by Morgan Craig

Radio One Inc.

1010 Wayne Ave. 14th Floor

Silver Spring, MD  20910

 Radio One, Inc founded in 1980 and officially incorporated in Delaware MD[1] is a multi-media company targeted towards African-American and urban consumers. In the U.S It is the largest African-American owned corporation of its kind. Specializing in radio broadcasting, the company presently owns and operates 55 broadcast stations in 16 of the country’s major urban markets. These markets include 6 of the top 10 Abitron ranked African-American radio markets in the U.S.: Atlanta GA, Washington D.C., Philadelphia PA, Houston TX, Dallas TX, and Detroit MI.[2] 

Radio One’s additional subsidiaries include: “TV One” LLC: a cable television network, Reach Media Inc: a cross media company which produces The Tom Joyner Show, “Interactive One” LLC: an online platform covering news and pop culture, and OneSolution the companies marketing and brand sales division. Radio One has received a number of revolutionary accolades including “first woman owned radio station to rank number 1 in any major market” and “first african-american radio broadcast company to champion several major markets.”[3]

History: Radio One was founded by the inspiring and passionate Catherine (Cathy) L. Hughes  in 1979. As a 16 year old mother Catherine Hughes was kicked out of her parents home and forced to fend for her and her child’s own well being. This tribulation sparked her tenacity to become the media mogul she is today.

Hughes was born in Omaha Nebraska in 1949. Her first experience with the radio industry was in 1969 when she scored a position at KOWH, a black radio station in Omaha. She was recognized by the Howard University of Communications in Washington D.C. for her accomplishments at KOWH and offered a job as lecturer and assistant to the dean in 1971. [4] In 1973 she became the general sales manager at the University’s radio station WHUR where she brought the stations revenue from $250,000 to 3 million in just her first year. By 1975 Hughes had become the Vice President and general manager of the station.

Eventually in 1980 with her husband of the time, Dewy Hughes, Cathy bought her own station; radio WOL-AM (D.C.) with a bank loan she finally attained after being rejected by 32 banks. [Here she curated her own content: “24-hour talk from a black perspective”. This marked the creation of Radio One. Her acquisition of WOL proved to be her most challenging but also most successful venture. After divorcing her husband shortly after buying the station, Cathy bought his share of WOL and therefore struggled a great deal financially.[5]In an effort to keep her business a float Cathy moved out of her apartment with her son Alfred C. Liggins and made a home at the radio station until 1986 when the station started making a profit. [6] In 1997 Cathy appointed her son Alfred C. Liggins III as CEO of Radio One.

After receiving an MBA from Wharton School of Business Alfred urged his mother to advance and go public with the company. On January 1st, 1999 Radio One Inc. (ROAI) went public with an offering price of $24 for 6,500,000 shares.[1] As compared to broadcast companies at the time such as Citadel and Beasley this was a large IPO.In the years that following1999 Radio One has acquired multiple subsidiaries and crossed platforms in an effort to expand their reach.

Properties:

TV One: On january 19, 2004 Radio One (51%) launched a joint venture with Comcast Corporation (49%) called TV One. TV One is a cable network which seeks to target the African-American consumer by providing news, sitcoms, reality TV, and big studio movies from an African-American perspective.[7] The stations most well known program Unsung tells stories of the most influential R&B and Soul artists of our time. As of August 2013 the station has proven to be present in over 57 million households (50.28% of households with a television).

Reach Media Inc: On February 3rd 2005 Radio One acquired 53.5% ownership interest of their current subsidiary Reach Media Inc. Located in Dallas, TX and founded in 2003 by Urban radio talk show host Tom Joyner, Reach Media is built around the strong marketing muscle that is the Tom Joyner Morning Show. The Tom Joyner Show is present in over 100 markets and reaches approximately 8 million listeners.[8] Reach Media seeks to create and manage  on-air and online content that entertains their consumers and provides a successful vehicle for advertisers.[9]

