Alongside this outdoor advertising consolidation, the Mays family in San Antonio, Texas, founded a broadcasting company in 1972, which would become known as Clear Channel Communications.
[11] In 2007, Clear Channel Outdoor began its partnership with the FBI to display fugitives and missing persons on billboards across the United States.
[12] In 2008, Clear Channel was taken private by firms Thomas H. Lee Partners and Bain Capital LLC, and the Mays family divested their interests in the company.
[16] In 2016, CCOA proved the effectiveness of the Out-of-Home (OOH) medium and announced the industry’s first measurable outdoor advertising solution known as CCO RADAR.
[17][18] On January 7, 2016, Lamar Advertising Company purchased Clear Channel Outdoor's assets in 5 major U.S. city markets for $458.5 million.
[19] In 2016, CCOA introduced the automated ability (programmatic) for advertisers to buy ads on its various digital outdoor formats using computer programs.
[20] On December 21, 2018, iHeartMedia announced its intent to spin out its majority stake in Clear Channel Outdoor, as part of a proposed reorganization plan to reduce debt and exit its Chapter 11 bankruptcy.