# iHeartMedia, SiriusXM in Early Merger Talks, Bloomberg Says
> Variety and THR confirm via their own sources; Irving Azoff and Apollo Global Management are advising, four days before SiriusXM's Q1 call.
- Publication: The State of Streaming
- Section: Business & Deals
- Published: 2026-04-26T00:00:00.000Z
- Byline: The State of Streaming Staff
- Canonical URL: https://thestateofstreaming.com/business-deals/2026/04/iheart-siriusxm-merger-talks/
- Read time: 2 min
## Summary
Bloomberg reported April 24 that iHeartMedia is in early talks about a sale to Sirius XM Holdings, with Irving Azoff and Apollo Global Management advising. Variety and The Hollywood Reporter confirmed via their own sources; all parties declined or did not respond. SiriusXM's Q1 earnings call is April 30.

## Key facts

- Bloomberg reported on April 24, 2026 that iHeartMedia is in early talks about a possible sale to Sirius XM Holdings, citing people familiar with the matter.
- Variety and The Hollywood Reporter independently confirmed the talks the same day via their own anonymous sources, with Variety reporting that Azoff is advising — not acquiring — alongside Apollo Global Management.
- iHeartMedia, on record, said only that it does not comment on rumors or speculation; SiriusXM declined to comment and Apollo did not respond.
- iHeartMedia carried $5.05 billion in total debt and $4.54 billion in net debt at year-end 2025, per its March 2 8-K filing, and is guiding to mid-5x net leverage in 2026.
- SiriusXM closed its split-off from Liberty Media on September 9, 2024, leaving it as a fully independent public company with no majority stockholder for the first time.
- SiriusXM Q1 2026 earnings are scheduled for April 30, the first opportunity for an on-the-record executive comment on the talks.


## Why it matters

A combined iHeart-SiriusXM would consolidate the two largest U.S. audio-ad sellers under one rep at the same moment SiriusXM Media is becoming YouTube's exclusive U.S. audio-ad rep and Spotify is expanding its ad-format stack. For brand teams, that resets the scale comparison between audio and CTV inventory heading into the 2026-27 upfronts.


## What to watch

- SiriusXM Q1 2026 earnings call on April 30 — the first chance for an on-the-record executive comment on the merger talks.
- Any 13D or 13G filings by Apollo Global Management on iHeartMedia in the coming weeks; Apollo has historically been an iHeart bondholder.
- Whether the iHeart-SiriusXM transaction structure clarifies as a stock-for-stock combination, an Apollo-financed take-private of iHeart followed by contribution into SiriusXM, or an asset sale.
- Change-of-control language in the SiriusXM Media-YouTube exclusive U.S. audio-rep agreement signed April 22, which could complicate an iHeart acquisition.
- Initial FTC and DOJ posture on a horizontal combination of the two largest U.S. audio-advertising sellers.

## Article
iHeartMedia (NASDAQ: IHRT) is in early talks about a possible sale to Sirius XM Holdings (NASDAQ: SIRI), [Bloomberg reported](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-04-24/iheartmedia-holds-merger-talks-with-sirius-xm-as-radio-struggles) on April 24, citing people familiar with the matter. [Variety](https://variety.com/2026/digital/news/iheartmedia-siriusxm-merger-talks-azoff-apollo-advising-1236730151/) and [The Hollywood Reporter](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/siriusxm-iheartmedia-eye-deal-1236575266/) confirmed the talks the same day, also citing people familiar, with both outlets adding that Irving Azoff and Apollo Global Management are advising. The talks are preliminary and may not produce a deal.

An iHeartMedia spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter the company does not comment on rumors or speculation. SiriusXM declined to comment, and Apollo did not respond. Variety reported that its sources "stressed that...Azoff is not in the process of acquiring either or both companies, but is advising, along with Apollo," a clarification that pushes back on a separate framing of Azoff as a potential buyer.

The financial backdrop sits in iHeart's [March 2 8-K filing](https://www.stocktitan.net/sec-filings/IHRT/8-k-i-heart-media-inc-reports-material-event-75d1217f57aa.html). The company carried $5.05 billion in total debt and $4.54 billion in net debt at year-end 2025 against $3.86 billion in full-year revenue and a $471.9 million net loss; 2026 guidance sets net leverage at the mid-5s. iHeart emerged from a 2018 Chapter 11 in May 2019 with debt cut from roughly $16.1 billion to $5.75 billion, [per Variety](https://variety.com/2019/music/news/iheartmedia-bankruptcy-plan-approval-1203114664/), and ran a $4.8 billion debt exchange in December 2024 that pushed maturities out three years. SiriusXM [completed its split-off from Liberty Media](https://investor.siriusxm.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/2104/liberty-media-and-sirius-xm-announce-completion-of) on September 9, 2024, leaving it for the first time as an independent public company with no majority stockholder — and a clean acquirer.