Interactive One: Radio One crossed the digital platform when they founded Interactive One (iOne) in 2007. [10] Interactive One operates several online brands targeted towards an African-American and latino audience including BlackPlanet.com: a social networking site, Hellobeautifull.com: a lifestyle site for black women, NewsOne.com a news source providing content pertaining to African-Americans, TheUrbanDaily: a pop culture/ entertainment media site, and GIANTlife.com: a celebrity focused news source. Interactive One’s headquarters are located in New York, New York.[11]

Executive Team: 

Catherine L. Hughes:  Founder, Chairperson, & Secretary

Alfred C. Liggins III:  CEO, President & Treasurer

Peter D. Thompson: Executive Vice President & CFO

 Linda J. Vilardo:  Vice President, Assistant Secretary & Chief Administrative Officer

Financials:

Radio One is indicated on NASDAQ as ROIA.

2013 Quarterly data shows that during the first and second quarters of the year Radio One saw an increase in earnings: Its March gross profit of $68,639 to its June gross profit of $86,705. It then took a steady decline however in the third and fourth quarters as its   September earnings were $81,112 and December earnings were $74,223. Despite the last half of the years quarterly decrease annually the company is seeing an increase from their final 2012 year gross profit of $288,599 as 2013’s annual gross profit is $310,679.[12] 50.2% of the company’s net revenue in 2013 was generated through radio advertising dollars. [13]Radio One has been seeing a steady increase annually since 2011.

News: 

April 16, 2014 – Radio One’s Advertising division One Solution received three bronze Telly awards for its 2013 ad campaign vignettes for Chevrolet Impala, Johnson & Johnson, and Walmart. [14]

April 14th, 2014 – Radio One will be hosting a conference call to discuss 2014’s 1st fiscal quarter. Investors, analysts and other interested parties are invited to join. The call is set to occur on May 8th, 2014 at 10:00 am EDT.[14]

April 9, 2014 – Radio One is partnering with Atlantic Records to provide one lucky listener from a radio one radio market with the chance to win a prom date with R&B singer Sevyn Streeter. 1,000 dollars towards prom expenses will be awarded to the winner, Sevyn will provide a musical performance during the event, and a limousine ride too and from prom will also be included.[14]

January 27, 2014 – Radio One is offering $335 million in aggregate principal amount of senior subordinated notes due 2020. The offering is exempt from registration under the securities act of 1933. The company says that they plan to use these proceeds to redeem its currently outstanding amounts under its senior subordinated notes due 2016.[14]

 

References:

1 .  http://ipo.findthebest.com/l/871/Radio-One-Inc

2. http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml

3. http://www.creativeanddreamsmusicnetwork.com/legends/cathy-hughes#.U1Uy9OZdW4I

4.   http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/17/catherine-hughes-radio-one_n_1798129.html

5. http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biography/cathy-hughes-39

6. http://www.mediabistro.com/So-What-Do-You-Do-Cathy-Hughes-Founder-of-TV-One-and-Radio-One-a11141.html

7. http://tvone.tv/inside-tv-one/about-tv-one.html

8. http://www.reachmediainc.com/

9.  http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=10714662

10. .http://interactiveone.com/10

11. http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=47611884

12. http://finance.yahoo.com/q/is?s=ROIA&annual

13.http://quote.morningstar.com/stock-filing/Annual-Report/2013/12/31/t.aspx?t=XNAS:ROIA&ft=10-K&d=bc777893522a2104916cd6faf3130ea5

14.http://www.radio-one.com/latest-news/

Images:

1.http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/irol/63/63747/images/Radio_One_2008_Logo.JPG

2.http://www.radiofacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/cathy-hughes-corp-pic-111.jpg

3.http://i.huffpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/250187/slide_250187_1550334_free.jpg?1348183188887

4.data:image/jpeg;base64,/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD/2wCEAAkGBxQQEhQUEB

5.http://www.reachmediainc.com/graphics/logo.gif

6.  https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1134594466/IO.jpg

7.  file:///Users/MaryMorgan/Downloads/cathy_2.jpg

8. http://www.wharton.upenn.edu/125anniversaryissue/img/lg/liggins.jpg

9.file:///Users/MaryMorgan/Downloads/OneSolution.png

10. Sevyn-Streeter-Diggin-On-You-TLC-Acapella-Cover-EXCLUSIVE.jpg