and Mike, you know, talking about it, what our goal was on the annual podcasting margins, EBIT margins, I am sorry to be clear, and with respect to DAG, would just put it in the overall context and the overall umbrella, and you see us, I believe, continue to demonstrate not just the margins, but us striving just to become more efficient in every revenue stream and in every support in our business.

So when we talk, I think you all agree, it is a natural outgrowth that, yes, we are at, you know, what we had talked about getting to the mid-30s on EBITDA margins for DAG. But, you know, we are never going to stop trying to improve those and take advantage of technology and continue to improve upon our risk in terms of capital allocation and bring more to the bottom line.

Stephen Laszczyk: That is great. And then just a quick follow-up. Within that, curious how big of an opportunity you think video podcasting is perhaps over the next 12 to 24 months? Is this something that can move the needle revenue-wise, or would we need to see maybe an expansion of the Netflix agreement to get it to a point where it starts moving the needle on growth and margins higher?

Robert W. Pittman: Well, look, I think you have got two major video players who have very much signaled that they want to play in video podcasting: YouTube and Netflix. I suspect we are seeing and, you know, you hear talk from others that they are also interested in it. So I think that is probably what is going to drive the expansion of it. We certainly know we can promote these podcasts in a way that other streaming shows are not promoted because we are able to utilize our broadcast radio. You have got 90% of Americans listening every month to our broadcast radio.

If you listen to Charlemagne to God or Bobby Bones or some of the people that are on Netflix, you hear that they are, again, promoting their appearance there and their podcast there. So I think it gives them a pretty strong showing.

Stephen Laszczyk: Great. Thank you both.

Operator: Our next question comes from Sebastiano Petti from JPMorgan.

Sebastiano Petti: Hi. Thank you for taking the question. I guess, Rich, first, just wanted to follow up. You did call out the anticipated growth rate in programmatic for the year. I mean, can you just help us maybe give us what the 2024 programmatic revenue growth rate was, just so we can kind of think about the glide path there? And then, relatedly, you know, talking about the DAG margins, obviously still, you know, remain healthy, but I think the fourth quarter 2025 DAG margins were, I think, down year over year and, I think, the lowest fourth quarter since 2022. Anything driving that? You talked about some of the non-cash, you know, partnerships kind of going back and forth.

I was not sure if there is anything maybe in the quarter. And then lastly, bringing broadcast back to EBITDA growth, or MPG rather back to EBITDA growth. Should we think that the $100 million of incremental savings coming through in 2026 are kind of concentrated back towards MPG and hence the flex you are going to see there? Thank you.

Richard J. Bressler: Well, let me start. I will take a couple, and then Bob and Mike chime in. On DAG, as we have always said, there are so many moving pieces on a quarter-to-quarter basis. And I understand we report on a quarterly basis in terms of the margins, and I understand the questions. But, you know, that is why we have focused people for years and years in terms of, you know, really look at the annual margin base because there are just so many moving pieces that could affect the individual quarters. And, again, look at the rhythm of our business. Q1 is the smallest.

Q2 or Q3, as a general rule, are, you know, relatively similar, and then Q4 is the biggest, which I do not think is anything different than any other ad-supported business out there. When it comes to MPG and getting back to EBITDA growth this year, you know, I think we did a pretty good job of outlining what the underlying factors were. You know, I do not have anything additional to add to that we outlined in the remarks.

All the different pieces there, ranging from whether it is continuing to take market share, as Bob talked about, and Miller Kaplan, and right down to just looking at our overall revenue growth, including our total programmatic revenue growth as you kind of go into this year. I do not have anything different to add to that. And then in terms of 2024 to 2025, you know, Michael, listen, I do not have the 2024 number handy. We do not disclose the total programmatic revenue growth, but I would, I do not want to speculate, but it will be substantially less than it was, I think, than it was in 2025.

But we could circle back and get you that number.

Robert W. Pittman: Yes. And if I could just add one thing on this too. You know, to put a pin on what Rich said. I think on MPG, there are really two vectors. One is cost out. You are absolutely correct. It is the business that we have been able to apply technology to, to get more and more efficient. I think make the product better and better. And the second is advertising. And there are multiple reasons why we think and why we see the advertising opportunity from, you know, programmatic. When you want to do an audio buy, you cannot get reach without broadcast radio. In video, you can get reach without broadcast television.

They are no longer the reach medium. We are the reach medium in audio. So if people get more and more into audio and really get it and they have to get the results, you know, there is no way to make the plan without it. So we know it is going to find its way there. It is just a question of how and when. And, finally, pushing the client-direct marketing capabilities we have is pretty powerful. When you consider these on-air personalities we have on radio, there is nothing like it. They are probably the most powerful influencers today. And when they talk about something, people notice.

Richard J. Bressler: And, by the way, one last point is, just as a reminder, which we have talked about and a previous question, 2026 is a non-presidential election cycle, which we expect to greatly benefit from as a company.

Robert W. Pittman: Thank you.

Operator: Our last question comes from Patrick William Sholl from Barrington Research. Please go ahead. Your line is open.

Patrick William Sholl: Hi. Thanks for taking the question. If I could ask another question on programmatic, you talked about the kind of mismatch of revenues and expenses as you kind of build up your capabilities there. I was wondering, like, how much of a drag you expect that to be on EBITDA for the full year?

Robert W. Pittman: I think it is built in the numbers we are talking about, everything you have got there. So I think, you know, again, we have been pretty prudent in how we have built programmatic. So it is not a big impact on earnings. And we have found, you know, some ways to build it out using primarily non-cash marketing expense as well, which we think has a tremendous benefit to us.

Operator: Okay. Thank you.

Patrick William Sholl: Thank you.

Richard J. Bressler: If there are no—excuse me. If there are no other questions, thank you all again for listening to the iHeartMedia, Inc. story on behalf of all of us. And we are available, as always, for myself and Mike and the team. Thanks very much.

Operator: This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.