iHeartMedia to Acquire Triton Digital for $230M

RADIO ONLINE | Wednesday, February 17, 2021

iHeartMedia has entered into an agreement with The E.W. Scripps Company to acquire Triton Digital for $230 million, subject to certain adjustments including satisfaction or waiver of customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval.

The acquisition complements iHeartMedia's current advertising technology services, data platforms and programmatic platforms while providing additional solutions for those in the digital radio industry, allowing iHeartMedia to be the first and only company in the audio market to provide four distribution methods for audio, including on-demand, broadcast and digital streaming radio and podcasting, and to service all audio assets programmatically. It represents the latest of iHeartMedia's investments in the audio technology space, and further enhances its position as the leader in audio.

"Adding Triton Digital and its industry leading services to the iHeartMedia audio ecosystem establishes iHeartMedia as the only company with a total audio advertising technology and data solution," said Bob Pittman, Chairman and CEO of iHeartMedia, Inc. "iHeart, with our strong leadership position in podcasting, digital radio and broadcast, already provides cutting edge audio management, programmatic and data solutions for the broadcast radio, digital audio and podcasting industries, and this acquisition further strengthens our position as the No. 1 audio company in America and provides unique -- and critical -- solutions for the industry and for advertisers."

Operating in more than 50 countries, Triton Digital is a global Advertising Technology SaaS platform for audio streaming, podcasting and metrics that enables publishers to monetize their audiences by providing a highly respected digital audio measurement and advanced audio-focused infrastructure to maximize the yield of audio inventory. The company's two lines of business focus on advertising infrastructure and measurement, including a content delivery system that distributes digital audio streams and podcasts to listeners while dynamically inserting ads and measurement business that tracks audience and creates ratings reports.

In addition to measuring audiences for customers, Triton Digital operates the world's first programmatic marketplace for digital audio programmatic ad-buying and Yield-Op, a world-class Supply Side Platform (SSP) that specializes in Audio and enables programmatic audio advertising.

"We are thrilled to join the iHeartMedia family," said Neal Schore, CEO of Triton Digital. "We remain deeply committed to providing the world's broadcasters, podcasters, and online audio publishers with continuously innovated, best-in-class solutions and services for online audio management, advertising, and consumption data, and are well positioned to enhance iHeartMedia's value proposition to audiences and advertisers."