Getting Radio One Inc. chief executive Alfred C. Liggins III to sit still is not an easy thing. He is an energetic, let's-make-it-happen kind of executive, with a Blackberry buzzing with e-mail messages and a calendar full of meetings.
The energy is a reflection of the entrepreneurial zeal he has used to build the radio company, founded by his mother in a D.C. trailer, into the black-focused media company headquartered in Lanham. This year, Liggins significantly expanded the 69-station radio company by launching a cable TV channel aimed at African Americans with Philadelphia's Comcast Corp. and agreeing to buy the Tom Joyner Morning Show, which has 8 million black listeners weekly.
This year, Radio One chief executive Alfred C. Liggins III expanded the company by adding a cable TV channel and a radio talk show. He says his job includes looking for future opportunities.
(Melina Mara -- The Washington Post)
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"Part of my job is to make sure that we see down the road the opportunities that we need to position the company in order to be competitive for the future -- because if you miss some key opportunities, [then] you make mistakes you can't recover from," Liggins said in an interview. "My vision for Radio One has always been to create the dominant player in African American-targeted media. I think we are well on our way to doing it."
Ninety percent of the company's revenue comes from radio. Liggins wants that percentage to decrease over time. He foresees a day when the cable channel and content additions will serve to buffer Radio One against competition from the Internet and satellite radio.
He envisions an operation that will drive its 13.5 million radio listeners to other company ventures, including its TV One cable upstart and a possible Internet portal. The cable channel, which is distributed to about 6 million households, is still dwarfed by Viacom's Black Entertainment Television, which is in more than 75 million homes.
But Liggins said he thinks Radio One's "one-two punch of radio and TV" will help Radio One compete in the African American and urban space.
Liggins said he is driven to make the company work because "this vision and this company are innate to me. It's part of the fabric of who I am," he said. "It's not even really work anymore."
Then he added, "The other thing is, fear helps. I have this constant fear that if I miss an opportunity, we'll somehow be behind the curve and be an also-ran. Once you become an also-ran, that's when you need to sell. If you can no longer really compete, you're holding on to assets for lifestyle reasons. . . . I don't want that for Radio One."
Liggins, 40, inherited the helm of Radio One from his mother, Radio One founder and chairwoman Catherine L. Hughes, when the company sold its shares to the public in 1999. He worked at his mother's first station, WOL-AM, as a part-time sales representative and sports commentator while in high school. In 1985, he joined the company full-time and never left.
"He loves deal-making," Hughes said. "I love the fact the Alfred has on his priority list partnerships and acquisitions with other black ventures. That's how you build economic wealth in the black community . . . and you grow your company and shareholder value."
