iHeartMedia's first quarter 2020 earnings release was mainly a preview for what could be a painful second quarter. Overall, Q1 wasn't bad: Old-school broadcast radio revenues barely fell and digital revenues improved on the strength of podcasts.
But the advertising slowdown became "more pronounced" in April and suffered "a sharp decline" in broadcast, digital and other segments, CEO Bob Pittman said.
Starting at the top, Q1 revenue fell 1.9% from $795.8 million to $780.6 million. Exclude political advertising -- it's not an annual occurrence -- and the deficit widens to $755 million to $793 million.
Broadcast revenue dropped 5.2% to $461.7 million while digital revenue jumped 22.2% to $92.8 million. The net loss of $1.65 billion, compared