The New Normal LLC has earned a 2014 profit that will most likely exceed the combined net profits of the radio industry's two largest companies (representing 1,310 or 11% of all US commercial radio stations).

In only the third year of producing The Tom Leykis Show, The New Normal LLC earned a profit of $2,187.10 on gross revenue of $524,952.27, a 60% increase over 2013 and a 161% increase over 2012, the year The Tom Leykis Show debuted. The New Normal earned total gross revenue of only $9,853.87 in its first year, 2010, for an increase between 2010 and 2014 of 5,227%.

The New Normal founder Tom Leykis said, "How in the world did a guy in an old laundromat in Burbank beat the big boys at their own game? And when will Wall Street finally figure out that they're being gamed?" 

Although iHeartMedia CEO Bob Pittman is treated as a tech futurist by the business media, while tech giants such as Google, Apple and Netflix have gushed revenue and stock performance in recent years, iHeartMedia has not earned a net profit since at least 2008 according to its own 10K report. Despite recent claims of "accelerated growth," iHeart's best showing since 2008 was the second quarter of 2010 when it showed a net of NEGATIVE $204.2 million. As of the third quarter of 2014, iHeart showed a net profit of NEGATIVE $1.035 BILLION. See here: http://ycharts.com/companies/IHRT/net_income_ttm.

As of Q3 2014, iHeart has long-term debt of $20.482 billion which is more than the debt of the recently-bankrupted city of Detroit ($18 billion) and more than the total 2014 revenue of the entire radio industry ($17.466 billion according to Reed Bunzel Media. See here: http://imgsrv.bunzelmedia.com/image/bdm/UserFiles/File/Radio2015Final011515.pdf)

 

To that Leykis says, "What good is it to be bragging about owning 850 stations or an app or having 'millions of listeners' if your company can't earn a profit every seven years?"

Cumulus Media, which is number two to iHeart in stations owned, has shown a slight profit in 2014, with earnings per share for 2014 so far reported of $0.04 per share and net revenue of $159.34 million as of the third quarter of 2014.

As of the third quarter of 2014, the combined net revenue of iHeartMedia and Cumulus Media were negative $875.66 million. The likelihood of making up such a difference when fourth quarter 2014 results are announced is virtually nil.
 
"In the end, this news doesn't exactly make my day," says Leykis. "I made a fantastic living in the radio business and I still have many friends in the industry who are afraid of what the future holds. I could have retired young and lived comfortably forever. This project is a tribute to the people who love what we do and to show radio folks that there's a future for them if they're willing to work hard."