| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Radio network |
| Founded | 1987 |
| Defunct | 1999 |
| Fate | Acquired by Clear Channel Communications & reorganized into iHeartMedia |
| Successor | iHeartMedia |
| Headquarters | Cincinnati, Ohio, US |
Key people | Terry Jacobs, Frank Wood, Randy Michaels |
| Parent | Zell Chilmark (1992–1996) Citicasters (1996–1999) |
Jacor Communications was a media corporation, existing between 1987 and 1999, which owned many radio stations in the United States. In 1998, Jacor was purchased by Clear Channel Communications, now iHeartMedia, for $2.8 billion. [1]
Jacor Communications began with three religious stations and went on to acquire dozens of radio stations between 1992 and its sale to Clear Channel in 1999. It also owned a few television stations, including WKRC-TV in Cincinnati.
Jacor Communications was founded by Terry Jacobs. [2] Jacobs incorporated Jacor Communications in 1979 and purchased three religious stations in 1981. [3] [4] In June 1989, Jacor purchased Telesat Cable, a Northern Kentucky cable provider, for $5 million, [5] which it later sold in May 1994. [4] In 1993, an investor named Sam Zell paid $80 million from the Zell Chilmark fund to purchase controlling interest in Jacor. [6]
In 1992, the Federal Communications Commission increased the number of radio stations a single company could own in one city to 3AMs and 3FMs. [7] After this change, Jacor began purchasing stations, including WKRC (AM) in Cincinnati in 1993. [8]
On February 6, 1996, Jacor announced plans to acquire Noble Broadcast Group Inc for $152 million. [9] After the passing of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, Jacor began buying more radio stations. [10]
On February 13, 1996, Jacor announced it would buy Citicasters for $770 million. [11] As part of the merger, Jacor acquired WKRC-TV, a Cincinnati CBS-affiliate television station, and WTSP, a television station in Tampa, Florida. [12] [13] In September, Jacor announced WTSP would be sold to Gannett Co. in exchange for three radio stations. [14]
In May 1993, founder and CEO Terry Jacobs left Jacor. [15] The VP of programming and COO, Randy Michaels, was named president of the company that year, and in 1996, he was promoted to CEO. [16] Jacor's corporate headquarters were in downtown Cincinnati from the mid-1980s through 1996 when they moved across the Ohio River to Covington, Kentucky.[ citation needed ] In 1997, Jacor acquired the assets of Nationwide Communications. [17]
In 1999, Jacor was sold to Clear Channel Communications for $3.4 billion in stock. [18] [19] Clear Channel also assumed approximately $1.2 billion of Jacor's debt. [18] [19] At the time of its acquisition, Jacor was the third-largest provider of syndicated radio programming, [20] [21] owning 230 radio stations and Premiere Radio networks (a radio syndication company), as well as disseminating The Rush Limbaugh Show and the Dr. Laura Schlessinger show. [20]
Clear Channel named Randy Michaels CEO and chairman of Clear Channel Radio in 2000. [22] In 2008, private equity firms Thomas H. Lee and Bain Capital Partners completed a buyout of Clear Channel Communications. [23]
That would make Zell's stake in the company worth more than $800 million, a huge gain on the $80 million his Zell/Chilmark Fund put into Jacor in early 1993 to take over the then-struggling broadcaster.
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