iHeartRadio and SiriusXM in Early Merger Talks, With Irving Azoff and Apollo Advising

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Variety

Apr 24, 2026 3:41pm PT

By Jem Aswad

IHeartMedia and SiriusXM are in early talks to join forces, with veteran music industry mogul Irving Azoff and Apollo Global Management offering to assist with and advise on any such deal, sources tell Variety.

News of the potential merger was first reported by Bloomberg, however, a source stated that any reports of financial problems at iHeart are untrue, and also that the companies are looking at a merger, not the acquisition of one by the other.

Such a merger would ⁠unite the largest terrestrial radio network in the U.S. (iHeart, which claims to reach 250 million monthly listeners via its 850-plus stations) and the largest satellite radio network (SiriusXM, with 33 million subscribers as of last year), creating an audio powerhouse.

The sources said that the objective of combining the companies would be to provide greater scale and partner with artists to create platforms. However, it is clear that, with both terrestrial and satellite radio losing listeners and influence as streaming and multiple other options become increasingly available to listeners, the companies would be stronger together than apart.



Read more: https://variety.com/2026/digital/news/iheartmedia-siriusxm-merger-talks-azoff-apollo-advising-1236730151/

[cstanleytech]

1. Ummm,fuck that shit!!! There should be no merger of any kind.

[3Hotdogs]

2. Unfortunately, I bought a life subscription to Sirius, so if it turns to shit.....

I bought the sub when I was in sales, traveling to several states. Out of the city, alls ya get is Jesus and country.

[gay texan]

3. I got sattelite radio to get away

from Clear Channel

Why do these fucking people feel the need to fuck everything up???????????????????

[t_paine36]

4. This has happened before

Partying like it's 1933:

https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-press-in-the-third-reich

[LetMyPeopleVote]

6. Welcome to DU

[Mawspam2]

5. I needed XM (later SiriusXM) when I drove trucks across the country.

Now that I'm retired from that life, I stream Spotify (music) and TuneIn (podcasts). I listen to what I want, not what some bozo picks for me.
Terrestrial and satellite are dead to me.

[catsudon]

7. SADLY

the only think i'm thinking right now is how i can profit off of this with the stocks.

[RedArkGuy]

8. I'd much rather SiriusXM's more democratically-minded management prevailed here.

It's actually possible to find left voices on their offerings. IhateFM's stations are either a sewage miasma of Right-wing radios stations or anodyne BobFM or Today's Country blandness. And of course their management have been very supportive of the GOP and Trump.