The talks land into a moment of audio-ad-side consolidation around adjacent inventory. SiriusXM Media [became the exclusive U.S. audio-advertising representative for YouTube](https://investor.siriusxm.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/2261/siriusxm-media-becomes-exclusive-audio-advertising) on April 22, two days before Bloomberg's report, with implementation due in fall 2026 via AdsWizz. [Spotify](https://newsroom.spotify.com/2026-03-31/advertising-tools-research-updates/) rolled out new ad formats on March 31. A combined iHeart-SiriusXM ad-sales organization would put the two largest U.S. audio sellers, plus YouTube's U.S. audio inventory, behind one buy-side counter — the scale brand teams compare to [single-vendor CTV reach](/measurement-data/2026/04/streaming-wars-era-ended-2025-data-story/) when allocating [2026-27 upfront budgets](/business-deals/2026/04/wbd-paramount-shareholder-vote/).

The next on-the-record opportunity is SiriusXM's Q1 2026 earnings call on April 30, four days from now.

## Entities

- Companies: iHeartMedia, Inc., Sirius XM Holdings Inc., Apollo Global Management, Alphabet Inc., Spotify Technology S.A., Liberty Media Corporation
- People: Irving Azoff, Bob Pittman, Rich Bressler
- Products: iHeartRadio, Pandora, AdsWizz, SiriusXM Media


## Tags

- iHeartMedia
- SiriusXM
- Apollo
- Irving Azoff
- audio-advertising
- M&A
- audio-vs-CTV
- upfront-2026


## Sourced claims

- Bloomberg reported on April 24, 2026 that iHeartMedia is holding early talks about a possible sale to Sirius XM Holdings, citing people familiar with the matter. — Bloomberg, April 24, 2026: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-04-24/iheartmedia-holds-merger-talks-with-sirius-xm-as-radio-struggles
- Variety, citing people familiar with the matter, confirmed the talks on April 24, 2026, and reported that Irving Azoff and Apollo Global Management are advising on a possible deal. — Variety (Jem Aswad), April 24, 2026: https://variety.com/2026/digital/news/iheartmedia-siriusxm-merger-talks-azoff-apollo-advising-1236730151/
- Variety reported that 'the sources stressed that...Azoff is not in the process of acquiring either or both companies, but is advising, along with Apollo.' — Variety (Jem Aswad), April 24, 2026: https://variety.com/2026/digital/news/iheartmedia-siriusxm-merger-talks-azoff-apollo-advising-1236730151/
- The Hollywood Reporter, citing sources familiar with the matter, also reported on April 24 that iHeartMedia and SiriusXM are in early talks about combining, with Azoff and Apollo helping facilitate a deal. — The Hollywood Reporter (Caitlin Huston, Ethan Millman), April 24, 2026: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/siriusxm-iheartmedia-eye-deal-1236575266/
- An iHeartMedia spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter the company does not comment on rumors or speculation; SiriusXM declined to comment and Apollo did not respond. — The Hollywood Reporter, April 24, 2026: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/siriusxm-iheartmedia-eye-deal-1236575266/
- iHeartMedia reported $5.05 billion in total debt and $4.54 billion in net debt as of December 31, 2025, with full-year revenue of $3.86 billion and a net loss of $471.9 million. — iHeartMedia 8-K, March 2, 2026: https://www.stocktitan.net/sec-filings/IHRT/8-k-i-heart-media-inc-reports-material-event-75d1217f57aa.html
- iHeartMedia is guiding to 2026 adjusted EBITDA of approximately $800 million and net leverage in the mid-5s. — iHeartMedia 8-K, March 2, 2026: https://www.stocktitan.net/sec-filings/IHRT/8-k-i-heart-media-inc-reports-material-event-75d1217f57aa.html
- Liberty Media completed the split-off of Sirius XM Holdings on September 9, 2024, leaving SiriusXM as an independent public company with no majority stockholder. — Sirius XM Holdings IR, September 2024: https://investor.siriusxm.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/2104/liberty-media-and-sirius-xm-announce-completion-of
- SiriusXM Media became the exclusive U.S. audio-advertising representative for YouTube on April 22, 2026, with implementation set for fall 2026 via AdsWizz. — Sirius XM Holdings IR, April 22, 2026: https://investor.siriusxm.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/2261/siriusxm-media-becomes-exclusive-audio-advertising
- Spotify announced an expanded ad-format slate on March 31, 2026, including reimagined Sponsored Playlists, Carousel Ads, automated bidding, and a coming Dynamic Video Sponsorships product. — Spotify Newsroom, March 31, 2026: https://newsroom.spotify.com/2026-03-31/advertising-tools-research-updates/
- Sirius XM Holdings is scheduled to report Q1 2026 earnings on April 30, 2026. — Variety, April 24, 2026: https://variety.com/2026/digital/news/iheartmedia-siriusxm-merger-talks-azoff-apollo-advising-1236730151/
- iHeartMedia emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy on May 1, 2019, with debt reduced from approximately $16.1 billion to $5.75 billion under its court-confirmed plan. — Variety, January 2019: https://variety.com/2019/music/news/iheartmedia-bankruptcy-plan-approval-1203114664/

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