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DOJ OKs Liberty Media’s Increased Stake In iHeartMedia

By  |  July 16, 2020

The Justice Department has green-lighted a bid by Liberty Media to increase its stake in iHeartMedia, owner of the country’s largest network of broadcast stations, a deal that would expand the radio market dominance of a company that already controls Sirius XM and Pandora, reported Politico.

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    The deal approved by antitrust prosecutors Wednesday would allow Liberty to increase its shares in iHeartMedia up to 50 percent. Liberty currently has a 5 percent stake in iHeartMedia, which owns more than 850 AM and FM radio stations and the streaming service iHeartRadio, the world’s top commercial publisher of podcasts.

    Wendy Goldberg, a spokesperson for iHeartRadio, confirmed the Justice Department’s approval and referred further comment to Liberty Media.

    A coalition of consumer and anti-monopoly groups, including the Open Markets Institute, Public Citizen and the Center for Digital Democracy, opposed the deal, arguing it would be “likely catastrophic” on radio markets and lead to fewer options, less diversity in programming and higher prices.