BIA Advisory Services has revealed a report from the top-earning radio station owners in 2023, and to the surprise of no one, iHeartMedia, Audacy, and Cumulus topped the list.
According to the report, iHeartMedia earned $2.147 billion with its 870 stations in 151 markets around the nation. That revenue figure was tops in the industry by nearly $1 billion. The company had four of the top 10 billing stations in the BIA report released earlier this month.
Audacy finished second with an estimated revenue of $1.292 billion. The company — which is in the process of emerging from a pre-packaged bankruptcy filing earlier this year — owns 227 stations in 46 markets. Like iHeart, Audacy placed four stations in the top 10 billers of 2023, with all-news outlets 1010 WINS, WBBM, and WCBS 880 all finishing in the top 10.
Cumulus, which has 404 stations in 82 markets, earned an estimated revenue of $413.9 million. That company did not place any individual stations on the top earner’s list from BIA.
Hubbard Radio, which has a drastically smaller footprint than the top three finishers, placed fourth on the list with $240.5 million in revenue. It owns 54 stations in 10 US markets. Hubbard owns all-news WTOP in Washington D.C., which finished 2023 as the top billing station with $66.3 million. It was the ninth consecutive year and 13th of the last 14 years that WTOP has ended the year as the top earning station.
Similarly, Beasley Media Group was fifth with 58 stations in 13 markets. 98.5 The Sports Hub, the Boston sports talk station, was the fifth highest earning station with $32.7 million, equating to 14% of the company’s total revenue.
Urban One was the first company to move up the list from its 2022 ranking. Finishing sixth, the company elevated from its eighth-place position in the previous year after finishing with $214.5 million in revenue from its 57 stations in 13 markets.
Cox Media Group ($207.8 million) finished seventh, while Towsnqaure Media ($206.8 million), TelevisiaUnivisia ($194.4 million), and Alpha Media ($126.6 million) rounded out the top 10 finishers on the BIA Advisory Services list.
