SAN ANTONIO — First-quarter revenue was down 23 percent compared with a year earlier at CC Media Holdings Inc., the parent of broadcasting and billboard advertising giant Clear Channel Communications, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Clear Channel (OTCBB: CCMO) owns and operates more than 800 radio stations nationwide, including local broadcasters WHJJ-AM (920), WSNE-FM (93.3), WHJY-FM (94.1), and WWBB-FM (101.5).

In an 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, CC Media posted preliminary revenue of $1.21 billion for the first three months of the year, compared with $1.56 billion during the same period in 2008.

CC Media today said it will announce its full results for the quarter on May 11. The company lost $4 billion in 2008.

CC Media’s operating expenses were also lower in the first quarter at $995.89 million. In the filing, the company said $33.6 million of that stemmed from a restructuring program CC Media announced in January. The company is cutting 1,850 employees, or roughly 9 percent of its work force.

CC Media Holdings was created last July when Clear Channel was bought by the private equity firms Thomas H. Lee Partners and Bain Capital Partners in a deal that saddled the new company with $15.7 billion in debt.

In the filing, CC Media said it had $21 billion in debt on March 31, compared with $5.9 billion a year earlier.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Clear Channel’s falling revenue “is likely to drive down the company's bond prices as investors fret that Clear Channel might have trouble honoring its agreements with lenders.” The company was downgraded by Moody’s Investors Service last month.

For more information, visit ClearChannel.com.