A plain-language guide to major US radio groups beyond iHeart—and how to use a directory when ownership keeps shifting.
US commercial radio is an ownership puzzle. Alongside iHeart, companies such as Cumulus and Audacy (among others) hold clusters of talk, sports, country, and music stations across metros. Listeners rarely wake up thinking about holding companies—they think about the morning host—but ownership affects syndication, newsrooms, and whether a local voice survives.
When a brand is sold or rebranded, call letters can change while the stream URL and format evolve more slowly. That is why directory hygiene matters. Browse radios, confirm city and format, and keep backups in Favoritos.
Treat group names as context, not destiny. A Cumulus country outlet and an Audacy news/talker solve different hours of your day. Use géneros to sort by listening job, and noticias for information-heavy signals.
Regional browsing via regiones keeps you from assuming New York’s cluster logic applies to Omaha. Check Top for site-level popularity, then verify in your own drive time.
If you spot stale ownership notes or missing local legends, write through Contacto. Catalogs lag; listeners notice first.
The commercial map will keep consolidating and reshuffling. Your dial can stay stable if you favor formats and hosts over logos on a press release.