Ryan Seacrest Is Having Difficulty Separating Himself from the Radio Industry


Ryan Seacrest and iHeartMedia have agreed to a new three-year deal that will run through the end of 2027. According to the terms of the agreement, the omnipresent performer will continue to host and produce 102.7 KIIS-FM’s No. 1 L.A. morning drive-time show, American Top 40 with Ryan Seacrest, and the nationally syndicated On Air with Ryan Seacrest.

As part of the new agreement, Seacrest will continue to work closely with iHeart president Rich Bressler and chairman and CEO Bob Pittman, celebrating his 20th year as the voice of Los Angeles morning radio and nearly 30 years overall. In that capacity, Seacrest not only offers ideas to the company’s major projects, but he also hosts a number of the company’s major events, including the two-day iHeartRadio Music Festival and the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball holiday extravaganza in Los Angeles.

“The first job I ever had where I got a paycheck was at a radio station. That was when I was 16 years old, and so I’ve come into a studio every day of my life forever. It’s just something that’s such a part of my DNA,” he says to THR, before adding, “There is a real intimacy and unvarnished presentation to live radio that I love. It’s different [from] television, where it’s highly produced and, in many cases, very rehearsed.”

The contract announcement coincides with Seacrest’s return to Los Angeles after a six-year stint in New York for the taping of Live with Kelly and Ryan. He announced his intention to leave the daytime talk show early this year, saying he had already stayed three years longer than he had planned.