BP America asks iHeartMedia to restrict ads amid pro-Cruz super PAC contribution controversy

BP America has asked iHeartMedia to not place ads on podcasts that use ad revenue to fund political contributions.

The announcement follows revelations that the radio giant funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars in ad revenue from Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz’s “Verdict” podcast to a pro-Cruz super PAC, Truth and Courage PAC.

iHeart Media has contributed $630,850 to Truth and Courage PAC since January, around one-third of the $2 million the super PAC reported raising this election cycle, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) data.

“We purchase advertising on iHeart based on the potential audience, and do not specify by podcasts.  We were never informed that media spend was going directly to a super PAC and have instructed iHeart to remove our messages from any podcasts that direct advertising revenue to campaigns, PACs or political parties,” Ross Parman, head of U.S. Media Affairs & External Communications at BP America, told The Hill.

Neither iHeartMedia nor a Cruz spokesperson responded to requests for comment from The Hill.

Rachel Nelson, vice president of public relations at iHeartMedia, told the Houston Chronicle that the radio giant sells ads for Cruz’s podcast “as it does for other podcasts” and that the contributions are “associated with those advertising sales.”

While super PACs are legally barred from coordinating with campaigns, meaning Cruz has no say in how that money is spent, the unusual arrangement raised eyebrows among campaign finance experts who say the senator, despite not being directly paid, still benefits from his podcast gig.

Senators are prohibited from receiving gifts from lobbyists, and iHeartMedia pours millions of dollars into federal lobbying every year. Cruz is also ranking member of the Commerce Committee, which oversees the communications industry.

iHeart Media has not contributed directly to any other super PACs this election cycle. The sizable contributions to the pro-Cruz super PAC also dwarf the relatively small contributions from previous election cycles — most recently a $2,968 donation to the progressive group Indivisible Action during the 2022 election cycle, according to FEC data. 

iHeartMedia has its own PAC — which is different from a super PAC — that contributes to politicians across the political spectrum, although those donations are much smaller due to federal limits on contribution to campaigns and PACs. 

Cruz is up for reelection this year, and he is expected to face a tough challenge from Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas), a former NFL player. The election handicapper Cook Political Report rates the race as likely Republican, although Cruz notably beat out his Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke by less than 3 percent during the 2018 election cycle.

A Cruz campaign spokesperson told the Houston Chronicle that reports on the super PAC contributions constituted “lazy attacks during an election year.”

“Senator Cruz appears on ‘Verdict’ three times a week for free,” the Cruz campaign said. “He does this to pull back the veil on the corrupt inner workings of Washington — none of which ever get fairly covered. How convenient that the mainstream media and the cogs in the machine of the Biden-Pelosi Democrat Party want this to stop.”