U.S. MEDIA COMPANY iHeartMedia has filed for bankruptcy in an effort to reduce its $20-billion debt.
According to a Bloomberg report, iHeart filed for Chapter 11 protection Wednesday in Houston, a move that allows the company to keep operating its 850 radio stations worldwide while it tries to cement its turnaround plan. The deal still needs approval from the court and some creditors.
In Canada, the free broadcast and internet radio platform iHeartRadio has recorded an average of 1.8 million listeners each month since its launch in October 2016 as part of a licensing deal with Bell Media, continues the report. A spokesperson for parent iHeartMedia said that it will be business as usual during the restructuring, noting that the company does not own stations and has no employees here in Canada since the franchise agreement has seen Bell manage Canadian music licensing, marketing and distribution while providing content from Bell properties.
With the help of additional media partners like Evanov Communications, the iHeartRadio Canada service is currently available across more than 1,000 radio stations in Canada.
