Entercom, Beasley, and now iHeartMedia.

Most of the big radio companies shed jobs during COVID-19, and while things seem to be stabilizing with the places running 94 WIP and 97.5 the Fanatic, iHeart is currently going through a round of layoffs.

Here’s a snippet from radio news website “All Access,” which names two Philadelphia DJs and a program director among the staff reductions:

While iHEARTMEDIA hasn’t formally acknowledged the changes below as part of an official RIF, ALL ACCESS has learned that a growing number of iHEARTMEDIA employees are now looking for work. Here is who we have learned are now out, so far:

BRIAN CHECK, PD AC WISX (106.1 THE BREEZE)/PHILADELPHIA, who’d been with CLEAR CHANNEL/iHEART in PHILLY since 2002. 

…

DAN BLACKMAN, afternoons, AC WISX (106.1 THE BREEZE)/PHILADELPHIA

ELIOT KING MD/nights, WIOQ (Q102)/PHILADELPHIA

In a follow up story, Dylan Smith writes the following:

“The COVID-fueled advertising dip that many radio stations are grappling with appears to have exacerbated iHeartMedia’s existing financial troubles. Following January’s budget-reduction effort – which encompassed replacing hundreds of human works with artificial intelligence – CEO Bob Pittman relinquished his $23 million salary, while other execs accepted pay reductions. Even so, the San Antonio-based company suffered net losses of $1.68 billion during 2020’s first quarter – including the period before the pandemic’s domestic onset.”

Locally, iHeart owns Fox Sports the Gambler, which broadcasts Sean Brace’s The Daily Ticket and Eytan Shander’s What are the Odds? They also own Q102, Power 99, Alt 104.5, plus five more music stations and the recently acquired 610 AM, which is now part of the Black Information Network.