Clear Channel is rebranding yet again. Just two years after it stripped "radio" from its corporate title, the radio behemoth is taking on the name of its digital-radio platform. Clear Channel will now be called iHeartMedia after its iHeartRadio platform, the company said today.
While Chairman-CEO Bob Pittman said the core of the company is still its 840 radio stations, the new name will reflect the company's multiplatform presence and ability to embrace innovation and new technology.
The company's out-of-home advertising unit will retain the name Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings.
Mr. Pittman and his team decided to align itself more closely with iHeartRadio because it's what the company has been using as its consumer-facing brand for several years. "We haven't used Clear Channel with consumers in years," Mr. Pittman said. "We use iHeartRadio on air."
"When we say we work at Clear Channel people will say, 'What's that?' When we tell them we have iHeartRadio they understand," Mr. Pittman said.
The decision to change the company's name was made just six weeks ago. "The name we had doesn't fit with what we are," Mr. Pittman said. "We realized we are no longer Clear Channel."
iHeartRadio bowed just three years ago and now has more than 50 million registered users. iHeartRadio has a 70% brand awareness, Mr. Pittman added.