iHeartMedia 2001 Annual Report Download - page 28

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28
We Face Intense Competition in the Broadcasting, Outdoor Advertising and Live Entertainment
Industries
Our business segments are in highly competitive industries, and we may not be able to maintain
or increase our current audience ratings and advertising and sales revenues. Our radio stations and
outdoor advertising properties compete for audiences and advertising revenues with other radio stations
and outdoor advertising companies, as well as with other media, such as newspapers, magazines, cable
television, and direct mail, within their respective markets. Audience ratings and market shares are
subject to change, which could have the effect of reducing our revenues in that market. Our live
entertainment operations compete with other venues to serve artists likely to perform in that general
region and, in the markets in which we promote musical concerts, we face competition from promoters,
as well as from certain artists who promote their own concerts. These competitors may engage in more
extensive development efforts, undertake more far reaching marketing campaigns, adopt more aggressive
pricing policies and make more attractive offers to existing and potential customers or artists. Our
competitors may develop services, advertising mediums or entertainment venues that are equal or
superior to those we provide or that achieve greater market acceptance and brand recognition than we
achieve. It is possible that new competitors may emerge and rapidly acquire significant market share in
any of our business segments. Other variables that could adversely affect our financial performance by,
among other things, leading to decreases in overall revenues, the number of advertising customers,
advertising fees, ticket prices or profit margins include:
• unfavorable economic conditions, both general and relative to the radio broadcasting,
outdoor advertising and live entertainment industries, which may cause companies to reduce
their expenditures on advertising or corporate sponsorship or reduce the number of persons
willing to attend live entertainment events;
• unfavorable shifts in population and other demographics which may cause us to lose
advertising customers and audience as people migrate to markets where we have a smaller
presence, or which may cause advertisers to be willing to pay less in advertising fees if the
general population shifts into a less desirable age or geographical demographic from an
advertising perspective;
• an increased level of competition for advertising dollars, which may lead to lower advertising
rates as we attempt to retain customers or which may cause us to lose customers to our
competitors who offer lower rates that we are unable or unwilling to match;
• unfavorable fluctuations in operating costs which we may be unwilling or unable to pass
through to our customers;
• technological changes and innovations that we are unable to adopt or are late in adopting that
offer more attractive advertising or entertainment alternatives than what we currently offer,
which may lead to a loss of advertising customers or ticket sales, or to lower advertising rates
or ticket prices;
• unfavorable changes in labor conditions which may require us to spend more to retain and
attract key employees; and