Radio One Inc. chief executive Alfred Liggins III agreed last night to buy a controlling stake in radio personality Tom Joyner's media company for $56 million, furthering his attempt to turn the radio company his mother began out of a trailer 24 years ago into a diversified media group aimed at the black community.
The purchase would give Radio One an Internet presence and ownership rights to one of the nation's top morning shows among black radio listeners.
Radio One chief Alfred Liggins III wants more "multi" in his media firm.
(File Photo)
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The acquisition, when combined with the company's portfolio of 69 radio stations and cable network TV One, fortifies the company's place as the nation's largest black-owned media company. Joyner's Reach Media Inc. is the parent company of the Tom Joyner Morning Show, an urban radio show broadcast in 115 markets and BlackAmericaWeb.com, a Web portal that had 539,000 visitors last month, according to Web tracker ComScore Media Metrix.
Liggins, who plans to announce the deal today, told analysts this month that he was contemplating moving Radio One into radio programming and the Internet.
Developing Radio One's Internet presence was a priority and that within five years he would like to have the dominant Web portal for blacks, he said. That would pit Radio One against the top three African American-focused Web portals, including Viacom Inc.'s BET.com, Time Warner Inc.'s AOL BlackVoices.com and Community Connect Inc.'s BlackPlanet.com. The portals, all started more that four years ago, compete for about 11.7 million black Web searchers, about 7.9 percent of all Internet users, acording to Nielsen/NetRatings.
BlackAmericaWeb.com, which is closely linked to Joyner's show, trails those three sites.
Analysts who follow Radio One and online media said there are still opportunities for Radio One. Internet advertising will grow 21 percent over the next five years to $60 billion, according to his company's projections, said Kit Spring, media analyst for Denver-based Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., which makes a market in Radio One's stock.
"Eyeballs are going to the Internet," Spring said. "We're at an early stage for the ethnics. If you look at the non-ethnic [Web] companies, they are just turning a profit."
Bishop Cheen, a radio and media analyst for Charlotte-based Wachovia Securities said, "Nobody owns the African American Web user. I think it's all up for grabs." Wachovia Capital Markets LLC owns Radio One stock.
Radio One does not plan to spend "tens of millions of dollars" to launch the site, Liggins told analysts.
