2-19-14
APN News & Media is ready to pay $246 million (Australian, about $222 million U.S.) to Clear Channel to take full control of its radio assets, in which Clear Channel owns a 50 percent stake. With the deal comes an exclusive 10-year agreement to operate and broadcast the iHeartRadio digital platform in Australia and New Zealand, and an exclusive option to act as iHeart implementation partner in "a number of Asian markets."
The deal includes Clear Channel's stakes in APN and in the Radio Network Limited and will give APN 100 percent ownership of the largest network of stations in Australia and New Zealand. CEO Michael Miller said, "ARN and TRN are businesses that we know extremely well, having run them for almost 20 years. They are managed by highly competent teams and continue to deliver growth in both audience numbers and advertising revenues. We are confident that radio will continue to grow as a medium and that ARN and TRN will continue to capture a greater share of the market."
The two radio hosts from the Sydney station are Mel Grieg and Michael Christian. In a statement, They said, "We were very surprised that our call was put through. We thought we'd be hung up on as soon as they heard our terrible accents. We're very sorry if we've caused any issues and we're glad to hear that Kate is doing well.